frozen

56:365

We hiked with snowshoes a little over three miles to Mills Lake (elevation 10,400). Once there, we were rocked by 50-60 mph gusts of wind carrying snow. It felt like my face was being sand-blasted. The only thing to do was turn my back to the wind and brace. That worked well until the winds changed direction suddenly. At one point Lynn and I both held on to our guide's pack (to keep it from blowing away while he chased his hat that had blown away), and leaned back into the wind. I don't know how far I leaned, but let's just say that if there were no wind I'd have been flat on my butt.

We stood on three to four feet of solid ice and grinned at each other between gusts. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.