I climbed a mountain today.
It wasn’t the first time I climbed a mountain, but it was the most euphoric.
It started off as a gorgeous day in paradise. I was on the trail by 7:30 am. Two hours later it was sprinkling. I had studied the weather. It wasn’t supposed to do that. I looked at the clouds; looked at the sky. I decided that there was no chance of lightning. The clouds weren’t tall enough. I wasn’t stopping. By the time I reached the top of the mountain, it was sunny again with white fluffy clouds. Perfect.
It was on the way down the euphoria set in. I wished I could have shared it, but finally decided that this was a personal euphoria that couldn’t be shared. If someone else had been with me, I probably wouldn’t have experienced it.
Here are the photos from the hike. Click for the larger versions.
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- 7:44 AM Waterfall across the valley
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- Still in the trees, heading higher than the trees
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- There are many streams crossing the trail. This was one of the more challenging to cross.
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- Higher and Higher
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- Above most of the trees
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- 8:27 AM. Looking south
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- The morning light is fantastic.
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- Destination is up there, but the peak is not visible.
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- 9:04 AM. Encountered The Marmot Gang waiting to ambush me. They musta known I was comin’.
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- There is more to this photo than just rocks and plants. What else is here?
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- Diamond Lake, with Mount Evans on the horizon.
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- Monster rocks on the horizon
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- The trail continues up across the tundra. Here it’s also a stream.
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- Marmot frolicking in the flowers.
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- 9:41 AM Starting to get a view of the whole state.
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- The destination, South Arapaho Peak, but still can’t see the actual summit.
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- 10:19 AM. A grouup of teens descending above me. They must have got up early to beat me up here.
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- Arapaho Glacier
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- More of Arapaho Glacier
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- It’s a long ways down
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- City of Boulder’s water supply.
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- A portion of the trail I came up. Tiny specs of teens can be seen going down to the right.
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- Looking south while I catch my breath. At 13,000 feet elevation, there is no air.
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- South Arapaho Peak (Left), North Arapaho Peak (Right)
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- Looking west while I catch my breath.
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- This is the top! Just a few more steps.
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- 10:46 AM Reached summit. According to GPS, elevation is 13,430′
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- Diamond Lake again
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- Town of Granby in the distance.
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- Long’s Peak (14,000+) in the background.
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- View East
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- One of the younger marmots on the peak.
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- Papa marmot. I remember him from the last time I was up here. I took his picture then, too.
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- Papa Marmot
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- Cold water straight down.
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- Mount Neva and Lake Dorothy
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- Another straight down photo into the glacier.
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- 11:42 AM. Heading down off the peak. Patterns in the snow
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- Down across the tundra. It was a Julie Andrews moment.
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- The trail down.
