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Hike Report 10/10/24

Woke up at 3:50am to head out at 4:00am for the Longs Peak trail. I love how hiking websites will say ‘make sure to get a full night’s sleep’ and then ‘get an early start by 2 or 3am,’ as if we can make ourselves fall asleep at any time. I arrived at the trailhead at 5:30am and there were already a handful of cars there, with more pulling in. It was pitch black, and my god, the stars! So strong and so close. I haven’t seen stars that clear and bright since the days when I’d walk outside my mom’s house stoned at 1am and stand with my bare feet in the soil, watching the stars and listening to tree frogs while fireflies mingled all around.

Walked through the woods, headlamp on until sunrise. Saw some bear scat which put me on alert.

The red sun rises

Shortly after sunrise, I caught my first glimpse of the summit in the distance.

Though my pack was only 15-20 pounds, it was very uncomfortable for some reason within the first half hour, leading to quite a neck and headache.

I arrived at the Boulderfield by 9am. Quite literally a field of boulders. It was more of a haul getting through/up this than I anticipated. Plenty of scrambling with 3-4 touch points, though no risk of falling a great distance.

The keyhole! It was my goal to at least reach that point. This is about 6 miles into the route.

The temperature in this area was around 35 degrees. Heavy winds pushed me around a little while creating a wind chill that made the temperature feel much colder.
I sat in the hut adjacent to the keyhole for temporary refuge. Another man sat with me and we contemplated pressing on. “I’m going to see if the wind dies down,” he said. “Let me check the other side of the keyhole,” I said. I set my pack down and crawled up to the keyhole and to the other side. It was like stepping into another world. Simply incredible. Like being in Middle Earth.

I scooched back down to the hut and reported that the wind was a little lighter on the other side. We sat for a little while longer. He decided to go for it. I told him I’d sit for a few more minutes. After these few minutes I crawled back up and crossed over the keyhole. I started slowly making my way down the Ledges. Now, I do not like heights. To the right of the Ledges is a significant dropoff and there is little room for error. Of course, this is no Torre Egger, but I’m no Marc-André Leclerc. Hundreds of people do this route every year – but my scrambling/climbing experience is mostly limited to controlled indoor settings with plenty of other people around. And did I mention I don’t like heights?

Anyway, I make my way carefully down the ledges, and even get about 3/4 of the way through them, when I get to this one problem that was very exposed. I made the mistake of looking down to my right at the drop, and slipped a little. I felt a visceral feeling that I haven’t felt in probably over a decade – mortal fear physically shuddering through my entire body. I clung to the rockface and thought for a brief moment. Even if I made it through this, I had to get through the next three sections, which are arguably more treacherous than the Ledges in terms of risk, and then I’d have to traverse the same route coming back. I decided to turn back – my first time doing so in a situation like this. If I’d had someone with me that isn’t afraid of heights, I probably could’ve calmed my nerves and pressed on. To another person, it may not seem like a big deal. If any specific training would help me get through that in the future, it would probably be more climbing, especially outdoor. Still, Longs is one of the most incredible hikes I’ve ever been on. It felt like a proper adventure – I wanted to read Lord of the Rings again when I got home. Many more pics, but I can only put up to 25MB in this email.

Hike Report 10/12/24 (brief)

Felt I needed to summit a 14er after turning back at Longs. Headed out for Quandary Peak at 5:15am, arrived at 7am. Almost full parking lot. 36 degrees. Very busy trail. Someone on Alltrails said this trail is like a glorified stairmaster. While hyperbolic, they weren’t entirely wrong. Just a straight incline the entire way. Doing the Manitou Incline the other week helped prep for this. I summitted at 9:35am, hung out for 15 minutes, then practically bounced down the mountain like a runaway tire and made it back to the car at 11am. Didn’t see any mountain goats, which was a little disappointing, but I was able to see lots of fall colors near the base and on the drive back to Denver. May go for Grays and Torreys next week, weather permitting.

~ Quandary Summit ~

The Longs Peak trail in particular was one of those times in life when I think, “Wow, something is really happening.” I think these moments are important. Other examples include traveling, doing the comedy show (still waiting on the recording), trying to learn Gamelan – just pushing oneself, I suppose. I’m a big proponent of the sacredness of daily small moments, but these “larger” moments have a different quality. Does this make sense? They are born from a junction, the action-point prism – in which doubt is put aside and you say to yourself, “What if I took one more step?” And that one additional step opens undiscovered worlds. The audacity to try. The naivete of thinking you can do whatever you want. Naivete is beautiful and should be held onto.

A tangentially related thought:
If you have experienced something that has awakened you to some degree, some part of you, that experience will never leave you. It will always serve as a reference point in regard to the ever-expanding possibilities and power within yourself. When you are feeling down and out and you can’t possibly imagine how you’re going to shift things, look back at this experience/previous state you were in prior. You know that that state or experience was real and that it came from within you; so the evidence points to you being capable of transcending yourself, and the previous notions you had about yourself and the world. Once you have that experience, there is no going back. This could be a profound internal or external trip, a relationship, a peace within, a meditative state, a state of euphoria from socializing, dance, extreme physical exertion, etc. This is why we strive to transcend. Once we reach a higher state, there is truly no going back. One needs only look back for a moment for reassurance, and then the most exciting part comes: discovering the unknown dimensions/elements of ourselves through a constant state of Yes. Yes to ourselves and the world. “Yes is a pleasant country,” wrote ee cummings. Life is beautiful when we say yes. Life brings us challenges so that we may discover untapped power within ourselves and show us our eternal limitlessness. It knows we’re up to the task. Anything you’ve truly set your energy on has come into being, every time.

This has been discount Tony Robbins, signing off from this #10 electric mail letter. Thank you for tuning in.