07.22.2008

It’s been a while since I’ve done an adventure report, though I haven’t been so lacking in adventures. Today I’ve chosen to write about a hiking trip I went on last Sunday, though I still plan on documenting my Chicago and San Francisco travels/shows because they’re rather amusing fodder for adventure reports as well. So yes, Sunday I went hiking with Rachel, my girlfriend, and Andrew (whom you may remember from previous adventure reports ages ago, if you don’t remember him, say “hello” to him sometime and get acquainted with his music as Able). We left in the late afternoon as my sleeping schedule dictates that I never know of the existence of ante meridiem after I have gone to repose. In other words, I ain’t wake up before noon. It’s a much longer drive to the mountains from Denver than it is from Boulder, the fine city where I spent a fine two years. We drove for some one and one half hours to our destination, the Fourth of July Trail, above Eldora. Again, for those of you who have followed my adventures in this area, you may be familiar. It is also the location of Lost Lake, where all of the Vinculum photos were taken.

It has been a long time since I’ve had a proper hike in the high mountains, about a year, and I have missed it dearly. There exists nothing comparable in the city from which one can yield very little inspiration from nature (may I digress by saying?: the Botanic Gardens serve as a fine refuge for such disconnect from wilderness, and I am fortunate in that Rachel works there and I am blessed with the opportunity to visit often to stare at plants). So, I can not exaggerate the excitement I felt when we stepped out of the car and I realized there existed a potential to see some nature and wander about for a while. Not too excited though, to neglect the fact that I was rather hungry and could not begin our ascent until I imbibed the necessary fortification.

Fortification imbibed, we began our hike. Diamond Lake was the destination of choice as none of us had ever been there, though Andrew and I were somewhat familiar with the area, having gone “glacier sliding” some years back, and also our visits to the Lost Lake. Ah, the pleasure of hiking. It came back to me within a few minutes of hiking, eyes wandering. We were in the forest again! The smells, the colours, the sounds! The lack of sirens! We maintained a steady pace, with me dragging a bit behind to take photos rather often. So inspiring. We had to stand at waterfalls, dip our hands in… stare down the cliffs, and up at the sky. I think we all had a sense of comfort in rediscovering this distant pleasure that inspires us so. We hiked for quite some time, two miles in total, until we came upon an open meadow and indication of our destination. The meadow was muddy and required walking along a long path of logs. We wrapped around a grove of evergreens (can there be a grove of evergreens?) and saw our destination.

Diamond Lake is situated at the base of several peaks in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. I do not know the names of these peaks, and I am not ashamed. It is a beautiful, shallow lake, teeming with fish, jumping at the evening feast. Flipping about at the surface. Rachel and I commented that we wanted to eat them. We wanted to eat all of them. Monkeys. The lake’s surface reflected the snow on the quarries across the way, and supported many wetland areas around the shore. The water was crystal clear, as it is known to be at such altitudes. The evening sun gave me a sense of familiarity, I am almost always hiking at these hours, when I hike, and the return, of course the return is made at dusk, just before complete blackness invades. We opened a bottle of wine and began snacking, though this did not last long.

Andrew had made comments along the way about going for a swim in the lake, and he wasted no time wading out in the the lake upon our arrival. The lake’s bottom was composed almost entirely of rocks fallen from the erosion of the surrounding peaks. They were covered in a thin slime of algae, with rare refuge in muddy islands. I decided to follow, a few moments after watching the fun. Stripped down to my “trollies” I waded out as well. Andrew was long out and made it to the “edge of the rocks” where there was apparently complete blackness and no indication of depth or harmful objects. He decided not to test the blackness, though he did submerge himself almost completely. My tolerance for the slippery rocks and the corresponding pain was less than his. After walking out for some ten minutes, and acquiring quite some “exfoliation” of the bottoms of my feet, I began my return. I had lost my confidence after a few falls, not to mention that a lake at the bottom of a few glaciers is fucking cold. My return was haste and I proceeded to dry off, and put my dry clothing on.

I regained my warmth rather quickly, though Andrew had lost a lot of heat and had the shivers for quite some time. We finished our wine to help with the process of warming up, or at least caring less about being cold. We ate some more food, and began to get concerned about getting down and getting home at a reasonable hour. Our return hike was lovely and we arrived at the base just as night completely overtook the area. The drive back was rather uneventful, though we sat mostly in contemplation and exhaustion, having just enjoyed the first hike of the year. It was beautiful, it was amazing, I am still glowing. It has provided some much needed inspiration and I am very thankful for the experience.

There is talk of a midnight hike to Lake Isabel tonight. Oh I do hope to join.

In Ten and Tracer news, I am busy arranging, compiling, mastering, unmastering, deleting, restoring, etc etc, the tracks for my double-album on EED. I am growing more and more content with the order and arrangement, as well as doing some “modern” edits of some of the tracks, as the ideas are there, but the sound quality and execution aren’t necessarily. Things are coming together quickly though and we’re looking at an August/September release. No guarantees.

Thanks for reading, if you made it this far. Bye!