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?