Mt Massive
I summited my 17th 14er yesterday. Mt Massive is the second tallest peak in Colorado at 14,321 feet above sea level. Most of the peaks in Colorado are named to honor someone or something, Lincoln , Elbert, Harvard, etc. Mt. Massive is my favorite name because it is very accurately massive. There are 2 ways up to the top. One is 4 miles to the top and one is 6 miles to the top. No brainer, right? You go with the shorter route. But what you have to realize is that they both have the same elevation gain. So you have to decide…would you rather climb 4500 feet in 4 miles (steep) or 6 miles (less steep)? I chose steep.
Me and Noah and Jonah drove up to the trailhead Saturday night. It was a narrow, bumpy dirt road for 7 miles and a 4-wheel drive only road for the last half a mile. Since every step is precious to me, I forged ahead in the mini van to the very end. We were proudly the only 2wd vehicle at the top. Way to go Odyssey!! I am willing to take a car with 250,000 miles on it to many more places than I am a new car.
We had intended to back pack for a mile or so to get a head start in the morning but when we got there we saw that we were in a wilderness area with no camping allowed. So we set up camp at the trailhead which was just as well since it was getting too dark to hike anyway. We had a nice little camp with a fire, two tents and a hammock.
We woke at 6 and were on the trail by 7. It was straight up. After an hour and a half I had a tough decision to make. Jonah was having no problem and was struggling to slow down, but Noah was struggling to keep up. This surprised me because 2 years ago Noah was a climbing stud. In 2009, we climbed the tallest peak in Colorado and he was unstoppable. He beat me and Jonah to the top by an hour. But today he was struggling. He was sweating and resting too often and was starting to stumble. At the 2 mile mark I told Jonah to go ahead without me and meet me at the top and I would stay with Noah. Ten minutes after Jonah left, I finally had to stop Noah and tell him to go back. Every year a dozen people die on Colorado 14ers. Nine have died so far this year. Lightening, heart attacks and falls are the most common reasons. Noah was sweaty and his legs were shaking. I kept asking him if he wanted to go on and he said yes. Finally when I saw him stumble on a fairly easy climb, I had to make a decision. I told Noah I was sending him back. I was torn about whether or not to go back with him or send him back by himself. I was worried about him finding his way back (he has very poor vision) and I was worried about Jonah being on top and not knowing where we were. I finally gave Noah very specific instructions about finding his way back and what to do if he was lost and I left him. Tough decision because it would be 5 hours before I got back to the trailhead to find out if he'd made it or not. It might not sound like a big deal but we are still missing a hiker in a similar situation on a 14er from last October. The trails aren't always obvious. I chose to go on because Jonah was on the more dangerous part of the mountain. Like I said...tough decision.
It took me two hours to catch Jonah at the top, take a quick picture and head back down. Believe it or not, down is harder than up on a pair of old knees. As soon as we headed down we caught a brief snow flurry, (yes...on August 21st). We got back to the van at 1:30 and was relieved to find Noah was there taking a nice long nap. So alls well that ends well and another peak to add to my list. I'm not sure how many more I'll do. Ten years ago, my goal was to do 5 per year until I'm climbed all 54, but now I'm not so sure. I don't get the joy out of them that I once did. The views are still spectacular and I do appreciate that I can see scenes that most people can't, but seriously...these climbs are hard! It takes me days to recover! I think that main reason I'll keep doing at least one every year is just to see if I still can. It's a test to see if I am still able I suppose. I'll confess that everytime I climb one, I swear it's my last, but today I found myself on the internet exploring which one to do next so we'll see.
Happy climbing!
