I hit my usage limit on Claude late yesterday afternoon and got locked out until 12:30am. That put a damper on things for a few hours, but when that happens I usually need it. I need to be slowed down a little. I didn't quite finish the third Hi-Fi Lonesome video.
At 3:30pm, when I got locked out of Claude, I suddenly realized if I didn't go to the lake right then it wasn't going to happen. Changed clothes, made an electrolyte potion, grabbed an extra jacket. The back tire was low so I filled it from the van's air compressor and headed out. About a mile up the trail I sensed the tire losing air faster than expected. At 1.6 miles I confirmed it: losing air fast, shouldn't continue. I thought about ditching the bike and walking up, but knew the tire would be completely flat by the time I came back down and I'd have a long walk with a 65 pound dead weight. So I tried to ride back to camp before it gave out entirely. Made it about half a mile before it went completely flat.
I decided to walk up anyway. Found a dead tree just off the side of the road and slowly lowered the bike down to rest against it, out of sight. Then I started climbing.
It was surprisingly challenging. Our camp was at 9,300 feet. The lake sits at 12,000. Steep incline, thin air, plenty of breaks. Spectacular though. I stopped at a waterfall about four-fifths of the way up at 5:30pm. While I was sitting there a Bronco passed me heading up. I hiked the remaining mile and made it to the lake. Just a stunning place to sit and be present. The Bronco had made it up a crazy steep hill to reach the water and was parked there. The driver was off on a hike and his passenger was managing her dog. We started chatting. I went off to fly the drone.
My plan was to wait for them to leave, fly for five or ten minutes, then head down. Just as it looked like they were rolling out, the woman got out and asked if I wanted a ride down. My first reaction was no, I'm good, which is often my knee-jerk when something is offered to me. But I quickly did the math. It was 6:15pm. I still had 3.5 miles back to the bike and then another 1.5 pushing a 65 pound bike with a flat tire off the rim. I took five minutes to fly the drone, got some great footage, and piled in.
As soon as I got in I realized we'd be descending that impossibly steep hill. No visible tire prints, no indication of a road or even a path. My drone was nearly out of battery but I put it in the air and captured the descent. Got some great footage under time and battery pressure. These were Cody and Jen from Vail, and their sweet 3.5 year old border collie Pella. So kind of them.
I had the bike pinned in both OnX and Gaia. It took us right there. We retrieved it from down the slope, lifted it over the top, and Cody tied it into the open roof of the Bronco with rope. I didn't fully realize until that moment how much hassle they'd saved me. Thanks Cody and Jen, if you ever come across this. I should have gotten their information when they dropped me off. They had me back at camp by 7:15pm. I hadn't eaten a single bite all day.
I made tacos, had a brief recap with Shannon, who had done a 9 mile hike to two other lakes that she said was incredible, and called it a night. I don't think I've adequately described the beauty of that hike. Hopefully the footage does it justice. I have enough to make a proper YouTube video about the excursion.
Move day today. About a 30 minute pack. Then I'll put on the new Hi-Fi Lonesome song that was made for just such an occasion and turn up the volume. We're going through Silverton first, Shannon has an errand and I want to fly the drone over town briefly. Then the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray. I'll do my best to document the drive.