This hike was a huge deal for us. We'd never taken on an adventure this big or cold. Now granted, it's not Everest, heck I think just sleeping at Everest base camp would be harder than this, but we were excited. We were going to hike a little under 2,000 feet of elevation and somewhere around 9 miles all in sub-freezing temperatures. Before this, the longest hike I completed was 6 miles in the summer wear sneakers, and that just about killed me. If we were going to be true adventures, we needed to step up our game.
We decided to go on Black Friday, falling into REI's opt-out campaign. We did our research and put together what we could for hiking Kits. Let me tell you how comical my gear was. All my clothes were from Old Navy, my boots were city boots from DSW, and my gloves I picked up from a gas station... yikes. I did have a pair of crampons and some decent wool socks though.
We got to the trailhead nice and early and started our adventure with a pep in our step that only comes from excitement. The cold fresh air was incredibly refreshing in our lungs. We dressed for the cold weather at the trailhead but quickly shed our layers as we exerted our way up the mountain. Halfway or so we came to our first frozen lake, The Loch. I had never seen anything like that. Growing up a little under 500 feet above sea level, the largest body of water I had ever seen frozen could be described as a puddle. We quickly learned how fast and cold the wind blowing across the frozen lakes could get.
We carried on getting confused by the trail only a few times. Right before you get to Lake of Glass, you have to climb a rather steep hillside that could be called a low-grade cliff. This took us forever. Jesse and I at this point still had somewhat underdeveloped alpine lungs. Once we crested the top, we couldn't help but feel accomplished. We both explored a bit crossing over some slightly creaky ice. I continued past Lake of Glass and made my way to Sky Pond. Halfway in between the two, I broke through some ice soaking my right boot.
Once to Sky Pond, I had it all to myself. It was worth ever post hole I made to get there. I stayed as long as I could bear it, the wind chill seemed intentional on keeping me out. The whole area was incredible. The sky was clear and blue, and the wind was blowing snow flurries from the tops of the peaks around us. This was one of my favorite days.
Photography Date: 11-25-16
Writing Date: 2-28-18
