Walden Ponder

The Day I Decided to Climb a Gorge

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As some of you know, I recently did a little light hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s been a great experience but the standard trails just weren’t enough. One day a large group of us went for what was supposed to be a simple hike to Sky Pond and back. In total it should have been less than 20 miles. Here’s how it went.

To get to end of the trail, Sky Pond, I basically followed the trail. Two of the three waterfalls I decided to climb instead of walking around them. The third waterfall was mandatory to climb so no extra points there. Once you get to Sky Pond you find yourself standing at the bottom of a giant rock bowl, part of it being a glacier. Surfacing on the other side of the pond from my friends, due to climbing the final waterfall, I found myself in the perfect situation for an adventure.

Earlier in the hike I was hanging back at The Loch with Bob and talking about the giant ridge we saw towering over the left side of the trail. At one point there even seemed to be what looked like a cave. A few hundred yards down I thought I saw what was a dip or a pass over the ridge. Bob and I talked about different areas of the park and what might possibly be on the other side of that ridge. I mentioned the possibility of climbing over it. Without missing a beat he told me that if I do he doesn’t want to be a part of it. Smart man.

As I surfaced on the other side of the pond I just happened to be standing at the base of this towering ridge. I couldn’t think of a better way to end my hike than with a scramble up this wall. Just under three hours later I found myself nearing the top of the ridge. Thankful to have not seen any snakes on my way up I considered myself pretty lucky. The toughest part of the climb up was just near the top. The rocks got pretty big and it was nearly a vertical climb. Under normal conditions it would just be a matter of pulling myself to the top of the rocks but the wind was blowing pretty hard so I needed to be careful enough not to blow off.

Once at the top of the ridge I found myself in a granite saddle about 5 feet wide. Unfortunately, I couldn’t walk along the ridge very far. If I could have, I would have been able to reach the summit of Thatchtop Mountain. Okay, the view was pretty kick-ass and now it was time to get down, somehow. I could have gone back down the way I came up but my friends had already left and obviously I had been down that path. The only logical choice left was to descend down the other side of the ridge into what I thought was Black Lake. I would probably come out on the other side of the lake from the trail but I could scale the ledge of the lake and meet up with the trail in just a few hours. It was getting late, about 1:00 now and I would need to hurry if I wanted to avoid the storms that rolled in around 2:00 every day. Down I went.

The problem with descending down this side of the ridge is that it didn’t really have a rock incline like the side that I climbed up. The initial drop was vertical and best I could tell was about 200 feet down. Not exactly something I could just jump to the bottom of. I had to make a decision to either descend to the left or right of where I was. Once I started the descent I wouldn’t be able to turn back because the ledges were too high to climb back up. I made a choice and went towards the right. Down the first ledge was fairly easy. I kicked some rocks on the wall and once I was confident they weren’t going to fall off I used them as handles to lower myself down. With my arms extended completely above my head I was only 4 or 5 feet from the floor of the next ledge. Dropping down I landed on my feet and grabbed the rock wall for some added stability. I was still a long way down from the bottom and losing my balance would most likely be deadly. I was also thankful to still have not seen any snakes in the rock crevices that I was using for handles on my climb down. The next 8 or 9 ledges were a bit more complex but the idea was the same. I started needing to toss my pack down to the next ledge so I could be more maneuverable as I shimmied down the rocks. I would look for a V shape and press my back up against one side while I pushed with my hands and feet on the other side. Keeping pressure on both my back and feet allowed me to slowly slide down the rock face.

It was nearly 2:00 and thankfully the skies were still clear. I was at the bottom of the rock face but still at the top of the boulder field. I basically sat down and let the rocks roll under me. It was fast and effective. Reaching the first lake at the bottom of this gorge I couldn’t find a trail. I figured this must be the last lake and not many people climb it, hence the lack of a trail. The best way to find my way back to the trail was to follow the water so I circled the lake and climbed down the waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful because it was one giant slab of granite set next to another and the water just fanned over the ledge. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I found a dry slab of granite and slid down. No way to go back up now.

Once over the waterfall I still couldn’t find a trail so I just kept following the stream of water. It lead me further down and into the forest. At least I was below tree line so if a storm blew in I would be much less likely to be struck by lightening. My biggest fear at this point was wild animals. I could see paw prints in the mud along the stream and there was bear scat everywhere I looked. I was just waiting to startle a bear or mountain lion and then the fun would really begin. The knife I had with me would be pretty much useless against an animal looking for lunch.

My other fear was that it was now getting late. Nearly 3:00 as I made my way through the forest. The group back at the cabin would be getting worried and may call the Ranger with a report of a missing person. The last thing I wanted was a helicopter rescue so I had to keep on moving and get back to the trailhead as quickly as possible. The forest was filled with the same granite slabs angled too steep to walk on. I would find a crack in the slab and shove the heel of my boot in to keep from sliding down. Frequently, one slab ended 2 or 3 feet from where the next slab started creating a crevice. I don’t know how deep they went down but I do know that I couldn’t see the ground and I didn’t want to¬†accidentally¬†slide down.

Making my way through the forest I stayed close to the waterfalls. I knew this would lead me back to the main lakes but I probably had a better chance of running into an animal. It was getting late and I needed to hurry. As I got to another ridge I could see a hiker in the distance. I can never remember being so excited to see another human being. I knew I was getting close and had to hurry. Descended down a few more cliffs and it was a plateau. Seemed like a good idea to sprint and I ran as fast as I could to get back to the trail. Not really sure where along the trail I was, I just started running downhill. It was almost 5:00 now and I’m sure the group was getting worried. Turns out that I was a good 4+ miles from the trailhead. I jogged the entire way back in hopes that they hadn’t called the Ranger yet.

Reaching the trailhead I sent a text message to Nancy asking her to call off the helicopter search. Upon arriving back at the cabin it was time for a cold beer and a much deserved nap. Without a doubt, that was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done. Looking back, the descent down the ledges at the top of the ridge would be categorized as a class 5 climb which would normally require safety gear such as helmets and ropes. Of course, I had none. While I’m glad to have accomplished the feat, I never should have made it down that ridge without cracking my skull open. I’ve decided that it would be a good idea to get some training and learn how to properly do what I’ve already¬†accomplished.

Tags: Rock Climbing