Successes are sunshine and failures are fertilizer but you need both to help you grow. That adage was on my mind a lot on Saturday. First, because two of my besties had flown in to visit me here in Colorado for an adventure weekend and we had Big Plans and as Big Plans are wont to do, they often go awry. Second, because I had a lot (a lot a lot) of time to think. Because we were doing this:
Friday we took it easy with some white water rafting on the Arkansas river through the Royal Gorge (mad props to all of you who guessed it right just based on the pictures!) but Saturday was going to be the main event. We were going to hike Pike’s Peak. Not only is it famous for its unique cuisine (I’ve lived here long enough to make Donner party jokes, right?) but because at 14,114 feet (4,302 m), it’s one of Colorado’s best known “14’ers” – or mountains over 14,000 feet. (There are 58 14’ers here and Pike’s is neither the tallest nor the most difficult but it’s still tough.)
Sunshine: This is us 100% hopeful and 0% experienced at the trail head at dawn.
My friend Rachel was on a mission because her dad challenged her to repeat his climb to the summit and Beth and I were along for the views and bragging rights. We decided to take the Barr Trail, a 26-mile round trip with nearly 8,000 feet in elevation gain, and do it one day. (Clearly we are noobs.) We had to wake up at 4 a.m. because all the guides said to be off the summit by 12 pm as that’s when the storms hit and thanks to lightning, the Barr Trail is considered one of the ten most dangerous hikes in the US. We all have families to go home to so we weren’t going to mess around with electricity (wise words anytime, really).
Lesson: It’s good to have goals, even better to have goals with friends!
Fertilizer: The first 3.5 miles of steep switchbacks.
We were in for a rude awakening starting with the very first step. The first 3.5 miles of the trail are so steep that 6″ stilettos might actually be functional (no I didn’t bring any!). All three of us were trying not to look like wimps in front of the others so we barreled up the trail and tried not to let our breathing give us away. After what felt like hours of panting and sweating, we finally came to the first mile marker. ONE HALF MILE. I wanted to sob. I was soaked head to toe with sweat, my heart was racing, and each step hurt – and we hadn’t even done a single mile yet! Nobody said anything and we gritted our teeth and kept going (although we all admitted much later that each of us thought that if the rest of the trail were this steep we were going to die for sure). Mile marker one came and Beth announced it had taken us 30 minutes. One lousy mile for 30 of the most painful minutes of my life, outside of childbirth?? And, I’m just going to say this, it was pure desert ugliness. No amazing views yet. Just dirty dirt.
Lesson: Delayed gratification sucks, especially when you’re not even sure that the end result is going to be that gratifying. Is this pain going to be worth it?
Sunshine: Miles 3.5 – 7 through gorgeous, gentle terrain
But all of us are stubborn so we just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Did I mention both Beth and Rachel live at sea level? So already Denver’s 6,000 foot elevation was working against them. At least I was acclimated. Not that you’d know it by my wind-sucking and mental cursing. Finally we came out of the switchbacks to this. This isn’t Pike’s Peak but it was a gorgeous view and we’d finally gotten above the cloud line, going from murky dawn to perfect Colorado spring day!
Lesson: Just when you’re 99% sure you can’t do it anymore, the reprieve comes.
Sunshine: We are strong! We can do anything!
The euphoria kicked in and we all started to feel pretty confident again. The worst was behind us! As I looked down at my legs, I silently thanked my muscles for being so strong and apologized to my athletic thighs for all the times I called them hideous and hated them. Clearly my legs and lungs are amazing! They literally just carried me up a mountain! I should get a tattoo of my thighs! On my thighs! Because that’s how fantastic they are! (Also: my butt was more sore than my legs which I consider a massive -ha! – success as it means I’m overcoming my quad dominance!!)
Lesson: Give our bodies more credit for what they do than what they look like. Strong is not the new skinny – strong is the new strong!
Fertilizer: The worst was NOT behind us. Not by a long shot.
As we reached Barr camp, the half-way point to the summit, we began to see something disturbing on the trail: snow. We knew it was always a possibility near the top but thanks to a massive storm the prior weekend, there was a lot more of it than I had planned for. We stopped in at the ranger’s cabin to rest and get some advice. “Should we keep going?” I asked naively. He just laughed through his beard that would make hipsters weep with envy, “I can’t tell you what to do!” But he did tell us that the snow was unseasonably deep and that so far no one had make it within two miles of the summit today. He looked pointedly down at our running shoes and asked if we had ice spikes or at least mittens.
Lesson: Be prepared for what really could happen, not what you hope will happen.
Fertilizer: Hiking in wet snow is the WORST.
Do I look like I’m having fun? We decided to continue on. The ranger just smiled and asked us to please check in on our way back down so he wouldn’t worry about having to send out a search party for our frozen corpses all day. Did I mention Beth was recovering from a nasty bout of influenza? And that we were now above 10,000 feet which is primetime for altitude sickness? We’d all taken a megadose of Ibuprofen at the trail head as research has shown that the blood thinner can help prevent the onset of altitude sickness and so far we’d all been fine. But now we were having to stop every 150 steps (I counted, had to keep my brain occupied with anything besides moaning!) to catch our breath and let Beth hack up what was left of her poor lungs. Plus, we were back to marching straight up the mountain.
The snow had two devastating effects: First, it made us wet and cold (duh) but second, it obscured the trail. And the deeper the snow got, the fewer the number of people who had stomped through it before us leaving us to guess where the next turn was.
Lesson: Climbing a mountain is an adventure. Getting lost on one is a nightmare. And the line between the two is one wrong move.
Fertilizer: We had to give up within sight of the summit.
Eventually we trundled to the Bottomless Pit. Beth sat down on a rock to rest and it was clear that she wasn’t feeling well. Was it the residual flu or was it altitude sickness (which can be fatal if left untreated long enough)? Both? Just then a man (in shorts!) ran past us, on his way down. (True story: There’s actually a Pike’s Peak Marathon where people RUN 26.2 miles straight up the friggin’ mountain.) He stopped to tell us that within a mile of where we were, the snow became hip-deep on him (so waist-deep on us) and that we were welcome to try “post-holing” in his footsteps but that he’d only gotten a bit farther. “The trail to the peak is completely gone,” he shrugged. “You could try and scramble up the face or just wing it.” Neither scrambling nor winging sounded like a good option at that point and we were nearing the crucial 12 pm cutoff, so after much agonizing we decided to call it off. We were done.
Lesson: Listen to the advice of people more experienced than you, even if it’s not what you want to hear. Especially if it’s not what you want to hear.
Fertilizer: All that blood, sweat and tears for nothing.
We’d already slogged for two hours through snow and now we had to turn around and do it again but this time as one giant slip-n-slide! “And you thought we wouldn’t get to go skiing!” I told them as we careened downward. It was made even more difficult without the adrenaline-fueled incentive of the summit. When we finally got back to dry land (and checked in with the ranger so he could stop worrying about us), we took a picture of our feet. You can’t tell but we are SOAKED.
Lesson: Always consider the return trip when you’re pushing forward.
Sunshine: It wasn’t for nothing. In fact it was a lot of something!
By the time we hit the parking lot we’d hiked 8 hours, covered 17+ miles, climbed over 5,000 vertical feet, slightly asphyxiated ourselves at 11,000 feet – and even though we failed to summit Pike’s Peak (as did everyone who attempted it that day, I’d like to add), I’d say we were still pretty successful! But the real success wasn’t in how many steps we’d taken but in the time we’d gotten to spend together. We’ve all been through some major life events lately and all that trail time gave us the opportunity to have the kind of heart-to-heart talks that only happen face-to-face. Shared sacrifice brings with it a real intimacy and I will treasure those conversations (and giggles and tears) for the rest of my life.
Lesson: Life’s a journey not a destination. (Yeah, yeah, it’s a cliche. But it’s a cliche for a reason!)
Sunshine: Clean sheets and all the TLC we could watch!
Eventually we hauled our tired, sore butts back to the hotel and collapsed on the bed for our post-climb selfie. And then we spent the rest of the evening watching chick flicks from the 90’s and eating ice cream. We slept like rocks.
Lesson: The harder the work is, the better the rest feels.
Fertilizer: I am insanely sore. My calves hate me.
This may be the only time you ever see me in a dress with sensible shoes! This morning we decided to visit the LDS Denver Temple before I took them to the airport and even climbing those three stairs made me wince in pain. All three of us are hobbling around like old people today. So much sore.
They’re not sitting because they’re posing. They’re sitting because they can’t stand back up. (Seriously though, aren’t they adorable?)
Lesson: Ow, ow, ow. Just… ow.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve set a goal and fallen short and honestly, out of the three of us, I think I’m the one least disappointed by our near miss. Part of it is because I live here and so can attempt it again later but mostly it’s because my real goal was to connect with these girls who’ve become like sisters to me and I totally succeeded at that! I’ve said it before but I’m a girl who needs her girlfriends. I love my husband and my kids but there is a part of my life that only other ladies can understand and I feel so blessed to have both old friends and new friends in my life! And if it takes climbing a mountain to remember it then it was all worth it.
And it was definitely all worth it. I’m basking in sunshine and grateful for the fertilizer.
Lesson: Life is like mountains – there are breathtaking peaks and there are low valleys but you can’t have one without the other, both of them help us grow.
Have you ever climbed a mountain? What’s your favorite thing to do with your girlfriends?? (Seriously, we’re looking for suggestions for our next girl’s weekend! Help us out!) Have you ever fallen short of a big goal and had it turn out for the better?
*I had “The Bear Went Over the Mountain” stuck in my head the ENTIRE TIME. Until the way down when it was “The Ants Go Marching” on permanent repeat. Ear worms: a well-known side effect of having kids.
I’m awed that you made it so far up that mountain ! In snow ! Wow ! That’s an accomplishment !
I also love love love those purple shoes – I need to find me a pair 🙂
I got the purple shoes at Target!
Thank you for telling our story so beautifully and humorously, Charlotte. What an amazing weekend! I’m so blessed to call the two of you my friends!
I’ve, never ever wanted to climb a mountain. My husband wistfully suggests it once in a while. I’m reading this article to him tonight.
It is SO fun if you start with a smaller mountain, and less steep and more of a gradual ascent, with a beautiful meadow near to the top for picnic-ing and pictures all along.
And you take a little time beforehand to acclimatize to the elevation.
And not go too early in the season or too late in the season.
And remember it is not a race.
Some trails can be very pleasant.
My parents were from the prairies with not much time to acclimatize and they climbed the trail up to Timpanogos Cave on the North side of Mount Timpanogos in Utah.
The south side of Mount Timpanogos is prettier AND it has the beautiful meadow with gorgeous flowers and a picture perfect little lake on that trail also.
Romantic.
I highly recommend.
I like the picture of how far we went. That IS impressive! 🙂
Wow, what an adventure and good for you guys for getting out early. You don’t want to mess with lightening above tree line. I love hiking. Before our twins were born we went a bunch with our older two, even took them hiking in Canada and Switzerland. There are so many great places to go here in Colorado. We have twice tried to do a hike near Lake Louise to have it not happen both times. First time, trail was closed because of an aggressive bear and 2nd attempt, 10 years later, we got 3/4 of the way down the trail only to have to turn around because there was a grizzly bear and her cub on the trail. I’d say it worked out for the better both times since being mauled is for sure not on my bucket list.
I finally have an answer to one of your blog post questions! I have climbed two mountains, both in Far North Queensland (FNQ), Australia. They were both in tropical rainforests so no snow concerns, but major hydration and snake concerns. Huge rewards at the top, like seeing huge sulphur crested cockatoos (worth googling!) swoop around trees that looked like broccoli bunches waaaay below us.
Impressive accomplishments and an impressive description!
First: I was REALLY hoping your next grand adventure was NOT climbing a mountain.
You mentioned to us that you had snow on Mother’s Day, thus I knew there would be deep snow higher up.
You did the EARLY in the season version of The Willey and Martin Handcart Companies late in the season difficulties.
(I am always the “Levi Savage” of whatever ward I am in by the way.)
You now have a unique perspective on Latter-day Saint history!
So…Sunshine?
Secondly: Psst! Charlotte? The Donner Party Cannibalism thing happened in California. Donner’s Pass?
Now, as I have some knowledge of TWO historic death related out-of-season in the mountain snow examples, it is NOT because I am morbid, it is because I like to learn what NOT to do.
Helps to survive.
I came from an area below seas level when I first arrived at higher elevations and climbed mountains, but I had ample time to run…a lot…at higher elevations…before I tackled a mountain.
They should post trail conditions where you START your hike. THEN you’ll know if you are adequately prepared.
I wear running shoes twelve months of the year here in Canada.
The Great White North.
Through snow.
And minus 55 with the wind.
(I love my core temperature which reaches all the way to my toes!)
If I may: hiking in wet WAIST deep snow is the worst.
INFLUENZA? Plus ALTITUDE? Plus COLD? Plus SNOW?
Er…Another lesson perhaps…“Don’t sacrifice unnecessarily”?
YOU SURVIVED UNSCATHED! (mostly).
BEST way to apply lessons learned.
Overall, I am impressed with your tenacity and toughness!
And Charlotte, your sensible shoes are quite lovely.
“Bear Went Over the Mountain” made me laugh! I quite often have an internal soundtrack for my life…I just don’t pay royalties on it.
Yep. I have climbed mountains.
I have also fallen off a mountain (briefly). It was later in the fall…I got started later in the day.
It got dark.
No broken bones plus a miraculous save.
Divine intervention.
I have done the climbing a mountain with friends bounding thing.
Which included spelunking and a cavern ceiling with wall to wall black widow spiders.
Stacked.
I also went up with the Provo Police Mountain Search and Rescue Team once.
This is awesome. Sounds like a fantastic (painful awful but so worth it) journey. I love the idea of summiting a mountain… though in reality I do not love even hills on the run… so… 🙂
I fell short of a goal Saturday too (wanted to ride 100 miles, only made it 70), and we stopped with the realization that it was enough, and accomplished what we wanted (personal distance record outdoors, 4.5 hours of riding in the heat and the wind and the hills). At first I was a little bummed but I’m totally ok now.
Wow, can’t believe you guys got as far as you did! I’m tired just READING about it!
And it so clear that if you’d had better conditions, you totally would have made it–you didn’t fail, the weather did! So cool that you made it about learning and not just about checking off an accomplishment.
I love hiking mountains! But not really rock scrambles. Last time I had to do that I almost cried when I had to jump a gap that was probably less than a foot but looked huge to me at the time. And I love my hiking boots! They’re not pretty but they’re amazing. I think every hike takes us double the time though because I want to stop every 20 feet to take pictures but my husband is a good sport. He even carries my camera bag backpack without (much) complaint.
This is the highest mountain we climbed (Mt Pisgah in NC):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/91696572@N00/8865222317/in/set-72157633759624454
We got all the way to the top where the tower is. My husband thought he was going to die!! He actually threw up because it was so strenuous for him (he is not in the best shape). I think it took us 2 or 2 1/2 hrs to get to the top but it was steep!
I’m proud of how far you went! I don’t think i couldn’t handled 8 hours! You should be proud and look back w/ fond memories.
The high point (he he) of this post came early for me “Not only is it famous for its unique cuisine (I’ve lived here long enough to make Donner party jokes, right?” The rest was fabu as well, but come, cannibalism jokes? Doesn’t get better than that.
I loved this recap! And the story about the mountain. I probably would have stopped long before you did – and since most people didn’t make it much further than you I would say success was had for all!
I’m glad you had such a great girls weekend
I have climbed a few mountains over the years. Last year we hunted elk near Diamond Peak in Idaho. It was an adventure that involved scrabbling 1,000 feet almost straight up a mountainside each day before dawn, then hunting all day and slipping back down the mountain after dark. We did that for 10 days. Our GPS units were very handy!
While walking along the top of one of the ridges one day, I noticed a bunch of freshly split firewood scattered all over the downslope. Nobody cuts and splits wood on the top of a mountain. I looked around and found a tree which had been hit by lightning! Wood was scattered everywhere. You really don’t want to be on top of a mountain in a thunderstorm. The next day we woke up to a thunderstorm and decided to delay the trip up the mountain.
I was hunting with an old friend and a couple of new friends. We had lots of time to visit and grow closer to each other through shared joy, pain and hardship. Oddly enough, the oldest in the bunch could out walk and climb all the rest of the group! Keeping fit is important.
One night as we were resting at the top before descending back to camp, we all got to see a shooting star turn from white to orange to green before it disappeared into the treetops across the drainage. What an awesome sight.
I turned 56 standing on top of that mountain and was very thankful my body could still drag itself up there. I find a real sense of renewal and connection in the middle of nowhere on top of the world. Bless God for allowing us that opportunity.
Thanks for the blog. Keep hiking.
My sons and I did the opposite of climbing a mountain. We walked from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the South Rim in a day. All of the up hill is at the end instead of the beginning. It took us 15 hours to go the 24 miles, but it was a wonderful adventure. The next day we were all hobbling around like old people, even my mid-20’s sons. It took us two tries to do this. The first time, two of us slept so poorly the night before that we felt it wasn’t safe to do it. Next time, you will succeed.
Spa weekend…just had one with my bff and it was awesome!
High mountains are no joke–you can get into serious trouble, so you did the sensible thing. In the end, you had a great, challenging day out with your friends and everyone got home safe. The mountain isn’t going anywhere. I used to live near the Canadian Rockies and we usually left the really high altitude stuff until July, when you could be sure that (most of) the snow was gone. I love the mountains and I don’t mind taking a few risks, but my friends and I always got our butts back down the trail whenever the weather looked like it was going to turn, someone wasn’t feeling well or there was a lot of “bear sign” (i.e., poop). It’s better to live to hike another day.
Mountains are the ultimate cardio machine. Back in VT I used to sell home gym equipment and the cardio floor had a great view of mt Mansfield which I hike, bike and ski throughout the year. Sometimes a customer would ask me what I used for cardio, assuming I used one of the ellipticals or treadmills on the floor. I would simply point out to the mountains and say “That’s my cardio machine right there.”
My boss hated it when I did that.
Have you taken a crack at the Manitou Incline yet Charlotte? That would be a killer blog post!
My family visited CO for the first time in 2010. We stayed in Manitou Springs and my husband and I were lured into climbing the Manitou Incline that runs next to bottom 3.5 miles of the Barr Trail. It is a super intense real life stair climber! Seriously, try it next time you are in the area.
We crawled up the incline, but then screamed down all of those switchbacks! So much fun. I would love to hike to the top of a 14’er. #bucketlist 😉
That’s quite an accomplishment, dear. Good for you!
We’ve gone to the Absboraka-Beartooth mountains many times since my teenage years, so I’ve climbed quite a few mountains. We got bogged down in waist deep snow once. We saw a mountain lion once, a bear twice, and I got altitude sickness once. Oh yeah, one time we got caught in an INSANE hail storm. But no matter how awry it goes, hiking in the mountains is still my favorite, favorite past time. The smell and feel of the mountains is unlike anything else.
Hellroaring Plateau by Red Lodge, MT is one of my favorite places to go to hike for just the day. It’s views are amazing and often times you can get fairly close to mountain goats.
Others have covered the tsk-ing about altitude and weather etc. so I’ll just tell you how much I enjoyed this post! It’s one I need to read and re-read. I live in a suburb of Salt Lake City and still struggle above 9000 feet – I’m always very wary of taking flat-landers hiking! And yes, hiking in snow is awful – though we have some great pics of us “surfing” the snow on the way down from a hike where we encountered it. Thank you for your openness, your wisdom, and your beautiful writing!!
Loved this post. Hiked a lot in Utah and Idaho. Love Mount Baldy in the high Uintas. Tetons are beautiful. Sorry but I LOVE the western mountains. The view of mountains when you land at the SLC airport is stunning. My front room widow faces east and we have a beautiful view of the Wasatch mountain range. I love this beautiful world God created.