Thursday, June 28, 2007

Climbing the Peak

Jon has had all kinds of hard work to do while here. Even the fun is hard. He and Steve climbed Pikes Peak. It's a 13 mile hike one-way and has a 7,000 foot elevation increase. Steve said Jon did a wonderful job--even for a flat lander. The kids and I did, however, drive the highway to the top and pick them up at the top. Originally, they were going to hike back down but we had lightning strikes and a tornado touchdown not too far from the hiking trail. Safety is of first importance although it is arguable that the safest route is to just stay home and look at the top.
I do get asked why people climb a mountain if there is a highway to the top. The only answer I have to that valid and well-reasoned question is that there is a stigma about climbing all 54 mountains that are 14,000 feet or higher. I've climbed several myself and have dreams of climbing more in the future. It's just what we do here. And that's all I can say.



2 comments:

cj said...

There's just something about being on the top of a 14er! I am not interested in climbing Pikes Peak, unless I have climbed the other 53 peaks first. It's so much easier to drive.

Suzann said...

this makes me VERY homesick!