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Picked the 14 mile ridge over the valley trail in the Winds, and my knees filed a complaint
Two years back I had a permit for the Wind River Range and two ways to get to the same lake: a 14 mile ridge walk with big views or a 9 mile valley route with shade. I picked the ridge because a guy at the trailhead in Pinedale said the valley was 'a green tunnel with mosquitoes the size of sparrows.' He was right about the ridge views, but I forgot that 14 miles of rocky up and down with a 35 pound pack turns your legs into noodles by mile 10. Took me 11 hours instead of the 7 I planned, and I ate my emergency Snickers sitting on a rock at dusk. Anyone else pick the hard route when a stranger gives you a one liner at the trailhead?
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evan_green5219d ago
That trailhead stranger thing gets me every time because they always sound so sure of themselves. What saved me on a similar knee-killer was shortening my pace and eating every hour whether I felt hungry or not, plus trekking poles on the downhills, which cut the pounding a lot. Those noodles legs usually mean you went out too fast early and didn't fuel enough, not that the route was too hard. Next time give yourself the 11 hour window from the start and the ridge is way more fun.
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