[iron]

after being couped up inside with the broken leg for the past 5.5 weeks of a summer sans rain, i couldn't take it anymore. i needed to head back to the place i love, the place that offers so much. at first, i thought: okay, little road walk to some lake, just to see some stars. then suggestions came in to hike to ridges or lakes a mile or so in length. eventually, baddog convinced me to try cutthroat pass since the pct would offer trail wide enough for my crutches - at least most of it. sure, why not? 5 miles and 2000' - no sweat.

destination in sight... at least on paper

sparing the details, let's just say it was challenging. it felt a lot like rock climbing - making sure each hold was sound. significant concentration and perserverance were called upon the entire day. creek crossings were definitely interesting.

nice views early on

hmm, crutching through a creek, eh?

the next task at hand

butt scootin' with the crutches across the log bridge

last "major" creek crossing

one of many "armpit and hands" breaks

i was surprised to find it only took 5.5 hrs to make it to the pass, and that was after a lot of breaks and talks with others passing by - including the streaking hiker with a hat in a useful spot.

views of the pass emerge

gorgeous green grass, boulders, and larch trees

views were great. skies were clear. wind kept the bugs down. what more could i ask for?

from the pass

one bad, one good leg

seeing the world through colored lenses

baddog carried up an additional 3L of water for me since all i could carry was 4L (not knowing whether or not i'd be able to get down to water to filter it). i lounged around for hours, soaking it all in. entering the trip, i was hopeful that something cathartic would emerge, or perhaps some new kind of appreciation would be had. alas, neither happened. i think two things happened: 1) the extraordinary concentration required, along with two throbbing hands and shoulders, sapped me; 2) mountains typically silence my mind - perhaps this is the reason why i love them so much in the first place. the sun set, stars came out, and i got everything i could ask for in the mountains. it was just wonderful out there in that bivy, minus the one mosquito trapped in my headnet.

baddog's tent and my bivy spot

with crutches this long, it's only one big leap to the tree over there

what i was in search of to begin this trip

the next morning, i rose to the lightening skies, breaking camp by 5:15. it was a struggle to get down as blisters began to form on my hands and tried their best to disuade me from continuing. i don't think i've been as relieved to see the car before as i was today. many thanks to baddog for driving me out and carrying up extra water. she has some "crutch action" pics, so i'm sure she'll post them soon enough

[Magellan]

I was thinking about you today while I was hiking. A good man cannot be kept down. That said, please be careful.

[Mark Griffith]

Way to get out, its an inspiration!

[the Zachster]

It must have been absolutely wonderful to be out there again...I'm so happy for you! And nice to have friends to help make it happen as well...good for you bad dog!

[gone]

What an amazing accomplishment, and so soon! Well done! And ditto on Magellan's "please be careful"!

[BPLlama]

Holy crutches!! I am just flabbergasted!!

[Mike Collins]

Did you park in the handicapped spot? The hospital must have given you a temporary sticker.

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Nice work, Iron. Good to see you back on the trail again.

[Hulksmash]

[raz2sea]

I'll echo Hulksmash's comments, bravo!!

[Highwalker's Daughter]

Beautiful place to go - crutches or no. You're an inspiration to all of us injured people. Funny your mentioning a streaker as we saw a naked hiker on the Mountain Loop today. We didn't quite believe what we were seeing at first, and all of his hiking buds were fully clothed.

[puzzlr]

Way to get out there, Iron. You remind me of a summer in college when I broke a wrist in a bike accident. Six weeks without rock climbing was unbearable. After only four I was "testing" my abilities on 5.9 with a wrist cast on!

[silly_traveler]

Dang! Sorry to hear about your broken leg, hope it heals up soon

[BadDog]

Mark and I stuck by Iron for the first creek and log crossing to make sure he didn't break another leg! But he wouldn't allow us to help out with his pack other than I was allowed to take some water up for him. However I knew there were many creeks on the trail so when we were out of sight, I emptied the water and then filtered it back into the platypus at Cutthroat Pass. Well, I guess he knows that now! I continued on the Snowy Lakes so that I could take the dogs for a dip and then got back to Cutthroat Pass to find him returning to camp from a side-trip. My favorite pic is the one where he looks like a giant cranefly.

the indomitable Iron

Mark

Baddog

Dogs at snowy lake

beautiful walk back to Cutthroat pass in evening light

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[Backpacker Joe]

Good Lord, hiking with crutches. Krazie!