Nina Estabrook.: Let's Explore: Vegan Hike to Sunset Peak

Last Saturday, I joined another Vegan group hike and I’m excited to share my favorite pictures from the day. We started our hike at the Catherine pass trail head at the end of Little Cottonwood Canyon.

↑ There we are picnicking at 10420 ft.; L A K E C A T H E R I N E to our left and the tippy top of S U N S E T P E A K (10648 ft.) to our right.

↑ It’s a beautiful and not at all difficult hike. That being said, I was going very, very slowly because I had several asthma attacks during the night (our neighbor snuck a dog into our pet-free apartment building) und so especially when we were hiking up my post-asthma lungs felt full of water and feverish. It is not a pleasant feeling to exercise when I’m unable to breathe out. All I want to do is inhale a big gulp of fresh air, but my lungs feel so heavy and full, I only have space for a tiny sip. So if I want to breathe properly, I have to force myself to keep going and to breathe out as much as I can so that I can empty my lungs. Emptying my lungs a is really painful process, but it is the quickest way to feel better. Exercise just forces me to do it faster despite the pain.

I don’t normally get the wet feeling in my throat and lungs unless I had several asthma attacks. But when I do, I know that exercise first makes the wet inside me sulfurous before it lifts it out of me. So, it’s a good thing… like a forceful little detox.

↑ S U N S E T P E A K

↑ The destination of our hike, Sunset Peak, wasn’t looking to sunny that day. In fact, this big gloomy cloud kept hovering over the mountain and I decided I could skip walking the very last bit to the summit. Look how tiny the person in the distance seems—that little black speck at the summit. I bet he felt like he could touch the sky.

↑ Looking down at L A K E C A T H E R I N E. These pictures don’t quite show how high the peaks are and how steep and far down I could fall of the rock. What a lovely view.

↑ Cute, cute, cute. I’m not sure what this little guy is, but with his tummy almost touching the ground he sure looked well nourished and ready for a long winter’s snooze.

↑ I suppose I got too busy looking at chipmunks and admiring wildflowers.

↑… and taking photographs…

↑ I’m falling behind as my group walks on!

↑ I’m clearly loosing my group.

↑ Beautiful! But now that I was all alone, just the loud sound of crickets coming from the meadows next to the narrow path, I definitely wasn’t hoping to spot more animals. Right around this point, I was actually pretty worried I’d cross path with a rattle snake and I don’t know how I would have handled that.