Intense

So I didn't want to go sailing. It was raining, the water was rough, and I definitely hadn't dressed for the weather. Still, at sailing camp, they make you sail, so four of us campers went out on the water in the Puffer. The water kept splashing into me, and we stubbornly kept our boat just floating right off the dock. The wind picked up, and I sat in my puddle on that boat just shivering away.

That's the memory I always think about whenever I feel really cold (often at bus stops in Chicago). I always think about this, saying to myself:
Ted: "Well hey, this isn't as cold as that, right?"
Theo: "No, I guess not but THIS IS STILL FREEZING."

Well yesterday, my little conversation went a bit like:
Ted: "Well hey, this isn't as cold as that, right?"
Theo: "OH MY GOSH IT REALLY IS AND IT'S GETTING COLDER!"




But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So we head off towards those Rockies.

And these don't count! I could be sitting on a couch for all you know.

Well, I made it into the Rockies, and the climbs were beautiful. Gorgeous mountains all around.

Those Rockies are mammoth, and up close, any given peak is so different from all the rest.

Another picture of yours truly with those beautiful peaks.

The roads seemed to have a surprise at every turn, and though the inclines slowed me down a bit, it only gave me more time to enjoy the scenery.

Hey more bikers! (Jason, Nick)

At the campsite in Saint Mary's, the wind complicated things. (Cydney)

Yeah, we camped out right next to that view.

A few of us took a swim in Lake St. Mary. The water was frigid to the point that once I fully submerged myself, my whole body was numb. It felt awesome after a hot day of climbing. (Physnick, my head)

As the sun began to go down, the mountains looked even more amazing. (Jason, Eileen, Nick)

That night, a few of us laid down to look up at the stars. I had no idea there were so many. I saw 5 shooting stars that night. And a satellite.

The next day was the day I have been most excited about. One, cuz Jay had the camera, and two, the Going-to-the-Sun Road. This picture embodies both :)

As does this one, but note the clouds and the wet ground getting wetter.

There we are in front of an amazing view.

So that story in the beginning. This is what happened. The rain started coming down harder and harder as I climbed higher and higher (and the air around me got colder and colder). Finally, I reached the peak, as I was shivering. There was a little museum there, so I stopped by and put on more clothes. I then went off to descend the mountain. It was frigid. The temperature was in the low forties, the wind was getting at me, and the rain was hitting me all over my underclothed self. There were shuttles going down the mountain, and I'd decided to get on one. It didn't have a bike rack though, so I decided to just go down. The coldest experience of my life. I stopped a couple times. My left foot had gone numb (not just super cold, mind you) and I'd recently read a book about Rulon Gardner who had his feet frostbitten. I was genuinely concerned. I'd even stopped by the road to take off my shoes in the cold rain to warm up my feet. I ended up stuffing some boxers in my left sock, stuffing a handkerchief in my right sock, and wrapping my left (braking) hand with basketball shorts.

I'm gonna go ahead and stop writing about it now, because I can't really express how intense that whole experience was on this library computer with a timelimit. I was thinking about videotaping myself in the cold but I wasn't sure if I'd even be alive to enjoy it later on :D.

Anyway, the descent on the Going-to-the-Sun Road is the most intense experience I've ever had in my life.

The next day, we had a build day. For lunch, Cydney's aunt (Hello, it was so nice to meet you!!) generously catered vastly vast amounts of sandwiches, salad, pasta, desserts, vegetables, hummus, dips, all kinds of things. Sadly, I was so excited about the food I didn't take a picture of it. But there's the aftermath.

There were several groups volunteering that day, including a group of people affiliated with Lewis and Clark College and a group of Care-a-Vanners. I opted to help out at the ReStore, and we moved merchandise to and from the warehouse and the store. (Eileen, Rachel, Jay)

There we are in a truck. (Rachel, Ali, Matt, Jay with a hammer, Jason, Wade, Kat?, Laura?, Eileen, Jeremy, Jocelyn)

This morning, a few of us decided to stop by Whitefish Lake, which is the biggest natural lake west of the Great Lakes (uncited). (Cydney, Nick, Ashley, Laura)

As I'd expected, it was beautiful. Western Montana is beautiful. (Cydney, Jeremy)

Today's ride had some rain and it was cold (Fahrenheit fifties), but I just thought of that ride in Glacier:
Ted: "Well hey, this isn't as cold as that, right?"
Theo: "Nope. Not. At. All."