The Climb

Just so you know I don't have altzheimers...I realize I wrote about this in my blog last year but it has new meaning this year...so hang with me...there is a point...

Last year I hiked Pagosa Peak for the first time. Let me try to get your head wrapped around what that was like. First, Pagosa's elevation is about 6,000 ft. Pagosa Peak is 12,556 ft. in elevation. You drive to the trail head which can be an adventure in itself - 10 miles per hour over the bumpiest "road"- I use that term loosely - to get there. Then it is about a 1.3 mile hike up the mountain to the peak. Just a mile....yeah right ....1.3 miles on a pretty steady incline.

There is a trail to lead the way but there can also be fallen trees on the path and you must decide whether you can hike your leg over or maybe it would be best to climb under it. You walk a few minutes and stop to get your breathe and take a peak at the beautiful scenery around you -- in case you have been so busy watching where you walk and figuring out how to walk and breathe, you forgot about the scenery. And you are huffing and puffing as the air gets thinner and thinner. But when you stop for that quick rest and look around, you take a moment to take in the beauty of the place and gasp at the beauty surrounding you. And then you keep walking.

Finally you are above treeline and in this meadowlike area. You can look down in the valleys before you and see how high you have climbed....so far....and you ask the person wearing the GPS...how much farther? how high ARE we? She says, "We have 1,000 feet to go" woohoo. really. that far... huh. you look up and it is right there....really?....1,000 feet more? You take a deep breath and keep going. You look at your watch and see you have been hiking for about 2 plus hours.

Then you find yourself really above the trees...and it is rocky...and you wonder...where's the trail? Oh is it that tiny little trail you thought was for the mountain goats? Yep, that would be it. Now there are no trees around you. Just a climb following a trail truly meant for mountain goats....you have become the mountain goat. All of a sudden you are on top of the peak...wow!...uh...don't get too excited because it's just the peak before THE PEAK.

You look up and there it is - a beautiful, majestic peak but...it looks so high...and rocky...and a little scary...can I make it? That trail is getting more rocky and is it skinnier?...I can do this you say. And you keep climbing.

All of a sudden - you are there! It is the most amazing sight ever! You are actually standing on top of a 12,556 ft. peak. You are even with the clouds! If that cloud on the left there was any closer, you could touch it! You can turn 360 degrees and see the tiny speck of Pagosa, and Navajo Lake and rivers and green valleys and smaller mountains -
YOU MADE IT!

We were fortunate enough to hike on a day when it was almost cloudless and we didn't have to worry about an electrical storm coming up. The hiking rule for Pagosa Peak is to be off the top of the mountain by 12 pm because if the rain comes, you are above treeline and a target for lightning. After all the photo ops were done, we sat down and ate lunch.

3 hours after the starting at the trail head, we were there and having lunch.

What goes up must come down. After about 30 minutes up at THE PEAK, we started back down. Going up the mountain you are huffing and puffing and resting every few minutes. Going down the mountain, you stop every few minutes to give your knees and toes a rest. Balancing your weight and using good hiking posture helps the back but puts pressure on the knees. Because you are going down at a nice little decline, your toes hit the ends of your shoes and puts lots of pressure on them as well. It doesn't take as long to get down but it is still a difficult trek down. The euphoria from the top helps because you have just been to the most incredible place.

An hour and a half later, my group was sitting on the tailgate of the truck... after taking turns finding a bathroom bush!...we were exhausted.

This trek is an all day thing. Meet at the church parking lot at 7:45 a.m.; drive to the trail head....about an hour....9:00 hit the trail....12:00 at the Peak....2:00 back at the trailhead...wait for everyone else to get down...load up...back at the church around 5ish.
What a climb. WHAT A CLIMB!!!!

What a climb...my climb. As I think about the different climbs I have made in the last few years, I realized I have had this unconscious idea of "The End and she lived happily ever after." If I could just get the degree, I will "live happily ever after...." If I could just get....

to be continued....have to study more for the biology test....hold the thought.