Today I am sore. My muscles ache all over. But it’s an amazingly good feeling. You see, I scaled a mountain yesterday. Arizona’s tallest peak at that, Mount Humphrey’s – elevation 12, 637. It was one of those life changing experiences that I will always cherish and remember.
Now don’t get me wrong, Mount Humphrey’s is no Mount Everest, nor Mount McKinley for that matter (the tallest peak in the USA), but there is still something to be said for setting a lofty goal of climbing a pretty tall mountain and achieving that. Not only did I take up this challenge, but a group of 10 people joined in to see what their mettle was made of too. It was a beautiful thing.
Our group travelled up to Flagstaff from Phoenix the night before in order to settle in and get used to a higher elevation. Flagstaff as whole nestles in around the 7,000ft mark – so it is a decent change from the typical 2,000ft range of Phoenix. We all had a fun time going to dinner and talking about our plans for the hike. We even came up with a few jokes that went running on for the next day’s excursion. Our group, while geared towards fitness was by no means a stick in the mud for having fun!
We woke up at 6:15 with plans to have a healthy and somewhat good sized breakfast and then go over to the trailhead for an 8:00 start. We were on time with our goal and the group took a nice photo at the trailhead before setting off:
We all started together, but we quickly divided up into our own abilities and desire for speed. Josh Wagner was a clear leader and took off with my son Greg quite early. I didn’t see either of them again until I hit the summit. Josh is a specimen of human athleticism so he was an example of what can be accomplished when one is in tip top shape by summiting in 2 hours followed closely by my son at 2:25.
The second group consisted of two hikers, Clifton and Brittany followed relatively closely by me and my younger son, Nick. I am not sure what I was capable of achieving because my goal this time really wasn’t to race up the mountain, but to enjoy the vistas, take some nice breaks along the way to appreciate the weather, the lovely breeze, the comaraderie between Nick and me…which was something that I cherished every step of the way. For most of the group, I think the goal was just to achieve the summit, or as close as could be achieved within certain parameters of ability.
The first leg of the journey was fun. It was like being in “The Lor d of the Rings” or “Into the Woods” which actually kept playing in my head …
“Into the Woods…It's time to go,
I hate to leave,
I have to, though.
Into the woods-
It's time, and so
I must begin my journey.”
And so we plodded along…keeping time with a group of Boy Scouts who were there to do a signaling activity as many of them brought mirrors to do their exercise as they made their way along the path.
After the long summer in the desert, the shelter from the sun was incredibly welcome and the cool air and breeze was like being on a mini vacation.
As time went on, we lost sight of those in our group that had forged ahead. I have found that though I can run without getting out of breath, there is something about hiking that taxes my lung capacity and I end up having to stop every so often to catch my breath. Nick and I started to think of imaginings to keep the trail interesting. We settled on a happy role play of “The Lord of the Rings.” Nick was the ring bearer, and I was his faithful companion Samwise Gamgee. Apparently because Nick said “You are such a good cook.” Hey – at leas t it wasn’t because I was the “Fat Hobbit.” We enjoyed the twists and turns of the switch backs and stopped every so often to take in the spectacular views.
I tend to think in song… and as the “Lord of the Rings” and “Into the Woods” theme of our hike kept continuing, I contemplated how on earth I had gotten to a position of being there in the first place.
Rewinding to only February of this year, I remembered the couch potato that was feeling rather sorry for herself as the P90X infomercial came on. I remembered thinking “What do I have to lose? At that time, I couldn’t even do three pushups – I couldn’t run around my block, I got tired from doing 20 jumping jacks.
Now, only 7 months later, I was running 10 miles in a stretch, doing hundreds of pushups in a day and climbing the tallest mountain in my state. Now that is cathartic. I felt proud, I felt such a sense of accomplishment. I also thought about how at that particular moment, there were 10 other people on that mountain that were there because of my efforts to organize fitness activities for others in my community. I mean, it is one thing to change my own life, but to also inspire others and facilitate their journey towards health and wellness? THAT is something to hang my hat on.
"Into the woods
The way is clear,
The light is good,
I have no fear,
Nor no one should.
The woods are just trees,
The trees are just wood.
I sort of hate to ask it,
But do you have a basket?"
This little portion of the song leads me to tell you about what I forgot…I forgot that not everyone would stay together. I forgot that it didn’t matter if I had all the first aid or P90X bars in the world, if the people weren’t with me, it wasn’t going to help them. My oldest son who was on the summit a good hour and a half ahead of us, was sitting in a high altitude with NO sunscreen on. He also didn’t have any of the food I’d packed but had in MY backpack. Thankfully he DID have a Camelback full of water. That still didn’t prevent him from getting a nice altitude sickness headache and a very red sunburn.
Hence, things to know for our next extreme excursion: Make a first aid kit for EVERY person’s pack. Make trail mix and divide up for each member. Sunscreen up BEFORE the trip even if it seems cloudy and cold and provide EXTRA sunscreen for the hours later when the sunscreen has been sweated off. (I put sunscreen on my face, but my neck and shoulders are beet red today.)
"Into the woods
And down the dell,
The path is straight,
I know it well.
Into the woods,
And who can tell
What's waiting on the journey?"
So my point is, you don’t always know what is waiting on the journey. Thinking ahead and “being prepared” (thank you boy/girl scouts) is really what it is all about. I’m not saying bring 5 years of rations on a day’s hike, but when you are talking a real mountain, you must be ready for a number of possibilities. I have to say that the weekend of September 18th was perfect weather in our experience – we truly could not have asked for better. I think our “annual” Mount Humphrey’s trip will fall approximately around the same time each year.
One last thing I would recommend for a group of varying abilities, is a game plan if people fall off and don’t complete the hike. Are you going to meet up afterwards? If so, where? Is it a “free for all” – that kind of thing. One of my good friends, Laura and her guest never made it to the summit and after departure from the trailhead in the morning I didn’t see her again. I was worried. Cell reception was very spotty so she didn’t get my text until later.
"Into the woods,
It's time to go,
It may be all
In vain, you/I know.
Into the woods-
But even so,
I have to take the journey."
What did this trip mean to me? To the others? I’m sure each person had their own goals for the trip. For a couple of our hikers, as mentioned before, they were truly interested in testing their limits in athleticism. They powered up the mountain, they realized how strong they really are. For others, it was just a matter of getting to the top and a few of us just dragged ourselves up there by sheer willpower…a true accomplishment in itself. Sometimes, just proving to yourself that you CAN do something is a life changing moment. At the same time, there were others of our group that weren’t attached to “reaching the top” – they were there to do the best they could that day and enjoy the scenery and cool weather. I say THAT is a lovely day in my book.
"Into the woods
Without regret,
The choice is made,
The task is set.
Into the woods,
But not forget-
ting why I'm on the journey.
Into the woods
to get my wish,
I don't care how,
The time is now."
After 7 months of really changing my lifestyle, the way I thought about health and fitness, learning to love exercise and a good healthy diet….I was amazed at the power of NOW. That day I had been watching the P90X infomercial, I could have changed the channel. I could have ordered it and let it collect dust on my shelf. But I DECIDED and COMMITTED to a new life. Being able to reach the top of Mount Humphreys last year would have been inconceivable to me and now, yesterday I SUCCEEDED in achieving a fitness goal that I really didn’t think I would ever accomplish. I know a few of my friends felt the same way yesterday. How amazing.
"Into the woods,
Without delay,
But careful no
To lose the way.
Into the woods,
Who knows what may
Be lurking on the journey?"
But the journey was NOT without hardship. I know even in the decent shape I am in, I was truly in pain by the last couple of hours. Each step hurt and my youngest son was completely fatigued in a way he had never experienced before. At times he reached points of feeling he couldn’t finish and I wondered if I had the strength to carry him out. We passed a swarm of bees and it made my son truly frightened. Nature answers to no one and the reality of some of the dangers that lie in a remote environment DID hit home. I will most likely invest in an adrenalin kit for future extreme hikes AND probably some bear spray. The beauty that lies around in nature can quickly become a dungeon if one becomes afraid. It is best to be ready for many of the possibilities good and bad.
We passed a man that took a bad spill and twisted his ankle horribly. He even had the support poles that people use on tough hikes (walking sticks?) and he STILL hurt himself badly. His ankle was wrapped in an ace bandage, but there was no way he was getting out of the forest any time soon. I thought to myself - what if one of our members had hurt him/herself like that? I was taking notes….
"Into the woods!
Into the woods!
Into the woods,
Then out of the woods,
And home before dark!"
At the end of the day…it was the “out of the woods” that gave us all the most trouble. It was QUITE a feat to make the summit. But what we didn’t realize was that even though the way out was down hill…we were all so weary. Even Josh and my son Greg, who made it up the mountain so quickly thought the passage out was never ending. By the time my younger son Nick and I came down the mountain, I started to question if I had taken a wrong turn. It just seemed so long. I was tired and the altitude headache and my concern for Nick’s fatique was making me question the path and the amount of time it was taking us to get out. The woods are tricky my friend. Even after Frodo threw the ring back into the fire, he still had to make it out of Mordor. And this was no Mordor. We were in a great environment with warm sun and beautiful pines. We grew to hate them by the end. “Doesn’t this forest ever end?” Nick and I were both remarking by hour THREE of hiking down. We still had an hour to go.
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.” ~ Robert Frost
But those final steps, when the trees cleared and we made it out onto the meadow were like finding Heaven. The happiness, the weary joy that we felt was so gratifying, no one can ever take that away. An endeavor like that of climbing a mountain does not leave one unchanged. So my message to you today is find your mountain and take that first step…you will be amazed at who you truly are.
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.” ~ Robert Frost
Mountain Climber Empress Out.
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