Mt. Sneffels: The Scariest, Most Beautiful Hike

The views from our drive up the mountain.

The view on our run up to the trailhead.

The dreadful and dangerous scree and talus field--about 1 mile from the trailhead. This is the point where we stopped running and starting picking our way carefully up the mountain. I turned around with the intention of calling it a day, once, for about 1 minute before I rolled my eyes at my own stupid competitive spirit and trudged on after Ben who had continued to the top.

The saddle, perhaps?

The view from nearly the top of the peak. Looking down at the gorgeous mountains below (and the terrible terrain we just climbed to the top of Mt. Sneffels).

Coming back down the boulder field.

On the saddle.

And that scree field one more time.

The hike was treacherous, arduous. We ran about 2 miles to the trailhead at the base of Mt. Sneffels and read the sign that indicated the peak was 1.2 miles ahead. "Let's time it," I said, thinking we'd be to the top in 30 minutes. Two and a half hours later, we made it to the top and back down to the car. That's 4.4 miles in 2.5 hours. Yikes.

But once I could start running again on the way back down, my legs all rubbery and shaky, my glucose likely plummeting, I felt awesome. I felt liberated. I recall watching my footing carefully as I navigated the loose rocks, striding along after Ben, and smiling. I haven't done anything like this in 2.5 years, since the Moab Half Marathon just before I became pregnant. I felt my old self returning. Finally.

Isaac completed his wean in early-August after more than 19 months of breast feeding. For a couple of weeks after, my emotions were all over the place, though I assumed the stress of wedding planning and preparation was to blame. I felt pretty miserable. And it wasn't until just before the wedding when the haze began to clear and my emotions steadied that I realized what had likely occurred. Hormones shifting. Post-wean anxiety and depression. I never even knew it was a possibility, though I should have. Of course when hormones are involved there's risk of imbalance (temporary or not). 

But I feel better now. Actually, better than I did before we weaned, I think. I'm still figuring that one out. And I am happy to have completed today's run/hike. I'll never do it again, but happy to have done it. And happy that my old self returned, even for just one hike... though I hope she sticks around awhile!