Hiking with new eyes

So far in my blogging journey I have yet to blog about hiking.  That's sort of surprising.  Hiking is a big part of my life here in the Rocky Mountains and my hiking time is a time when I do a lot of thinking.  May 6th was a particularly special hike because it was my first hike of my life without corrective lenses.  A few weeks ago  I went under the laser and had my eyes transformed to the point where after 49 years of wearing lenses I no longer need to wear them.  Pretty exciting right?  The procedure was such a success that I decided to go hiking the very net day..

I started out my hike with the intention of hiking a few miles up to a Salt Lake Valley viewpoint.  A beautiful hike that takes on a lot of forest views, rocky pathways, and finally a beautiful view of the valley.  From my memory of the last time I did the hike (last fall and I've only done the hike once) I remembered it taking about 2 hours.  With my last hike I wasn't as 'hiking strong'.  I've been hiking often over the past 2 months so I figured this time I could do the hike in under 2 hours EASILY.

As I started off (around 7:45 AM) I realized I should put re-wetting drops in my eyes (the surgery requires resetting drops every hour for the next week) at around 8 AM.  I started up the trail smelling the beautiful pines and taking in all the sites.  I was excited to be lens free and seeing all the beautiful surroundings.  At about 8 AM I stopped and looked in my pack for the re-wetting drops that I remembered putting in my pack.  Well, I wasn't remembering very well.  I remembered getting the drops to put them in my pack but I never got farther than that.  Damn.  Hiking without the drops.  I actually had the plastic bag I was going to put a partially used drop container in but what use was that bag without the drops?  I thought back to the doctor telling me how important the drops were and how when I go on an airplane on Sunday I should actually use the drops every 15 minutes because the airplane air will dry out my eyes.  So I figured the no drops thing was pretty serious.  But I didn't want to stop my hike!  I decided I would hike another 15 minutes and then turn around.  That would give me a total of an hour.  As I hiked I blinked hard, in hopes of producing some tears that would moisten my eyes.  It worked- kind of....  As I got to the 1/2 hour point I was really disappointed!  I figured on the 2 hour hike scale I was already 1/2 way up the mountain and I didn't really want to stop.  I mused over the fact that a hike is still a hike even when you only go for 1 hour total. I'm still going to be a hiker, there will be other times I can hike, the world isn't over, etc.  At the same time I REALLY wanted to see that view and the morning was beautiful.  I came up with a MacGyver-esque (If you don't know the show MacGyver then google it) solution.  I decided to pour some of my drinking water OVER my closed eyelids to stimulate the eye drops.  The water had come from my kitchen tap and I had put my mouth on the bottle opening but so what right?  I mean my mouth is still my body like my eyes are my body.  With this crazy justification I proceeded to pour the water over my eyelids.  It actually felt pretty good and I continued to hike.  

A short while later I came to a sign for a split in the trail.  One way was the trail I was going on and the other was a trail that went deeper into the woods.  There was just one problem.  Here's what the way toward my trail looked like-

I figured that couldn't be right!  I chose to go the alternate way.  After about 50 ft. that alternate way I could see how the other trail continued past the boulder wall.  I went back, grateful that I had hiking poles and I scaled the boulder wall.  I continued on my way.  The path seemed to be headed toward the break in the mountain tops where the lookout should be until it wasn't.  Suddenly the switchback turned around and went back in toward the mountain.  I was confused and frustrated.  Why would I have to go back into the mountain?  I wanted to go to the lookout!  I followed the trail.  I realized my hour had passed.  Still mo lookout.  My eyes were getting dry again.  Oh well, I had already contaminated them with my drinking water what difference would another contamination make?  I doused them again.  As the trail continued my legs started to get tired.  Soon I started to get passed by runners coming down the mounting.  Runners?  How dear they really?  I was plodding along carefully steeping over boulders and they were running?  Maybe they only run on the downhill.  Then I started to feel like I needed to poop.  Perhaps THIS was why I carried that plastic bag?  No way.  I was holding out for ceramic fixtures.  I decided I really didn't need to poop that bad, it was my body trying to trick me into turning back.  After 2 eye dousings and following this crazy trail over an hour now there was no way I was going back.  Well maybe....if it got to 90 minutes and I hadn't seen the view yet I was going to turn back.

After a few false hopes of the switchback turning back toward the break in the mountain tops I saw this site next to me-

I decided if I had to turn around I could at least say I saw snow.  Then finally (about 89 minutes in there it was.  The Salt Lake Valley Overlook-

It was great to have made it and to recognize my journey was worthwhile.  Needless to say, the journey back was pretty easy.  Except I still had to poop.  Also, I dropped my phone out of my pack when I was getting the water for another eye contamination.  Luckily the phone didn't fall too far off the trail into the ravine and I was able to climb down and get it (these photos being published is proof of that).  I saw many more people and dogs on the way down and I didn't use my hiking poles at all (except for coming down the boulder wall).  It took 75 minutes to come down the hill but all in all the stats were pretty good-

I look forward to more hikes with my new eyes.  I will expect the unexpected and continue to improvise.  Live in the moment and live in the mountains.