I was doing everything to keep moving and to keep LC in my sight. I was struggling to catch my breath. We were only minutes into the first climb to reach Grizzly Peak. I was not feeling my best. It felt like my first time on a mountain.
After driving to Ribbon Creek and realizing the trails were closed, we headed back down Hwy 40 to the Grizzly Peak trailhead. It was only a short drive and I needed a Plan B. LC has never done the peak so I thought what the heck. This is one of my favourite short grinds.
This morning, though, I was really struggling to catch my breath. I had been sick the week before and thought I was over it, but my lungs were telling me otherwise. I had to stop often, taking break after break just to regain control of my breathing.
Thankfully LC didn’t mind my slow pace. Eventually I got myself together just in time to round the corner into full winter conditions. The first two kilometres were snow free then the trails became progressively more snowy and icy.
We carefully made our way over the slippery patches before putting on our Kahtoolas for the final push to the saddle. We were met with knee-deep snow and fierce winds. Fortunately, we ran into a trio of guys coming down earlier who had broken trail ahead of us, which made the slog a little easier. Still, there was no avoiding the deep snow, so we trudged through as best as we could.
At the summit, the wind paused brief period, but make no mistake – it was cold. We took a few pictures before running/sliding down to the saddle. The ascent wasn’t as bad as we feared but we were now dealing with mud as the snow and ice had melted slightly.
Besides struggling to catch my breath, the highlight of this Grizzly Peak excursion was spotting a pack of Bighorn Sheep. I don’t know what it is but I love watching the sheep in the wild.
