Salomon Stage 2: Vicksburg to Twin Lakes (via Hope Pass) 13.3 miles / 3,200 ft. elevation gain We left off Tuesday night with my newly established fear of being struck by lightning, 12,000 feet up a mountain side. (If you missed it, you can catch up on that story here: Stage 1 recap.) As if the prospect of climbing about 2,000 feet in 2 miles, reaching an altitude of 12,536 feet wasn’t enough for this sea level girl (who had previously never been higher than 4,000 feet up a mountain in her entire life)…now we’re adding potential lighting strikes into the mix. For those wondering after the last posts cliff hanger, we were told that *if* we felt the electricity in the air (I’m still not even sure what that means, and I hope to never find out), we were to crouch down in a little ball wherever we were, and wait it out. Uhhhhmmm. But let’s get back to camp. Geoff and I barely made it through dinner before crashing in our tent. Sleep came fast, but I did wake up before the alarm, somewhere around 5:00 am, shivering in my dual sleeping bags. That’s right, these two warm weather warriors brought TWO sleeping bags each: a cheap Wal-Mart brand thin mummy bag that was slipped inside a larger, name brand cold weather mummy bag. Unfortunately my bag totally lied about it’s 15 degree rating, as I was freezing. But that’s OK, it was all part of the adventure (at least, that’s what I told myself). We got dressed, packed our bags for the day, emptied the tent, and dropped off our duffle bags at the truck. Down the massive hill towards breakfast, which was fan-freaking-tastic. Let me tell you, TransRockies Run feeds you and feeds you WELL. And, not that I ever make excuses for what I eat, but I totally went hog wild on the buffet because: 120 miles and 20,000 feet of climbing at altitude = one hell of a metabolic rate. Eat up. Two pancakes, a huge serving of scrambled eggs, fruit salad, and one muffin later: I was ready to go. And Jen was ready to go. Geoff, on the other hand, had to use the bathroom, and insisted on using the port-a-potties at the top of the massive hill, instead of waiting in the lines for the bathrooms at the bottom of the hill. Jen and I, wanting to save our legs for the intense stage we had ahead of us, decided to wait at the base of the hill, next to line where we would be boarding the shuttles to the start. The shuttles arrived, and we watched as countless people slowly filled up the GOOD shuttles. You know, the little luxury ones with individual seats that were SURELY heated on this very bitter, cold morning. We watched them slowly fill and shut their doors, as the two of us stood shivering at the bottom of the hill, willing Geoff (out loud, at that) to […]