Welcoming 2010

My alarm started ringing at 7:00am this morning.  It was cold enough outside of my down cocoon that I tried to ignore it and wait for it to turn off.  But it just kept ringing.  I managed to get an arm out, then another, and finally extinguished the source of the noise.  C and I scrunched up close together, as close as our sleeping bags would allow at least, and drifted away for another hour of troubled sleep.  Everything was cold – the kind of cold that entices you to put on more clothes, if only your clothes could be accessed without exposure to the air.

Go back 24 hours.  Early on New Year’s Day we’re driving out to Reimer’s Ranch, after having avoided excessive NYE craziness.  First car in the park!  It was ridiculously cold.  Pulling on limestone felt like pulling on icicles.  Sharp and painful pins and needles shooting through your fingers and toes.  We laughed and climbed through it, stalling a little while we waited for the sun to peek over the side of the cliff.  We climbed on prototype, then hiked over to dead cats looking for sunshine.  We met up with my new friends Jens and Hanne, from Denmark, climbed a little more, and shared a few more laughs.

Around 3:30pm we left Reimer’s, taking a scenic shortcut towards Lake Travis and Pace Bend Park.  We wanted to find a site and get camp set up before dark.  Overlooking Giles Cove, we found a perfect spot perched next to the cliff, right over the water.  After a quick foray for firewood, and two matches later, our home for the evening was well established.  We peeled and chopped potatoes, onions, a beautiful butternut squash, and prepped a beautiful orange bell pepper for roasting – all on the open fire.  I liked showing C a few of the skills from my slightly less orthodox upbringing…  We sat close to the fire, looking at the stars, and watching the moon peek over the horizon, climbing higher and higher into the sky.

It was getting colder outside, and soon we opted for warm sleeping bags instead of our dwindling fire.  We laughed and talked about little things for a while, wishing we were in a smaller and warmer tent, then drifter into a cold and fitful sleep.  Around 8:00am, when we had finally had enough, I emerged from relative warmth and shimmied into cold clothes.  I grabbed my shoe – the toe sticking out from under the tent, and we laughed for a while when we saw it was covered in frost.  The entire rain fly, inside and out, was covered with a nice layer of ice.  We stepped outside into a frosty mess, the lake next to us looking like a scene from Scotland, with a thick fog blowing over it.  It got down to 25 degrees; no wonder we were cold.  Our plans for climbing that morning changed before we got out of the sleeping bags, but at least they became sensible when we stepped outside.

I’m realizing special things each day, and I realized a few during our short New Year’s trip, but the best thing I’ve come to terms with is how lucky I am to be in the company of such a fantastic person.  All of my friends are great people, but few have ever gotten through to me like she does.  2010 is going to be a big year for me.  I’m going to transform a small garden into a forest.  I’m going to take this life and run with it.  And the inspiration and support to do so isn’t just in me this time.  Happy New Year everyone.