Music:
Jose Gonzales - Far Away (Instrumental Cover)
youtu.be/LWAWreg71GU
Neil Young - Dead Man Soundtrack, Solo 2
youtu.be/kNPF3lq7uno
Laura Ortman - Spring
scissortail.bandcamp.com/track/spring-2
flimed with a chest mounted gopro.
i tried to match the music to the way i felt when i was there, the music starts out slow and relaxed and eventually becomes more tired and fatigued.
Video part one can be watched here
flic.kr/p/2jMGsK2
Part 10
Elevation is around 13,000 feet
Gradually we ascended the sandy trail towards the Summit of Langley.
The clouds blocked the hot sun, cooling the air, and I was grateful. The landscape of the ridge is one of beautiful desolation, comprised of decomposed granite and rocky outcroppings, with small, resilient, earth hugging plants clinging to life in the harsh environment. The wind is also ever-present.
We soon reached a place where we could leave the trail and divert course away from the summit and instead make our way to where we could begin our descent into the Soldier Lake Basin. From here we got our first glimpse of Upper Solider Lake far below with a forest growing on it's northern shore.
The trail now began to switchback down loose sandy slopes. The angle of descent steepened and all the sand made the trail slippery. At first we were relieved that the uphill was now behind us, but with each switchback our relief faded more and more, the downhill climb was turning out to be more difficult than than we first thought. We could feel our legs beginning to tremble from fatigue and our arms as well since we were using hiking polls to brace ourselves on the steep slope, but on and on we pushed forward.
Soon we saw a meadow, far below us, appear from behind the mountainside, where the steep trail would finally flatten. It was however still a long ways off. The clouds now threatened rain and a distant rumble of thunder shook the mountains. We stopped to cover our packs and put our jackets on, as we did we were relieved to take our heavy packs off, even if just for a short while. Soon we put them back on and continued.
Back and forth the trail went as it switched-backed down the mountain, back and forth. Our shaky, fatigued legs begging us to stop for a longer break. The far away meadow creeping ever closer. Eventually, Hester just stopped and sat down on a rock. I joined him.