Step up.
Feel your heart beating fast in your lungs. Ignore the pain in your knees.
Step up.
Blink away dry eyes and ignore the icy wind slicing across your face.
Step up.
Take a moment. Watch the sunrise. Trip over a rock.
My dad, sister and myself took an anti-climactic step onto the Long's Peak trailhead at 2:45 in the morning. We had one flashlight (idiots) to guide the way. The rocky underfooting provided a challenge to our ankles. With no light other than our flashlight and the occasional person passing us, it was a challenge in directions. Which was is the path? Is it up that rocky ledge or that one?
We walked along, mostly in silence, only the sounds of rushing water and our steady breath to break the late night silence. We walked and stepped and walked and stepped. Up thousands of feet. Past the treeline, into the tundra. The moon, now free from trees, lit the path with an eerie iridescence, shining light on patches of snow and small shrubs. Looking up we could see other climbers snaking their way along the face of the mountain, inching ever closer to the summit, which also glowed in the moonlight.
Although we were tired, we kept on climbing and were able to watch the sunrise over the Rockies---my third this summer. Although not as majestic as the sunrise of Haleakala in Maui, it still had its own beauty.
About the time the sun began to rise, the wind also picked up, blasting us with not only freezing air, but with wind gusts so strong it knocked us over. After a quick breakfast of (Product Placement Alert) Emerald Aisle Breakfast to Go, we headed for the next challenge, the Boulder Field.
By now, we had been hiking 3.5 hours. Our fingers were swollen, the air hung heavy in our lungs, making it hard to catch our breath. The wind swirled and we pressed on, navigating the enormous boulders of the boulder field.
Unfortunately, this is where being a novice climber catches up to you. Lack of warm attire and lack of sleep--maybe a dash of nausea caused us to turn around. It was devastating, we had hiked four hours only to have about 1.5 hours left. Granted, the last part of Long's Peak is the most difficult with endless yards of scrambling and scooching over exposed faces.
We turned around, bracing for the long hike back down the mountain. And thats what I needed---a brace. At least on the way up the mountain, it was dark and I could focus on the destination. On the way back down all I could think of was being done.
The intense pounding on my joints on the way back down was awful. I didn't remember there was that many steps. By the time we reached the car at 10:30 we had hiked for 8 hours and covered nearly 13 miles.
Although we didn't accomplish our goal of reaching the top of Long's, my joints in my feet and my knees beg to differ.
Feel your heart beating fast in your lungs. Ignore the pain in your knees.
Step up.
Blink away dry eyes and ignore the icy wind slicing across your face.
Step up.
Take a moment. Watch the sunrise. Trip over a rock.
My dad, sister and myself took an anti-climactic step onto the Long's Peak trailhead at 2:45 in the morning. We had one flashlight (idiots) to guide the way. The rocky underfooting provided a challenge to our ankles. With no light other than our flashlight and the occasional person passing us, it was a challenge in directions. Which was is the path? Is it up that rocky ledge or that one?
We walked along, mostly in silence, only the sounds of rushing water and our steady breath to break the late night silence. We walked and stepped and walked and stepped. Up thousands of feet. Past the treeline, into the tundra. The moon, now free from trees, lit the path with an eerie iridescence, shining light on patches of snow and small shrubs. Looking up we could see other climbers snaking their way along the face of the mountain, inching ever closer to the summit, which also glowed in the moonlight.
Although we were tired, we kept on climbing and were able to watch the sunrise over the Rockies---my third this summer. Although not as majestic as the sunrise of Haleakala in Maui, it still had its own beauty.
About the time the sun began to rise, the wind also picked up, blasting us with not only freezing air, but with wind gusts so strong it knocked us over. After a quick breakfast of (Product Placement Alert) Emerald Aisle Breakfast to Go, we headed for the next challenge, the Boulder Field.
By now, we had been hiking 3.5 hours. Our fingers were swollen, the air hung heavy in our lungs, making it hard to catch our breath. The wind swirled and we pressed on, navigating the enormous boulders of the boulder field.
Unfortunately, this is where being a novice climber catches up to you. Lack of warm attire and lack of sleep--maybe a dash of nausea caused us to turn around. It was devastating, we had hiked four hours only to have about 1.5 hours left. Granted, the last part of Long's Peak is the most difficult with endless yards of scrambling and scooching over exposed faces.
We turned around, bracing for the long hike back down the mountain. And thats what I needed---a brace. At least on the way up the mountain, it was dark and I could focus on the destination. On the way back down all I could think of was being done.
The intense pounding on my joints on the way back down was awful. I didn't remember there was that many steps. By the time we reached the car at 10:30 we had hiked for 8 hours and covered nearly 13 miles.
Although we didn't accomplish our goal of reaching the top of Long's, my joints in my feet and my knees beg to differ.
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