Double dose

Wow today was some day.  After eating another free breakfast in the crowded hotel lobby Cindy and I pushed out for a nearby local park.  We wanted to see if we could hike Smelter Mountain which was behind it.  It turned out parking at the park wasn’t the best spot to get on the other side of the Animas River.  We had to walk close to 3/4 of a mile to get to the bridge that crosses it.

So we had done no research on what Smelter Mountain held for hiking.  Luckily we quickly spotted a defined trail that looked like it was used by both mountain bikers and hikers.  We headed upward with a loose goal of reaching the top, even though it looked like there were sheer vertical rock formations at various spots.

Early on the hike was ok with some spots that were catch your breath steep.  The higher we got the more difficult it was to distinguish the path.  There were also various trenches going up the mountain that must be where the water flows during heavy rain.  Eventually we ran out of distinguishable path.  If we wanted to continue higher our only option was the more treacherous drainage trench. I wanted to keep going.

So up the trench we went.  The higher we got, the steeper and more treacherous the terrain became.  We were not hiking at this point, we were doing a combo of crawling and rock climbing.  You had to be EXTREMELY aware of what you were placing your foot on and you wanted to supplement each upward movement with a firm hand hold on something else.

We had on no safety gear of course.  The higher and higher we got I became increasingly aware of just how dangerous of a spot we were putting ourselves in.  The areas that were difficult to ascend were going to be even more difficult if we have to come back down the same way.  My initial hope was we could reach the top and then walk over to a face that was not so steep.

The higher we got the more nervous Cindy was getting.  Some spots required some very precise and careful movements to get past. Literally in some areas one misstep could have been disastrous.  I felt pretty confident in my ability to handle the obstacles but I felt bad to drag Cindy into my tunnel vision goal to get to the top.

So after a very difficult last 100 feet we were at the base of a sheer rock face.  As I surveyed it I saw potential ways to navigate my way to the top.  I did not see a way to have Cindy do it.  She was really scared at this point.  I considered and re-considered trying to scale the rocks above me.  In the end the old man in me won out, realizing the stupidity of trying that climb with no safety gear, no knowledge of the stability of the rocks, and no guarantee that there was something above what I could see that I could manage.  Even if I could get up there, it was far too risky to have Cindy try to do the same.

So that left us with one option, go back down the way we came.  It was very, very challenging.  For the most part I stayed below Cindy so I could help guide her foot placements and be a human safety net if need be.  To maintain yourself on the trail you had to do a basically do a bear crawl in reverse.  Trying to judge the stability of foot holds while looking down and back is not very easy.

Finally after what felt like a very long time we got back down to where the trail met up.  By the time we got back down to the bottom of the mountain we were pretty exhausted and beat up.  As we looked up at the terrain we climbed and the spot where we stopped it was bitter sweet. When we saw the angle of ascent we climbed and how close we got to the top it felt good.  There was just a small tinge of regret I didn’t test if I could handle that final rock formation, despite knowing how foolish it would be.

I flew my Phantom around some more after the hike in the nearby park.  Here is where you can see the video.

We headed back to the hotel and had one of what has been a small number of annoyances including the 4:15 check in, a hair dryer that only runs for 30 seconds at a time, pubic hair in the tub and more.  This time both of our room key cards stopped working.  When we went to the front desk they said that their cards are very sensitive and are easily broken if they are kept in a wallet with other credit cards or if it is too close to a phone.  That is sort of dumb.

So after taking a shower we decided to try the other edible THC we bought, granola bars.  They were little squares, each one supposedly including 10 milligrams of THC, just like the fish.  At this point I had tried what should have been a 15mg and 20mg dosing with the fish and felt nothing of consequence.  So to me it seemed reasonable to down three of the squares and let Cindy have the other two.  They did not taste good at all, requiring water to help wash down the marijuana taste.  We figured like the fish, if you felt anything it would be after a couple hours.  I was confident I still wouldn’t be affected significantly based on my reaction to the gummy fish.  We figured we could go eat some lunch and then maybe just walk around downtown Durango feeling “happy”.

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant.  By the time we got there Cindy was really feeling the effects of the bars it was hitting her much harder than the fish did.  As we were sitting at the table she would bust out laughing at anything.  She had a difficult time speaking and when the food arrived, using a fork and knife to cut her chimichanga was at the absolute limit of her current motor skills ability.

I still felt normal, maybe just a little sillier than normal.  I was making fun of Cindy as she tried to function.  We decided that we should just go back to the hotel.  As time went on my symptoms intensified.  My vision at one point became like a 2D video screen.  Then after awhile the 2D images got beveled edges.  Finally the entire picture was at an angle.

I had a lot of confusion going on, my thoughts were all over the place. There were gaps in my recent memory. My body started to feel like I had a lead blanket on me and my skin felt warm.  As we laid down in the bed we were both just feeling whacked out.  Before you knew it we were both passed out for 3 hours in the middle of the afternoon.  I just had my first confirmed THC high.

After we woke up I still didn’t feel like getting up.  It took a lot of prodding from Cindy.  I now understand why regular pot smokers are generally lazy.  I just didn’t feel like moving at all.  Eventually the cobwebs cleared and we headed to town.  After a trip to Starbucks for some coffee we had a nice Italian dinner at a place recommended by both of the baristas at Starbucks.

Tomorrow it is alarm clock time again.  We have over 500 miles to cover tomorrow with a visit to White Sands mixed in there.  Our time in Durango has felt very quick but we both have enjoyed our time here a bunch.  After today we return to drive, drive, drive mode.