Number 6 on my 30 Before 30 list is "Go on a hike". When I originally wrote this, I had no idea what type of hike I'd be going on, but had an easy stroll in mind. How wrong I was!
My friend from high school, Luz, told me she was doing the Pikes Peak Challenge for the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado in support of her Godmother. I loved this idea and when the opportunity arose to join her team, I jumped on it.
We started the hike at 5:15 a.m. and reached the summit a little before 2 p.m. It was one of the most difficult things I've put my body through but was more than worth it! In Colorado, you hear a lot about people hiking 14'ers so you don't really think a lot of it...until you do it yourself. There are easier mountains to climb and ones that have a lot shorter trails, but the 13 miles to the summit of Pikes Peak was a journey I really appreciate taking.
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| During the first three miles of the hike. What a beautiful sunrise! |
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| 7.5 miles to the Summit |
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| A much needed rest. The branch was a perfect resting spot. |
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| The views were beautiful, well worth the 8 hours on the trail. |
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| With Luz as the temps started to drop. |
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| At timberline and what we were climbing over, around and on top of. |
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| About one mile from the Summit, freezing but loving it! |
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| What I saw looking down. One wrong move and I'd be going down. |
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| At the Summit with the Weebles. We named ourselves this because Weebles Wobble but They Don't Fall Down! |
One of the reasons it was so difficult is because of the terrain. It was very rocky and pretty much straight up for 13 miles. At about 5 miles to go, I did begin to get sore and thought I would end being immobile the next day. Surprisingly, I was not that sore that night or the next day. I only felt as if I'd been to a really great Zumba class.
I'm proud of myself for accomplishing this and being in a good enough shape to complete the hike and not be out of commission for the next week :) I actually can't wait to climb my next!!
