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So Much More than a View September 4, 2015 Elevation: 14,259 feet Elevation gain from trailhead: 5,100 feet Roundtrip distance: 14.5 miles (Click on photos for larger image) Summiting Long’s Peak was a thrilling whirl of physical and mental obstacles. Low winds and an unbroken, unforgettable bluebird sky were so worth the wait for our first Long’s summit! For three hours up until sunrise, we moved under a star spangled sky and were guided over a wide, well-maintained trail through the forest, which eventually gave way to an excitingly broad boulder field. The city of Boulder was radiant from all those miles away, while the mountains ahead were giant shadows with no discernable edges; allure, intimidation, and inspiration.
“The Ledges” tested our judgement in navigating the best path from A to B to C to D et cetera, et cetera! This area is marked with several “targets” that, while undeniably helpful, leave the best route in-between each one up to some tricky interpretation.
As Adam happily hopped up the Trough, I happily staggered and crawled, drinking in the stunning V-shaped formation I was traversing, I was truly small and appropriately insignificant.
“The Narrows”, while not quite as narrow as I had fantasized over my year-and-a-half wait to summit this mountain, took complete focus and demanded attentive footwork. “The Homestretch” was an ultra-fun jungle gym! With rock just vertical enough to force upward stretched arms and a climbing instinct, I understood what it means to be “on top of the world.” It was the most legitimate scrambling I have ever done, and it left me wanting more, and more… and more.
The Rocky Mountains have not once failed to showcase their electrifying beauty, and an innate sense assures me they never will.
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"The wild requires that we learn the terrain, nod to all the plants and animals and birds, ford the streams and cross the ridges, and tell a good story when we get back home." ~ Gary Snyder
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“Hiking -I don’t like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of the word ‘saunter?’ It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, A la sainte terre,’ ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.” ~ John Muir |
