Above the Clouds

(brief update before I start on the full adventure of this weekend- really enjoyed salsa dancing Thursday night- didn't get near enough sleep for the 8am I had Friday morning. Stayed in Friday night because I know I had a good weekend ahead of me!)Btw.. I bought a guitar!

8am- Departure for randonnée!
I was still so tired from the lack of sleep the last two days that I took a short nap on the bus going to our destination. The mountains glistened with dew, but my eyes were so tired I wasn't able to watch the sun hit the high mountains.
I didn't realize that we were staying in a building much like dorms. I had packed for an excursion much like we had done the last time- although this time it was much colder- with a sleeping bag, extra warm clothes, lots of packaged food, etc. At least we got to drop off our big packs before we headed up the mountain.
There were 3 groups.
Facile, Difficile, and Hard Core- well, of course you know me, I decided to go for the Hard Core and wheww let me tell you. It kicked my butt!
The mountains were gorgeous, the landscape amazing, and the fresh air- breath taking!
The 65 degree slope nearly the entire time, already tired legs, and over 2000 meters (6,500 feet) of hiking, and not to mention the unbelievably powerful wind that's so cold it causes everything to frost- let's just say it was definitely a challenge- and probably one of the coolest experiences of my life! Surprisingly, I didn't get cold at all. Maybe it was the fact that every ounce of blood in my body was circulating, my heart was racing and I had on 4 layers?
While descending the mountain- I literally felt like I was there at the beginning of the world. The sun rays beaming through the clouds, the windy river between the mountains, the air that tasted so fresh- It was the land before time.
And I wanted to take in every part of it.

Thank God that Alicia had an extra pair of gloves or else I would have died this weekend. Did I mention I left my brand new pair sitting right on the bench next to where my hiking bag was? Today Diana asked if I found them- I just laughed and said, "yes, I found them went I went back two days later to the tram stop, when it's cold outside and the gloves were brand new! I hope they at least ended up on the hands of someone who need them more than I." Although I doubt that was relevant for this weekend.
Anywho, I was so tired by the time we got back to our building that I literally didn't want to move. I actually fell asleep at the table during dinner and when I told everyone I was going to take a quick nap before the soiree, they had no idea my "quick" naps were 4 hours long! I didn't wake up until 2am to find a lot of people still awake dancing downstairs. My butt hurt so bad that there was no possibility of me groovin' so I went back to sleep about 25 min. later. If only I could get that good of sleep every night!

The next morning was great. I woke up around 9am and headed down for breakfast to find that absolutely no one was there! So instead of trying to go back to sleep, I started a fire and made a hot cup of tea. Man did tea do wonders this weekend!
So I curled up in a chair by the fire for sometime until finally, one by one, people started to venture in to enjoy le petit déjeuner.
Around 11:30am, those of us who signed up, set out for the Accro-Branche (rope course). So for an hour, I swung around in the trees like a monkey and climbed through rocks, wondering how in the world I was managing it with how much my muscles already hurt!? I lost a glove halfway through, but managed just fine, doing the more intense course as well!
It was such a cool experience, I think I would do it every day if I could!
The rest of the day consisted of sitting around the fire, drinking more tea, taking a little walk and then heading back to Grenoble.
Although we were only (technically) gone for 1.5 days, it felt like we had taken a week long trip, and I was very much ready to lay in bed and relax.
Unfortunately something I wasn't able to do with all the crap that needed to get done- still haven't finished by the way.
As commented:
[10:26:55 PM] Kristi Hall: gotta finish this stuff
[10:26:55 PM] Kristi Hall: need to finish the blog to get it off my mind
[10:26:59 PM] Kristi Hall: to finish my internship application
[10:27:03 PM] Kristi Hall: to start on my expose
[10:27:08 PM] Kristi Hall: to think about washing clothes
[10:27:11 PM] Kristi Hall: in order to pack
[10:27:20 PM] Kristi Hall: in order to finish my expose by the time I leave
[10:27:28 PM] Kristi Hall: and still have some time to sleep
[10:27:36 PM] Kristi Hall: and get things I need before I go
[10:27:45 PM] Kristi Hall: like the gloves I lost the day after I bought them
[10:28:13 PM] Kristi Hall: gahhhh

I leave for Prague on Wednesday- how I'm going to get everything done by then, I'm not sure. And it doesn't help that I think I'm getting sick. My throat is Killing me!