The kindness of strangers

Sat Nov 9, 2013

Rachel went to bed last night on the first try last night, and slept until Momo's eyes opened... a cause for celebration and a great start to our 3 day weekend.  We packed the car at a leisurely pace and off we went... our first family adventure in quite some time.  Hooray!

We drove South through Denver and west on 285 on a beautiful sunny day.  Our destination: a cabin near Jefferson, CO that friends own.  A free stay in the middle of nowhere to relax and play as a family without work, internet, phone, stores, chores.

Somewhere up windy highway 285, just after Ava finally fell asleep, Rachel threw up.  All over the place.  Jason managed to pull over and we emptied half the car on the side of the road.  We used half a package of wipes cleaning up Rachel, her carseat, and everything that lived near her feet.  We cleaned up Nunu and the car, changed Rachel, and sat her back down over a towel.  Opened the windows and off we went.  Rachel was not the least bit upset - she was glad Nunu was clean and she wanted some more snack, please.

Ava woke up in all the ordeal so we pulled over up the road again to feed and change her.  I changed also and prepared for our next stop: Kenosha Pass.  Here I planned to run 8.5 miles point-to-point along the Colorado Trail, earning a section of the trail (I hope to complete all the sections in chunks), and getting in a longer run as I train for my upcoming half marathon.

I jumped out at Kenosha Pass, a popular trailhead, and off I went.  I had a running backpack with some extra clothes, water, food, and a Garmin watch to clock my miles.  Jason and the kids watched me run down the trail and then drove around to the finishing spot - Rock Creek Trailhead, and had a picnic lunch.

Right away I hit snow on the ground - not surprising for 10,000 ft but very few footprints and more difficult to find my way.  The Colorado Trail is so popular that I hadn't really looked at the trail route or brought a map with me of any kind.  No cell service in the area so I didn't bring a phone.  Right away I felt uncertain about my route, and tried a few game trails before finding a more worn path and followed it.  It didn't feel like I was going in the right direction, but I hoped the trail would turn right and head the other way soon.

It didn't.

I heard gun shots now and then and was reminded that hunters are out in full force these days.  I was scared of bears, moose, hunters, and being lost.  I continued to run cautiously as I clapped and sang and yelled my way along a beautiful creek.  I heard the highway traffic getting louder and louder, again telling me I was heading away from Jason and the car waiting for me down the valley.

I popped out at the highway and saw cars zooming by, back on highway 285 on the Denver side of Kenosha Pass.  I had run 4 miles, slowly and cautiously.  What to do?  I weighed my options:
1) Turn around and run 4 miles back up where I came from to Kenosha Pass and see if other hikers could help me contact Jason?  Possibly then run the 8.5 miles toward him and hope I found the right trail?
2) Go to the highway and flag down a car for help, borrowing a phone and getting a ride to a more useful place?
3) Run up the highway toward Kenosha Pass, getting in my run but also getting me back to a more helpful place.

I opted for #2 and ducked under a fence, ran along the highway, and then waited at a safer place with a pull out. I was pretty nervous at this point because I wasn't sure what strangers would offer me and I wasn't sure how to communicate with Jason.  I was pretty sure he was sitting at the Rock Creek trailhead with the girls, waiting for me and expecting me soon, but without cell service and no way of communicating.  The Rock Creek trailhead access was, of course, up some 4*4 dirt roads and I had no map of how to get there.

I tried to flag down a few cars without success, but then saw a friendly blue Subaru wagon approaching and stuck out my thumb.  The car pulled over and two guys my age or younger with a bike in the back asked me if I was ok.  Actually, they said "Is anyone hurt?" right away.  I jumped in the back and borrowed their phone and called Jason.  Left him a message and told him I would wait for him at the top of Kenosha Pass (my starting trailhead) until he came for me.

The guys let me out at the Pass, wished me luck, and there I waited.  I was sure Jason had no cell service and wasn't sure a) how long he would wait for me at the Rock Creek trailhead before deciding to move and b) where he could get cell service and c) how long Ava would be happy if it took us all afternoon/day to get in touch with each other.  Other tourists arrived from North Carolina and asked me for hiking tips.  I used their phone to try Jason again, but had no cell service from the top of the pass.  I approached two men doing a business deal of some kind and asked them for help.  They were locals and knew the area well, but weren't sure how to best help me.  We agreed I would get a ride with one to Jefferson, CO (bottom of the pass, on the way to the cabin) where there was cell service.  The other would continue to send a text message to Jason letting him know I was waiting at the Jefferson market.

When I arrived at Jefferson market, I called Jason again and he answered his phone.  I was so relieved to hear his voice and connect with him!

From Jason's perspective, things were not so dramatic.  He was having a great picnic lunch with the girls at the Rock Creek trailhead when he heard the phone ring.  He missed the first call, but was able to listen to my first voicemail and hear that I was back at the top of Kenosha Pass.  So he packed up the girls, put lunch on hold, and drove toward the pass.  Amazingly, just before he got out of cell service again going up the pass, he got another call and I was on the other end, asking him to come get me at Jefferson, CO.  So he got me in just a minute and all was well.

So we drove to the cabin, took 18 loads of all our stuff inside from the car, and got settled.  We were very thankful for the kindness of our friends to let us stay in their place for free.  It was very cold in the cabin (48F) and I was cold, sweaty, and we were all hungry and cold.  We got the hot water going and food out but couldn't get the heat going.  I had a hot shower and we all ate but no luck with the heat.  We called the owners and tried to talk switches and pilot lights and fuses over the phone.  Jason fiddled with everything for some time while I plugged in a little heat lamp and played with the girls near it.  Ava was tired and mad, but not very warm.  We put on puffy jackets and hats, but couldn't figure it out.  We are pretty sure the furnace was broken.  We could have fiddled with a fireplace and a plug in heater, but stoking the fire and dealing with wood and the girls and still being possibly cold all night didn't sound like much fun to us.  So we called it quits.  We packed our stuff all back in the car and drove off at about 4:30pm.  Both girls fell asleep right away in the car, and Jason and I watched a gorgeous sunset over the mountains.

We stopped at IHOP for dinner in Denver and Rachel had the best dining experience of her life.  By that I mean she ate well, sat still, played with Daddy, didn't complain, didn't shout or cry or run around the restaurant, and we could all stay at the table together to eat and enjoy our experience.  That was pretty exciting for us.  Especially since Rachel was really disappointed that we wouldn't be 'camping' at the cabin that night after all.

We drove home, put the girls to bed, and unpacked our stuff.

Now we're scheming about what we can do with the 2 remaining days of our weekend to salvage an adventure that doesn't cost much but can still be fun for our family.  Plus, I still have to run 8.5 miles, and Jason will want to run.  (By the way, every run I've done lately I still think something like "If Jason can run over 60 miles in one day, you can keep running another mile or two you big wimp!")

So we didn't have the best day and things didn't go as planned.  But I am very thankful that many things worked out as well as they did.  I know I should prepare for trail runs much more carefully, especially in areas I don't know well.  I am encouraged by the helpfulness of the strangers that I met today.  I was scared and uncertain, and met 6 people that were willing to help me without question and with amazing kindness.

I would like to figure out how to do something nice to thank those 6 people.  I have each of their phone numbers, but know nothing else about any of them.  Any ideas for ways to thank them simply via their phone number?  Can I send a gift card via text to their number with a thank you note?  I'll take any suggestions.