Life Lessons at 14,259ft
"According to the National Parks Service, 2 people, on average, die every year attempting to climb Longs Peak."
"People end up exhausted, low on blood sugar, dehydrated, and sick with altitude as they approach the most difficult sections.... It’s a huge test of confidence as it’s wide, open, steep, and fully exposed to drops of 100 feet or more.”
“I’ve seen clear days turn very quickly into high winds, and very, very cold temperatures."
These are just a few of the many alarming facts I read about Longs Peak after Rob and I decided to climb this 14,259ft beast. Along with having fear for my own life, we decided that we'd start the hike before 2am, meaning we'd only have headlamps and moonlight to see the trail.
The days leading up to the climb I found my usual optimist self, thinking the opposite:
"I don't want to get up that early."
"It's going to be so cold and take forever!"
"Hiking in the dark is going to be scary." (I'm still afraid of the dark)
"What if it storms?"
"What am I going to do if Rob falls off a cliff...what am I going to do if I fall?".
As unpleasant and pessimistic as these thoughts were, I ended up being thankful for them as they played an important role in my experience that day.
Two days before the climb I was filled with anxiety. I didn't like where my mind was and knew I needed to make adjustments if I was going to even attempt this endeavor. I was frustrated with my own frustration. Snapping out of an ugly state of mind when you've been in it for so long is painfully difficult. I think what I was most frustrated with was that deep down I desired to achieve this, but was allowing my thoughts to get in the way... I am truly my own worst enemy.
In an attempt to change my demeanor I decided to look on the bright side starting with the fact that we got to sleep in late the day before and eat a hearty meal out that evening. This one little thought changed everything. It started a chain reaction for the next 24 hours.
It wasn't until we were descending from the peak that I realized what had happened. A quote from Wayne Dyer came to my mind; "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change". I had completely changed the way I was looking at the day:
The darkness provided unique views of fellow hikers winding behind us and the moon radiating against the granite face of the mountain was a great way to start the day
Camaraderie with several other crazies taking the challenge- one of those people being afraid of heights- I can't imagine how he was feeling
Appreciation for the route being broken into sections: the hike, boulder field, ledges, trough, narrows, homestretch, peak, and then all over again. It allowed me to focus on one section at a time.
Thankful to live at 5,000ft elevation- had we been visiting from MN we wouldn't have been acclimated to the elevation and may not have done the climb all together
Everything was easier than what the articles described because we were prepared physically and started early.
The trek back seemed new because we couldn't see our surroundings on the way up which was a good thing because we couldn't see how far we had to go
So as much as I despised my attitude the days leading up to this venture, I am grateful for it. A unique opportunity was created to challenge my mind and to stretch the boundaries I had set for myself. The entire day took on so much more meaning. Sure, I accomplished making it to the peak and back but the real accomplishment was changing my perception. Our thoughts are incredibly powerful- they can destroy us and limit us but if you take control of those thoughts, there are no limits.