Bowel Obstruction Saga

November of 2022, was a terrible month for me with frequent bowel obstructions. I had at least one bowel obstruction every week. Bowel obstructions were a terrible part of my life for the 6 years leading up to my last stoma revision in 2020. But since my surgery, things were going well in that regard. I was able to eat whatever I wanted, including salad and nuts which used to be bowel obstruction causing foods for me. I don’t know what happened in November. But I started getting bowel obstructions out of the blue (the cause has yet to be figured out by my providers, but that’s another story for another time). This required me to change my eating and lifestyle habits. I was in a very low energy state throughout the month. But the ski season was off to a good start. So I really wanted to be able to enjoy the snow and outdoor time with friends.

So when Kate invited me to the Crescent Lake Cabin, I was on board! I always find it funny that cabin trips are typically viewed as mellow, easy trips. I guess it depends on preparation and the conditions of the trail into the cabin. My experience has been that cabin trips are a lot of work. But that’s probably because I get in the mindset that if I’m staying in a cabin, I can bring whatever I want. And this leads to me carrying a very heavy pack. Or, I add extra components to the trip, which complicate things. I also tend to do less research for cabin trips. I figure following a trail into a cabin is pretty straightforward compared to a trip that requires a lot of route planning.

Long story short, my very low energy body had a hard time on this trip due to a variety of factors.

Turnagain Passs & Crescent Lake Cabin

We planned to ski in the Crescent Creek Trail to the cabin on Friday night with a Saturday departure. We also decided to add a backcountry ski day and nordic ice skating to the adventure. So, on Friday, Kate and I met up and headed to Turnagain to ski at Tincan. With a funky wind layer, we stuck to a quick lower mountain lap and then made our way back to the parking lot. We changed and organized our overnight gear as the sun set. And then we headed to Cooper Landing to begin the trek out to the cabin.

For the cabin trip, I had my backcountry nordic setup and Kate was on her skimo setup. In my rush to prepare for the trip, I looked at the trail description very quickly, not realizing it was 6.5 miles to the cabin. Kate had done her research, but overlooking that detail really impacted me mentally later on in the night.

The trail started out okay and we were able to ski in a mile or so. But because of a warm-front and lack of snow in that area, the trail conditions quickly deteriorated to exposed ground with ice and intermittent snow. We quickly gave up skiing after one of us fell off the side of the trail…We ultimately hiked in our ski boots the last 5 or so miles to the cabin.

We alternated pulling the heavy sled with wood and took frequent rest breaks. I was totally depleted, having barely been able to eat anything all week and subsisting on candy and Rebbl drinks. And I finally reached my lowest point of the hike. I was feeling completed exhausted and totally soaked by sweat and snow melting off the trees. There was a warm wind sweeping down the valley. I looked down and saw what appeared to be bear tracks in the snow (they were probably some other type of animal track, but the mind wanders in the dark in the middle of the night).

We were following the tracks down the trail and all of a sudden there were trees down everywhere across the trail. So we started crawling on the ground under the brush and pushing our way through. We also had to shove the sled through the brush and pick it up at water crossings. I got to a point where one tree in particular made me reach a breaking point. I just stood there looking at it. I couldn’t decide whether to climb through it, go under it, go over it, or just stand there until it magically disappeared out of my way. Kate stood by supportively as I worked my way through my mental and physical barriers to progressing down the trail.

I think I eventually just forced myself through the branches. But it’s funny how such simple barriers to forward progress can take such a psychological toll when in a totally depleted state during a long endurance activity. We eventually reached the cabin after midnight which provided instant relief to my foul mood. As a side note, Kate and I both experienced irrational moments on our trip in where we feared that somebody else would be staying at the cabin and we’d be subjected to sleeping out in the cold despite having a reservation for that night. So arriving at the empty cabin was an amazing feeling.

We started a fire in the wood stove, changed out of our soaking wet layers, ate some food, hydrated and went to bed. In the morning, we both felt very much refreshed. Personally, I was 100% in a different frame of mind. We had a lazy cabin morning and decided to check out the lake for some nordic ice skating.

Crescent Lake Nordic Skating

The half of the lake closest to the cabin was in pretty good condition, but there was a large crack that spanned the entire width of the lake toward the middle and some open areas around the edges due to the warm front that had moved in over the past couple of days. Unfortunately, Kate had an ice skate snafu, so she couldn’t skate, but she wandered around on the ice while I did a little skating.

We then packed up and prepared for the trek out of the cabin. In the daylight, things looked completely different. That always tends to happen. So we decided to ski out of the cabin rather than hike. We laughed about the fact that on the way in, we skied the terrible part of the trail and hiked the nice snowy portion. This reflected how much our mental state played into our decision making the night before. We had an enjoyable ski out about 4 miles and then hiked the rest of the way back to the car.

We packed a lot of activity into a little more than 24 hours. I didn’t experience any bowel obstructions on the trip which was great. But, this trip was a good reminder of how poorly my body functions in a depleted state. It was also a good reminder that my friends are willing to put up with me no matter what state I’m in. That’s what I appreciate most about having like-minded outdoor activity oriented friends. We all have highs and lows in the mountains. Our athletic pursuits are full of a broad range of experiences, so we’re all pretty adept at adapting to different emotions and states of being.

If you’re up for a 13 mile adventure, the Crescent Lake cabin is actually a wonderful cabin and the trail is quite beautiful. I do definitely recommend traveling during the day to increase the odds of having a type I adventure.

Enjoy!