Walking to the Tops of Mountains

or, an answer to the question, "why?"

Me, fully alive at the top of Bard Peak...can you tell?

Climbing mountains makes me feel completely awake, alert, and alive! There is no other experience that is as fulfilling for my body, mind, and spirit. Every climb, despite the different geography, different weather conditions, different companions, and different results, energizes my whole being.

During the ascent my body comes alive. The first mile of the climb creates aching thighs and gasping lungs. After the first mile my endorphins kick in and my body begins to feels alive. My heart is pumping and blood is flowing from top to bottom. The legs still ache and the lungs still struggle for oxygen but they now seem to be motivated to pursue the goal.

Meanwhile my mind is rebelling to the same degree that my legs and lungs are. We always start our climbs early in the morning, around 5:30. Let the record show that I am not a morning person. My mind does its best to convince me that being in bed would be a much better alternative and this is the best time to turn around. If that doesn’t work, my mind will try to convince my left knee or my right hip that it is not strong enough to continue and our whole self should turn around lest we get stranded high up in the mountains. Then the second mile begins and the endorphin rush causes my mind to become alert. I must pay careful attention to navigation, the challenges on the trail, and the ever-changing weather conditions. My mind is fully engaged in the successful pursuit of this goal!

The only part of my being that is prepared for the pursuit is the spiritual side of me. I know from experience what to expect from beginning to end, good and bad. I feel fully alive when I experience the beauty of the created order that is revealed to me with each step up. I feel fully alive when I get above the treeline and see the expansiveness of this part of creation. This feeling is expanded when standing on the top of a mountain. I also feel fully alive when I recognize the loneliness at the top of the mountain. As beautiful as it is, it is not capable of sustaining life. This creates in me a deep appreciation for the life and relations back down in the valley. I am convinced that is where we are created to thrive, sometimes it takes a mountaintop to remind me.

It sounds silly to say this but I enjoy feeling alive. I also tend to become lethargic in body, mind, and spirit. As such, I must intentionally pursue abundant, whole life. There are many kinds of exercises and activities that awaken my body. My mind can become alert when I am reading a good book or solving a difficult problem. My spirit becomes alive when I allow God to reveal himself to me in nature, word, or people. Walking to the tops of mountains, with all of its challenges, danger, and possibility, is the way I have found to energize all parts of me simultaneously. It is here that I feel fully alive. That is why, dear Mother, that I climb mountains.

Thrice Rebuffed, 3.8

Nic's Story
My good friend Nic is a pleasure to hang out with and doubly a pleasure to hike/climb with. And he is capable of taking care of himself in the mountains...

When we last saw Nic he was on top of the ridge that ultimately led to the summit of Tabeguache Peak; we were about 3/4 of the way up and exchanged plans by yelling to overcome the distance that separated us and the winds. We couldn't really understand what the other was saying but he pointed up, which meant he was going to make a run for the summit (it was not in view for either of us).

borrowed image - Tab on left,
false summit right of cener

He continued on this ridge for a ways until he had to descend several hundred feet to a saddle between the ridge he was on and the western ridge of Tabeguache. He then began his climb up a false summit west of Tabeguache. This false summit is around 13,900 ft in elevation, no small task!

It was about this time that the storms came in. Undeterred, Nic continued up...he said it was fairly intense and there were times when he took shelter under large rocks. When the storm would ease, he would go up.

There was a time on this climb where he thought death was imminent - and not being afraid - sat down, said his prayers, lit a cigarette, drank a beer, and enjoyed the view! He continued his quest and made it to within 100 ft (little bump right of the tallest point on this pic) when he realized that he was walking on the fine line between testing fate and stupidity. I am not certain I would have recognized this being so close to the summit...he decided to hustle down the mountain. He was able to dodge the lightning, avoid slipping on the wet rocks and didn't break any legs - made it back to our car at 5:06pm, a little rattled but committed to tagging the top of Tab one of these days...

Civilization
We drove back to Salida and enjoyed a gyro from Mama D's (very good) and the hot tub at Silver Ridge Lodge (the best hot tub I've ever been in!).

For the record, this is a stock photo - these two girls were not with us but we were with two other pretty girls:

that's me on the right, not a pretty girl...

Thrice Rebuffed, 3.7

Had a great conversation with our "Good Samaritans," we spoke of their home in the Sangre de Cristo range southeast of Salida, we spoke of the economy in Texas, the fickle weather in the mountains, mentoring adolescents, and Unaccompanied Alien Children.

I arrived safely back at the car at 3:00pm thanks to the super-nice Colorado couple in the red pickup filled with large dogs! I found Caleb tucked safely in the car listening to classical music and playing games on his iTouch...none the worse for the wear. If you don't believe the story of my shoe, here is video testimony:



The only remaining mystery was Nic's status...I calculated that the earliest we could expect him was 3:30pm. I established 4:30pm as my drop-dead, official panic time. The time dragged by and my mind was racing with ALL of the worst-case scenarios for Nic - struck by lightning, a rock slide, a slip on a wet rock, him laying up there with a broken leg, etc. The panic time approached with no sign of Nic. I carefully reviewed our route and re-calculated hiking times, and re-adjusted my panic time to 6:00pm (I "kicked the can down the road," maybe I should be a Government Budget Consultant???).

Though we were several miles from civilization and deep in a forest, my cell phone was able to send and receive texts. Here is a message I sent to Brenda (tucked cozily and dry at the Silver Ridge Lodge in Salida) at 5:02pm:

"We are still waiting on nic...im not officially panicked but is getting close to the time where he would have had plenty of time to get back...will you find the sheriffs number and find out what the missing hiker procedure is...i will be getting worried if he is not here by 6 or 630"

Here is the message I sent to Brenda (still tucked cozily and dry at the Silver Ridge Lodge in Salida, perhaps she is wiser than us?) at 5:06pm:

"Nevermind..."

While I was composing and sending the initial text, Nic rounded the corner and was making his way down the hill towards us. What a relief!

Thrice Rebuffed, 3.6

The Road Back Down...
We finally reached the beginning of the Jennings Creek Trail Head and CR240; now roughly 3 miles down to the car. Normally I enjoy a good walk and 3 miles is about the perfect distance. But normal is not part of our vocabulary these last few hours...

1. We were walking in a deluge
2. We were walking in a lightning storm
3. There was also hail
4. I had one good shoe and the other foot was essentially a sock; now soaking wet and cold.
5. The temperature had dropped to the upper 50's, definitely not normal for two wet South Texans in July.

So we trudge down the mountain...

As we were hiking down the rocky 4WD road, I favored my left side to relieve the weight on my nearly-bare right foot. After a half mile or so, my left knee began to ache and ultimately locked up similar to my experience on the first Tabeguache Rebuff. So my hiking style transitioned from that of Festus from Gunsmoke to someone (or something) from the Zombie Apocalypse.

Much like Jonah in the belly of the big fish, my prayer life intensified...I didn't pray for my own deliverance (I have no trepidation about death or discomfort) but I prayed fervently for Caleb - that he would make it safely back to Salida without too much trauma. I prayed fervently for Nic as he was stuck up on the high mountain in the middle of this intense storm. I felt responsible for both of them since I had dragged them into this misadventure...

Still a couple of miles from the car, an elderly couple with a pickup full of dogs came driving down the road. They stopped and asked if we needed help or wanted a ride. Caleb jumped at the chance but I declined...I wanted to plod along and see if Nic might catch up with us. I gave Caleb the car keys and off they went.

And I hobbled along...

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The Devotional Interlude from Psalm 46...

Psalm 46 is a poem or song about the uncertainties of the journey...the earth gives way, the mountains fall, the waters roar and foam, the mountains quake...this uncertainty is contrasted with the stability of God, and that famous line comes from this Psalm (I've included several translations):

"be still, and know that I am God"

"calm down, and learn that I am God"

"stop your fighting, and know that I am God"

"cease striving, and know that I am God"

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My favorite thing about hiking and climbing in the mountains is, despite the pain-discomfort-uncertainty, there are beautiful reminders everywhere if we pause and observe...

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15 minutes or so after my side trip to this pond I hear a vehicle coming up the road...it was the elderly couple with a pickup full of dogs...seems Caleb told them that my knee was locked up and I didn't have a shoe on my right foot. They dropped him and immediately came back and demanded that I get in the truck and ride down with them.

I did.

Thrice Rebuffed, 3.5

Finally the Tree Line...
The storm clouds above were rapidly converging but once we arrived at the stable terrain of the Jennings Creek Basin we hustled. Or more aptly stated - Caleb hustled and I hobbled like Festus from Gunsmoke...remember that I am wearing only one good shoe.

We made the treeline before the storm hit but only by 10 minutes or so. It started raining on us when we made it to the "Stairway to Heaven" and we could hear the thunder rumbling back in the Basin from where we had come. We began to worry about Nic, still up on the Ridge or near the Tab Summit as far as we knew. There was a lot of lightning up there...

When we made it deep into the forest below the treeline most of the lightning danger was gone. Now we had to try to stay as dry and warm as possible. And trudge back down to the car, still about 3.5 miles away...

Thrice Rebuffed, 3.4

The Descent
Normally gravity aids the descent and the travel time is about one-third of the ascending travel time. Not so on a highly unstable boulder field. You have to carefully pick and choose the placement of each hand and each foot, hoping to find a rock that will stay put for a few seconds. It was very tedious.

The Eerie Sound
As Caleb and I made our descent we heard a very strange sound. Sometimes you can hear water running under a boulder field but this sound was not running water. We became perfectly still and quiet...and as best as I could tell, the sound was the sound of rocks moving underneath the surface rocks. I have witnessed a rock slide from a distance and it was quite powerful. We were about halfway down when we heard this, and when the hair on the back of my neck stood on end, I knew we had to:

1. Get out of this gully.
2. Get down back down to the basin as quickly as possible.

Responding to item 1, we moved laterally to a shoulder that separated gullies and into to the adjoining gully. This would take us out of the main stream of a rock slide. Movement down to the adjoining gully was just as tedious and slow. We made it down in one hour exactly.

The next crisis - converging storms clouds from the west and east and we were both the tallest things in the basin. We must get to the treeline quickly!

And I still have only one functional shoe...

Thrice Rebuffed, 3.3

The Basin



We are high up into the basin by now - the weather is still perfect and the detached sole seems to be adequately attached to the upper by the red bandana (writing this sentence 5 days after the event makes it seem ridiculously stupid, which, of course, it was...it is one thing to walk this way in the mall but completely different hiking above the treeline on very rocky terrain that is about to become more intense and with each step, moving farther away from civilization and all of the aid that might be offered there).

There is a transition point on the hike up the Jennings Creek Basin - from a grassy, brushy terrain to a terrain that is exclusively rock and increasing steepness. When you get into this "bowl" you have to pick your poison - what line are you going to take up to the ridge, all of them steep and rocky? We picked our line up through a gully and pressed on.

A couple of things of note at this point, around 10:00am:

1. There were storm clouds gathering out to our west and the makings of another storm to our east; above and around us it was still clear.
2. There are no more pictures or videos from this part of the hike because of the intensity of the line we chose.

It is difficult to gauge the pitch (or angle) of ascent and distance but my guess is our gully was about a 45 degree pitch and 1000 feet to the top of the ridge. Most of the climbing we did in this gully involved both feet and both hands, this is my favorite time on the trail...Class 3 climbing, here's a definition:

"Scrambling or un-roped climbing. You must use your hands most of the time to hold the terrain or find your route. This may be caused by a combination of steepness and extreme terrain. Some Class 3 routes are better done with rope."

Nic scrambled ahead of us and reached the ridge about 10:30am; Caleb and I worked our way up to approximately 2/3 of the way up. Two notable things happened on this particular ascent:

1. The red bandana became wet and thus failed to keep the sole of my shoe anywhere near the upper of my shoe and more importantly, the bottom of my foot.
2. The rock field that made up this gully was NOT stable, every rock moved - the gravel, the pebbles, the stones, the boulders - everything. This makes ascending very difficult and a little dangerous.

Did I mention that I am  now hiking with a shoe on my left foot and the lining of destroyed hiking boot on my right? It was then that I had an epiphany - what if one of the unstable rocks tumbled from its perch, disturbed by my hands, and found its way to the top of my right foot? I am fond of my fully intact meta-tarsals and not fond of the idea of being stuck on the side of this mountain 15 to 20 miles and hours from help.I scrambled up to about 3/4 of the way up the ridge, around a ledge and made eye contact with Nic up on top of the ridge.

"My boot is completely blown out...no traction and no protection...we have to turned around."

Nic yelled back:

"You won't make it up here with no traction. I'll go on to the summit and meet you guys at the car."

At 11:00am, Caleb and I turned around...

Thrice Rebuffed, 3.2

The Jennings Creek Basin


Finally above the treeline and still making tolerable time, and the shoe, though ugly, is holding up. Right behind Caleb's right shoulder in the photo below is our next target - the saddle between Carbonate and Tabeguache Peak.

July 11, 2012 - Jennings Creek Basin & Caleb's Gameface

Don't be put off by Caleb's surly countenance, it is just the standard gameface photo. He is enjoying himself, inasmuch as one can enjoy themselves when they haven't had a good intake of oxygen for 3 hours and their legs are screaming with pain. And he is pretty stoked about wearing MY good pair of hiking shoes.

Getting above the treeline is my favorite part of any hike, I love the wide open spaces and the views are stunning in every direction. This photo and the video above don't do an adequate job of revealing all of the heights, layers and colors of this scene.

Our First Problem
As you can tell from the video and picture, the weather is still really good and Caleb is as happy as a lark. There is no trail from this point forward so we have to pick the best line we can and go up. The trail we chose runs alongside the rocks over Caleb's right shoulder. This means that our left feet were lower than our right feet and an awkward strain is put on our feet and shoes. Normally not a problem if one has a good pair of shoes on...



I should have mentioned that duct tape, bandanas, AND/OR baling wire will fix anything. Duct tape would have been perfect for this job but I forgot to bring it. Still optimistic about the efficacy of the bandana though...

Thrice Rebuffed, 3.1

July 11, 2012

The Start
Today was my third attempt to tag the summit of Tabeguache Peak, our route was the western ridge of Tab, a mostly easy hike and climb...mostly is the operative word of that sentence. Caleb, Nic, and I hit the trail around 6:00am, it was a beautiful start of the day.

About two miles into the hike towards the trailhead, Caleb's Columbia Hiking Shoe (right foot) began to tear. We stopped to survey the damage and assess our potential progress. The shoe looked like the turkey from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, I have included a video for your pleasure. Watch the first 15 seconds:



Going Up
The 3 mile hike to the trailhead was very uneventful, not steep at all and a little boring. Once at the trailhead, Caleb and I decided to trade shoes. I thought I might be better able to monitor their condition and Caleb could enjoy the climb without worrying about footwear.

The trail became fairly steep as we quickly gained altitude through the trees - about 3/4 of the way through the treeline we reached the "Stairway to Heaven."

At the top of the Stairway to Heaven we stopped to drink in this view:

We are making decent time, the shoe is holding up and there is not a cloud in the sky...

Thrice Rebuffed, 2.0

Mt. Shavano on the right...

The second Tabeguache rebuffing occurred in the summer of 2009. My son Josh, my friend Nic, and I decided to do the Shavano to Tabeguache combo from the standard East Slopes route. We made it to the top of Mount Shavano but severely underestimated the trip length. We ran out of water and energy and did not make the 2 mile round trip to Tabeguache. As of July 2009, the score is:

     Tabeguache Peak    2
     David Littleton         0

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Don't let the smiles of Nic and I fool you...Josh's facial expression is a more accurate representation of our mood.

Funny story, the guy that took this pic arrived at the summit roughly the same time as us - and he immediately took out a hash pipe and fired up...I can't imagine. He did make it down safe though.

Thrice Rebuffed, 1.0

In August of 2008, I took a sabbatical trip to Colorado...my goal was to hike to Brown's Lake near Salida and set up a base camp. From base camp I would climb nearby 14ers Shavano, Tabeguache, and Antero.

Brown's Lake, elevation +/- 11,260 ft.

Establishing a base camp for five days requires a lot of supplies. The only way to get them up to Brown's Lake was to strap them on my back and carry. After day one of a very heavy pack and six miles of ascent, my left knee decides to lock up in the middle of the night. By morning it loosened up a little but we decided to scrap all summit attempts, Tab was first on the list, for the sake of my knee. Tabeguache rebuff number one...

In case you were wondering, I did make it back down after an amazing week of chillin' at Brown's Lake. This video is my testimony...and the most viewed on my YouTube account:

Thrice Rebuffed, Intro

Mount Everest has a couple of local names - the Nepalese call it Sagarmatha and the Tibetans call it Chomolungma.

• Chomolungma means "Goddess Mother of the World."
• The Sherpas, native people that do all of the hard work that allows western adventurers to reach the summit, are religiously a blend of Tibetan Buddhism and Native Animism.
• As such, they believe the mountain must be honored and further, the mountain chooses whether it will be climbed or not.

There is a good deal deal of ritual at the beginning of the climbing season to earn the favor of the mountain.

I am not converting to a blend of Tibetan Buddhism and Native Animism BUT I am beginning to think that Tabeguache Peak will not allow me to climb her (or him, or it). 

Three times I have attempted and three times I have been rebuffed. I am beginning to take it personally, I am on the verge of quitting all together, or I am on the verge of making it my life's quest...

Searching

Most of the people I know are searching for some truth...they want answers and they want to find something they can build a life on. This search is common throughout human history - who are we? where did we come from? what is our purpose? what is our destiny?

Our Monday night small group has been walking down this trail for several weeks now and last Monday we pondered this question:

Why are humans so quick to jump on to and cling to the latest truth claims?

We came at this question from a Christian perspective, heavily influenced by St. Paul's words from Romans 1:

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

We also discussed this question with some humility because each one of us has been guilty of being influenced by the "truth of the day." Here is what we concluded in answer to the question:

• We prefer our autonomy, we don't like having anything in authority over us.
• And if there is no authority over us, we are free to pursue our selfish desires with no rules.

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A few days later I listened to this story from a "This American Life" podcast. To summarize, a college professor with a family decided there must be more than this, what he could touch and see; if there weren't more then the beautiful universe would be diminished. So he abandons his wife and children and job at the university to try to establish contact with extra-terrestrials. He firmly believes that there is intelligent life "out there." After years of effort, frauds and near-misses he still believes that something is out there - something big, over-arching, transcendent - in his words, "what we might call God." He said that he believes ET could exist BUT believes that God could not because, again his words, "it sounds too fantastic."

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Might this bring a third excuse to the table? Do we reject the idea of a loving God because it is too fantastic, too good to be true?