This whole trip has been a huge learning experience. Learning what I can handle, what I can’t… Mount Evans was my first 14er and I got sick as a dog. Elevation start 10,550, END 14,130.
Mount Evans
The Reeds and I drove up, and maybe it was the quick elevation gain of riding in a car versus hiking some, but despite Steven’s capable driving I was a mess by the time we got to the top.
Altitude sickness.
My heart was pounding almost as much as my head; I figured vomiting sounded like a good plan but couldn’t bring myself to do it. And then I stumbled walking down a few steps and started slurring words so I said to the guys, “I’m going to go sit in the Jeep for a bit.” And then I think I experienced what astronauts must feel because I really felt like I was in space.
The weather was quirky, overcast and cold - with dark clouds out on the horizon. After experiencing the lightning and hail storm at Loch Lomond we’ve become super-conscious about watching the clouds.
Before heading back down we took a detour to the right for one last photo-op. Steven walked over to the edge and Brian and I started walking toward him until he started doing something weird with his hand, where he’d lift it up in the air, then down – up then down. What’s he doing? At which point all of our electrical equipment (phones, cameras and video cameras) all started making freaky clicks and bleeps. We all started hightailing it back to the car but before I got there I yelled something like “EEE!!!” raised my hand up toward my head and my fingernails started buzzing. Holy Shit! If I hadn’t been so terrified I think I could have practiced and shot the stuff from my fingers like a Super Hero. But instead I ran.
Once we were safely in the car we found out that’s what Steven had been feeling out there on the edge. We were all more than a little freaked because there was no storm and no thunder, but the charge in the air was just huge.
Site of possible alien abduction.
In retrospect we now remember a mass exodus from the Mount Evans peak (which I hadn’t gone up because I couldn’t take 3 stairs at that point) but they must have experienced that weird buzz a few minutes before us because people were pouring down the mountain.
As we started the drive down the mountain road it started to snow a little (in August) and two hiking gals stopped to get into a car in front of us but then they didn’t. We edged by them and then realized they needed a ride down from the mountain. We told them to pile in.
The hikers were very interesting, the Brit (who I will swear forevermore was Harry Potter author JK Rowling) had climbed mountains all over the world. And she said she learned the hard way with every climb, and that never changes. Which, in its weird way was a comfort. She said that they had asked a few other cars to help them out and get them down and no one helped. Seriously? So we bonded over how karma would get those folks. I was still slurring like I was drunk but explained I was from Florida and she knew I had altitude sickness. She said it definitely would have been better (even for her) if they had done half one day, camped, and then did the second half on day 2. We’re thinking that might be the way.
We dropped them off at Summit Lake and then wandered around there. BEAUTIFUL.
Album cover series...
The weather was still holding out and we weren’t feeling as if we were facing a potential alien abduction any longer (and I had started to come back from Space) so we pulled over to check out the Mount Goliath Natural Area. This was one of my favorite spots because it seems to be a convergence between ecosystems, so rocks and trees that don’t seem like they’d hang were all found together…
This area had a vibe similar to Berthoud Pass (Sound of Musicesque) but without snow. I was starting to feel human again and there was so much to explore. I’d definitely like to go back to that area and trek even further in.
Brian worked on videos for his Mountain Man series, Steven looked for gold, and I stumbled around taking pictures.
Without voicing it I think we were all kind of giddy that we survived a near-miss from something. Maybe lightning, maybe something paranormal. We laugh about it now but I also don’t think we talked about our experience to Rowling and her friend. Weird.
Further down the mountain we stopped to check out more beautiful cloud formations on the peaks…
It was a bizarre and poignant trek. If it had been our time I could think of far worse views to have as my last, but today was not that day.