Destination Pike's Peak

Try 2 at starting the hike: 6:08am

The beginning of the trail

I found hiking buddies!!

The summit is still a long way away

Made it to Barr Camp, tired and sweaty

A well earned rest

Almost at tree line

Resting at the A-frame, with the valley down below

There go my shoes!

The switchbacks at the end

Victorious! After 9 hours we made it!

Colorado

        What an adventure! Who would have ever thought a semi-solo trip to Colorado would amount to being one of the most tremendous experiences of my life! I had two weeks to enjoy between Pan Pacific Championships and my sisters wedding, so I decided to spend that time in Colorado. I enjoyed a week in the beautiful ski resort village of Vail staying at my Kenyon College friend Justin’s place. Justin had travel based work to do while I was there, which meant I got to see more than just the grassy ski slopes in summer. We went to Avon, Glenwood Springs, Leadville, and Breckenridge. Each was an experience in itself, and was surrounded by stunning scenery. In Avon, Glenwood Springs and Breckenridge I enjoyed the experience of walking or riding my bike around town, or better said around a lake where I somehow managed to get lost! How does that happen? Water on the left, can’t get lost! Hmmm. Leadville would certainly standout as the highlight. Justin and I went to visit the Silver Dollar Saloon, a historic pub from hundreds of years ago. Suffice to say the people present were very drunk, slightly frightening in a funny way, and at one stage I was convinced that the bar would actually turn into a Quinton Tarentino “From Dusk Till Dawn” scene. Clearly it didn’t, thankfully!

   Justin headed off  Scotland to eat haggis and black pudding after 6 days, so I ventured down to Colorado Springs. My goal was to hike Pike’s Peak. It’s one of Colorado’s 14ers, which to the rest of us means it’s over 14,000ft high, or 4300m (approximately). That’s quite an ambitious goal for a little sprinter like me. Especially considering only two weeks ago I couldn’t even finish my 50m race without dying. Yet here in sunny Colorado I’d decided I was going to hike for 8-10 hours!!? Exactly, crazy. However, I’d set my mind to it, and the experience went like this:

    The day, September 3^rd 2006, started at 4:30 am when I woke up, turned on the internet and checked the weather at the peak and outside. There is a website that has a camera up on Pike’s Peak to show conditions, but I thought perhaps it was malfunctioning that day because it showed nothing at all (perhaps because it was still dark out? clever Michelle) I figured I’d just have to trust in what the weather had told me the previous day, and just go for it. I headed over to the peak at 5:30, and embarked on my journey at 5:52am. I had researched and planned out what I should wear, carry with me, and what to expect on route, but I’d forgotten to find out where the start of the trail actually was! Minor problem; Michelle lost on the mountain. I was definitely going to be bear food. I backtracked and thankfully saw a lovely lady walking around who pointed me in the right direction. 6:08, try two. I took my first steps on the trail at 6:12am, and met three Australians travelling and hiking at 6:28. The exchange went something like this:

Australian man “How ya goin?                     Michelle “How ya goin?”                                  Australian man “Oh, G’day” said with a huge smile!!

    They kindly took my photo which I posed beautifully for, and then I went on about my way. One mile down at 6:33am, I was on a role! 3 miles down at 7:30 am! What I stud I was! Mind you, that even included time to stop and take lots of beautiful photos, as well as timer photos so I could be in them. I should probably mention that those first few miles were pretty steep switchbacks, which means the trail zig-zagged up the mountain, because otherwise a 30min mile probably doesn’t sound very flash!

   It was around this stage that I ran into a group of four hikers. We started chatting, and I was kindly invited to hike with them as we continued up the mountain. We had so much to talk about that I think for a fair while we even forgot how much our legs were already hurting, though we were only ¼ or the way up! I very much enjoyed the company, and was quite surprised that I managed to continue talking while I walked uphill. 8:54am and we were 6.5 miles into the hike, halfway! YEAY! We reached Barr Camp (a rest stop with a small canteen) at 9:09am, and I took a photo of myself there to document that I did make it, as well as to show the look of daze after 3 hours of hiking! I should probably mention at this point that I lost my teeth 4 days prior to this hike. It was an old soccer injury, and I have dentures (I know, I know, too young for that!) and while I was biting into a yummy bagel in Vail, the bridge holding in my permanent dentures decided it was time to break. Clearly not an ideal situation considering I was in Colorado, essentially uninsured, and strangely enough with no possibility of seeing my Sydney based dentist straight away. So from that day until two days before my sisters wedding when my mother brought spare teeth for me, I was a toothless bandit. Hence the dark space in my smile…

   Jonathan, Tracy, Julie, Jalina and I took a god 45 minute break at Barr camp, eating milky ways, pop tarts, and water. No wait, they ate healthily, I ate that crap! We were all talking about how sore our legs were: if only we’d known at that stage there were another 6 hours to go!

   We packed up our gear, did the requisite toilet stop in the only toilet until the summit, and went about our way. 10:30, and only 4.8 miles to go! That seemed like nothing. We’d managed to hike 9.2 miles in 4.5 hours, with a good long break and a casual chatting pace. We figured we’d make the summit around 1pm. We had high expectations. Somewhere around 11am my hiking boots began to disintegrate. Well, that important part of the shoe that holds the sole on began to fall apart. Perhaps that was because they were 10 years old? Actually, possibly even 15 years.

   We reached the A-Frame shelter at 12:11pm. It’s a shelter for hikers who get caught out in the weather or want to camp overnight. It seemed like a great time for lunch, and we relaxed for about fifteen minutes. There was a moment when we five were sitting there that no one moved, no one spoke, no wind blew, and no insects called. It was absolute dead silent, and it was deafening.

   1:10pm and we were 2 miles away from the summit. That sign was so refreshing to me. From 3-2 miles out I had found myself pressing on with will power alone. I was sore; my hip had already been hurting for a couple hours. But that sign saying only 2 miles left gave me an extra boost because I KNEW without question I would make it, and make it easily!

   These last two miles consisted of steep switchbacks, and lots of pauses to catch our breath. By this stage we were well above 12,000ft, and the air was getting pretty thin. 1:30, my shoes completely died. They were flopping so much that even the shoe laces I’d tied around them became obsolete. I ripped off the soles, and continued the walk with a step-by-step reflexology treatment because I could feel pretty much every rock under my feet! 2:07pm, 1 mile left to go! This mile was the toughest, because in one mile we climbed 800ft up. Those zig-zags were pretty steep! For me, it was the most fun part of the entire hike though, and I found a reserve of energy that I didn’t know existed! I started pulling away from the pack, jumping over rocks, and I wasn’t even breathing heavily! I think that last mile felt easier because I LOVE playing on rocks and climbing, so it was felt like a childhood experience.

   We’d heard mention that at the end the real will breaker at the end is the 16 golden steps. We reached that point at 2:43pm, and it ended up being an incredibly step ascent to the summit. We all managed it well, probably because we could taste the finish by this stage! We were almost there! Almost at the summit! Almost at the shop that sold fudge and the “world best donuts”, which in fact were possibly the world’s worst donuts!

   We made it. 3:06pm. 9 hours later. Celebrations, and tired legs. It was am amazing experience, and we looked down at the valley in awe of how high we were and of what we’d just accomplished. In truth, that moment lasted only a couple minutes, because the sound of a chair to sit in and some food was far to appealing! Being essentially shoeless I took the Cog Rail train back down the mountain, though my valiant hiking friends battled back down the trail, even through several hours of dark, but they succeeded! We all stood a little prouder and taller by the end of the day, with some understanding that we may not be able to stand at all come the following morning!

    I imagine that everyone who takes on a mission like hiking a 14er faces their own personal demons and challenges at some stage. But like us, everyone who has reached that summit can always and forever proudly say, “I beat the mountain” and know that in future they can always achieve with will power and determination.

    It was an amazing experience, and I want to say a big thank you to those four beautiful people I hiked with. Jonathan, Julie, Tracy, Jalina, you made my experience that much more fun and enjoyable by including me, thank you. I look forward to keeping in touch, and perhaps taking on another mountain together one day!

 

    No goal is too big if we set our mind, body and soul towards achieving it.