I was lying on my couch in widely recognized male-comfort position, where body is parallel to the ground, one’s head is a notch above the horizontal line passing through the center of gravity, eyes are on TV and the fingers on the remote control. The comely newscaster declared,” Colorado has been deemed leanest state in the united states, once more”. There was a time I could bolt upright just at the sight of declaration making comely newscasters; now I just helped myself to an extra pillow to get my aural devices in line of approaching sound waves.
Though climbing, the obesity rate of the state of Colorado, the Mecca of outdoors-men (and ladies), stands at only 17.6%, national average being 31%. A minor berating of certain southern states, which followed in the news, was expected. In these states, the obesity has reached such gigantic proportions that Bush approved US internal spy satellites were beginning to lock on the large ambulatory objects with somewhat mysterious internal combustion mechanisms. The state officials of Colorado blame its increasing obesity rate on people moving in from state of Texas……hmmm…….(expletive) state officials of Colorado.
I ruminated for a while, got up from the couch and declared to my wife,” I will be climbing Longs Peak this labor day weekend”. She raised her right eyebrow at 30 degrees, while managing keep other horizontal, and demanded to handover the remote. More disturbing was the suppressed laughter coming from the subcutaneous fat down below. The homesteader has been working on establishing a permanent domicile in the mid-section suburbs of my body. I ignore it all the time.
Last time I tried to go up Longs Peak was in 2004. In the meantime, I have gotten married and have been learning to negotiate the slippery slopes of marital life, a subject matter so vast that it occupies its own three aisles at Barnes and Noble. Though euphemistically, they are labeled as “SELF-HELP”. Well, they sure have helped the struggling fortunes of some. And, in the Garden of Eden, Adam said to Eve, “Honey, I am more than half way through the book (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) you gave me for our first anniversary. Can I finish it after the labor day weekend”?
With great determination, I dusted off my hiking gear, packed up the essentials, slipped out of work on Friday afternoon and on the way to Estes Park. I tried but that evening I could get only three hours of semi-sleep before the 11:15 alarm buzzed off. I utilized the “Snooze” function till 11:45. Then I got up, got ready and was at the trailhead parking at 12:30 AM. It was quite dark and few more groups were getting ready to go up. Time to give the gear a final check - food bars, water packs, first-aid, lights, matches and lastly, a small flask with some Johnnie Walker (helps me through the pain). The helpful instruction at the trailhead says – Try not to go alone. Many hikers go up alone claiming that there is nothing to worry as God is with them. Well, things are fine as long as God is with you. Search and rescue missions are launched only after you try to be with God. Deference to the mountain is supreme. On an average, one person dies every year on Longs Peak. I was a little stupid to go alone, however I did join a Venezuelan student, who was not surprised by my Spanish. I have been taken for a Mexican before. One can find plenty of company on this well trampled trail but better to accompany a friend you can really count on. A decision always on the safe side is a good decision on this mountain.
I signed on the register at the trailhead, tapped a warning to my subcutaneous friend, and exactly at 12:52 AM in the morning, I walked into the forest. I had been to keyhole before, though starting earlier is always good. When city lights became visible at 12000 ft., I fiddled with camera to figure out, how to increase the exposure to take night pictures. Success achieved. It was chilly and somewhat windy, but otherwise, it was a clear, pleasant moonlit night with stars. I arrived at the Boulder field (5.9 miles from trailhead) at 4:30 AM and took my munch break. Protein bars washed down with water and Gatorade. Living in a mile high city seemed to have helped me with acclimation. Climbing up the boulder field to keyhole was the first real taste of difficulty. Sun wasn’t up and we debated as to if we should get on the ledges in this low light. Then we just tagged with four other climbers, who were moving swiftly over the ledges. On these ledges alongside some 1000 foot cliffs, is the first time, climbers feel exposed. Look down and thousands of feet below, you see mother earth…waiting.
I could see the roving headlights of a few climbers, who were already quite a bit ahead. The bulls-eye is painted on the rocks to guide the climbers. The quarter mile distance on ledges culminates in the onset of a section called the “Troughs’. This is a steep climb with about 700 ft. of vertical gain and I began to feel the altitude effect. I could hear my lungs rebelling against me. I tried to take full gulps of air but it just stopped short. Story goes that “Troughs” is where the mountain attempts to turn around the ones, who are unworthy of the summit. I just followed the trusted method of breaking down the climb into smaller sections….climb, rest, climb, rest. Halfway through it, I realized that Sun has been out and I clicked my first clear pictures. I could see only one climber behind me. The sweeping vistas of the North were simply 'breathtaking'. Close to the top of the trough, I encountered a couple who have been hit by altitude sickness. Throwing up is common at these heights. At the top of the Troughs, a tricky corner turn has to be taken over a large rock. A small foothold in the step, push up with your foot and grab the rock ledge above in one go. Use your knee to drag yourself up. Though do-able (saw a girl doing it on my way down), I advise not trying going from the right side which is sloped. The slip there could be unforgiving…at least 200 ft. unforgiving.
I hardly had few seconds of elation crossing the “Troughs”, when I stared at the section called the “Narrows”. They sure do live up to their name, nastier version of the ledges. This is where climbers are most exposed. Slow, steady and extremely careful. I was surprised to encounter three climbers here who were returning from the summit. These people must have climbed all this in the dark on their way up….unbelievable. The two way traffic on the narrows gets quite interesting.
The Narrows again culminate in a turn, where 15-20 ft. of tough and risky climb is needed to get one over into the base of the section called the “homestretch”. A steep climb resulting in 250 ft. of vertical gain and summit awaits. I was thoroughly exhausted here and my head floated a little. I could see my Venezuelan fellow and another experienced climber, some fifty feet ahead of me, going up with relative ease. I just made a run for it…after all, it was Homestretch. Precisely at 7:32 AM, I stood at 14259 foot, highest ground I ever touched. Besides my Venezuelan fellow, there were two more climbers up there. The summit, as I had read, was quite large area full of rocks and the panoramic views.....views to just die for. We clicked our accomplishments. A few clouds were gathering and few minutes later, we began the difficult task of getting down. It was equally exhausting. I encountered a heavy upward traffic at the troughs. My knees and feet were beginning to ache a lot. Two Advils did not help much but I got down to Keyhole at 9:35 AM.
I was awake for quite a while now and it was beginning to show in my responses. I began a slow descent to the trailhead. Close to the trailhead, a lady ranger congratulated me and asked me when I will be back again. And I said, “Never, I have marked it off the checklist”. But I know that the pull of the trail is magnetic. I threw my gear into the truck and lied down for a nap. I was on the terrain for exactly thirteen hours. The time was precisely at 1:52 PM.
Though climbing, the obesity rate of the state of Colorado, the Mecca of outdoors-men (and ladies), stands at only 17.6%, national average being 31%. A minor berating of certain southern states, which followed in the news, was expected. In these states, the obesity has reached such gigantic proportions that Bush approved US internal spy satellites were beginning to lock on the large ambulatory objects with somewhat mysterious internal combustion mechanisms. The state officials of Colorado blame its increasing obesity rate on people moving in from state of Texas……hmmm…….(expletive) state officials of Colorado.
I ruminated for a while, got up from the couch and declared to my wife,” I will be climbing Longs Peak this labor day weekend”. She raised her right eyebrow at 30 degrees, while managing keep other horizontal, and demanded to handover the remote. More disturbing was the suppressed laughter coming from the subcutaneous fat down below. The homesteader has been working on establishing a permanent domicile in the mid-section suburbs of my body. I ignore it all the time.
Last time I tried to go up Longs Peak was in 2004. In the meantime, I have gotten married and have been learning to negotiate the slippery slopes of marital life, a subject matter so vast that it occupies its own three aisles at Barnes and Noble. Though euphemistically, they are labeled as “SELF-HELP”. Well, they sure have helped the struggling fortunes of some. And, in the Garden of Eden, Adam said to Eve, “Honey, I am more than half way through the book (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) you gave me for our first anniversary. Can I finish it after the labor day weekend”?
With great determination, I dusted off my hiking gear, packed up the essentials, slipped out of work on Friday afternoon and on the way to Estes Park. I tried but that evening I could get only three hours of semi-sleep before the 11:15 alarm buzzed off. I utilized the “Snooze” function till 11:45. Then I got up, got ready and was at the trailhead parking at 12:30 AM. It was quite dark and few more groups were getting ready to go up. Time to give the gear a final check - food bars, water packs, first-aid, lights, matches and lastly, a small flask with some Johnnie Walker (helps me through the pain). The helpful instruction at the trailhead says – Try not to go alone. Many hikers go up alone claiming that there is nothing to worry as God is with them. Well, things are fine as long as God is with you. Search and rescue missions are launched only after you try to be with God. Deference to the mountain is supreme. On an average, one person dies every year on Longs Peak. I was a little stupid to go alone, however I did join a Venezuelan student, who was not surprised by my Spanish. I have been taken for a Mexican before. One can find plenty of company on this well trampled trail but better to accompany a friend you can really count on. A decision always on the safe side is a good decision on this mountain.
I signed on the register at the trailhead, tapped a warning to my subcutaneous friend, and exactly at 12:52 AM in the morning, I walked into the forest. I had been to keyhole before, though starting earlier is always good. When city lights became visible at 12000 ft., I fiddled with camera to figure out, how to increase the exposure to take night pictures. Success achieved. It was chilly and somewhat windy, but otherwise, it was a clear, pleasant moonlit night with stars. I arrived at the Boulder field (5.9 miles from trailhead) at 4:30 AM and took my munch break. Protein bars washed down with water and Gatorade. Living in a mile high city seemed to have helped me with acclimation. Climbing up the boulder field to keyhole was the first real taste of difficulty. Sun wasn’t up and we debated as to if we should get on the ledges in this low light. Then we just tagged with four other climbers, who were moving swiftly over the ledges. On these ledges alongside some 1000 foot cliffs, is the first time, climbers feel exposed. Look down and thousands of feet below, you see mother earth…waiting.
I could see the roving headlights of a few climbers, who were already quite a bit ahead. The bulls-eye is painted on the rocks to guide the climbers. The quarter mile distance on ledges culminates in the onset of a section called the “Troughs’. This is a steep climb with about 700 ft. of vertical gain and I began to feel the altitude effect. I could hear my lungs rebelling against me. I tried to take full gulps of air but it just stopped short. Story goes that “Troughs” is where the mountain attempts to turn around the ones, who are unworthy of the summit. I just followed the trusted method of breaking down the climb into smaller sections….climb, rest, climb, rest. Halfway through it, I realized that Sun has been out and I clicked my first clear pictures. I could see only one climber behind me. The sweeping vistas of the North were simply 'breathtaking'. Close to the top of the trough, I encountered a couple who have been hit by altitude sickness. Throwing up is common at these heights. At the top of the Troughs, a tricky corner turn has to be taken over a large rock. A small foothold in the step, push up with your foot and grab the rock ledge above in one go. Use your knee to drag yourself up. Though do-able (saw a girl doing it on my way down), I advise not trying going from the right side which is sloped. The slip there could be unforgiving…at least 200 ft. unforgiving.
I hardly had few seconds of elation crossing the “Troughs”, when I stared at the section called the “Narrows”. They sure do live up to their name, nastier version of the ledges. This is where climbers are most exposed. Slow, steady and extremely careful. I was surprised to encounter three climbers here who were returning from the summit. These people must have climbed all this in the dark on their way up….unbelievable. The two way traffic on the narrows gets quite interesting.
The Narrows again culminate in a turn, where 15-20 ft. of tough and risky climb is needed to get one over into the base of the section called the “homestretch”. A steep climb resulting in 250 ft. of vertical gain and summit awaits. I was thoroughly exhausted here and my head floated a little. I could see my Venezuelan fellow and another experienced climber, some fifty feet ahead of me, going up with relative ease. I just made a run for it…after all, it was Homestretch. Precisely at 7:32 AM, I stood at 14259 foot, highest ground I ever touched. Besides my Venezuelan fellow, there were two more climbers up there. The summit, as I had read, was quite large area full of rocks and the panoramic views.....views to just die for. We clicked our accomplishments. A few clouds were gathering and few minutes later, we began the difficult task of getting down. It was equally exhausting. I encountered a heavy upward traffic at the troughs. My knees and feet were beginning to ache a lot. Two Advils did not help much but I got down to Keyhole at 9:35 AM.
I was awake for quite a while now and it was beginning to show in my responses. I began a slow descent to the trailhead. Close to the trailhead, a lady ranger congratulated me and asked me when I will be back again. And I said, “Never, I have marked it off the checklist”. But I know that the pull of the trail is magnetic. I threw my gear into the truck and lied down for a nap. I was on the terrain for exactly thirteen hours. The time was precisely at 1:52 PM.
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