La Plata 1

From the Winfield Cemetery

Decision

Guys having fun on Democrat!!!

One of our family rituals/traditions is to vacation each summer in Colorado. This started in 2009 and has happened every year since in one form or another. And each year, the guys (Josh, Caleb, Nic, myself) try to climb a mountain or two. I have developed a criteria for selecting each year's mountain:

1. proximity to our vacation spot (normally Salida)
2. June (still snow up high) or July (afternoon storms)?
3. my personal physical condition at the time of vacation
4. length of the trip to and fro, or for the less poetically inclined, up and down

This year, as in year's past, we are staying in Salida. From Salida we have easy access to most of the Sawatch Range and we haven't climbed most of the Sawatch. Check #1. We are traveling in the third week of July, afternoons storms almost a certainty. Check #2. For a number of reasons, I am only in mediocre condition this season.  Check #3. So because of the afternoon storms and my sedentary lifestyle in the months preceding, we need a mountain with a short round trip.

And the winner is, La Plata Peak from the Southwest Ridge!

Once the decision is made, time to do the research on the mountain. Reading route descriptions, trail reports, and studying pictures...more on this later.

Anticipation...
sets in after reading dozens of trail reports and viewing hundreds of pictures! The thrill of hiking in the back country - the testing of mind and body and the experience of seeing rugged and expansive beauty - is unmatched for me. It appears that the steepness of this trail and the beauty of the North Fork Clear Creek Valley will satisfy both!

Anxiety...
tempers our enthusiasm...Tuesday night's weather report predicted a 60% chance of storms for Buena Vista and Leadville, La Plata lies right in between. Also, as we stargazed on the deck of Silver Ridge, Nic mentioned that he had a very uneasy feeling about Wednesday's adventure. Nothing specific just an ominous feeling. To make things more ominous, he said he was going to tag the summit regardless of rain, sleet, snow, lightning or thunder...hoping that there is not a repeat of last year's Tabeguache's stormy adventure.

Winfield Cemetery
Our climbing team was reduced to Nic and I this year, Josh had to work in San Antonio and Caleb's in-grown toenails were bothering him.

Our diminished team left Salida at 5:15 Wednesday morning, headed north through Buena Vista towards Leadville and turning west on Chaffee County 390 Road. We were on this road a few years ago going towards Huron, this morning we drove past the left fork that goes to the Huron Trail Head and continued on to the Winfield Cemetery and the La Plata Trail.

We park the car in the pines just below the Cemetery. Reading the memorial sign reminds us that, though beautiful, this country is very inhospitable.

At 6:15am, we began our two mile march to the official Trail Head. About a mile in, a 4WD truck carrying what appears to be two hikers passes on the rugged road. About a mile and a half in, we make note of a curious fork in the road that meanders to the right...

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.