Day Seventeen and Eighteen, Guanella Pass, CO: Mt. Bierstadt

Day Seventeen: Basecamp
The night before the climb, my Uncle Ben and I camped out on Guanella Pass, located at the foot of Mt. Bierstadt. Guanella Pass has an altitude of about 11,660 feet and is a plain field of scrub, and therefore great to camp on. The mountains get very cold at night – every 1,000 feet of altitude being roughly equivalent to a 4 degree drop in temperature – and the temperature dropped to freezing after the sun went down.

The primary reason for camping out the night before is the departure time; the hike is 3.5 miles each way, and we left at 6.45am the next morning. And camping is a fun thing to do anyway.

Day Eighteen: Tackling the Mountain
Mt. Bierstadt – in the background of this picture, taken from basecamp – is one of Colorado’s 52 official fourteeners; peaks that top out over 14,000 feet. The most obvious problem in scaling these is elevation; Acute Mountain Sickness, (also known simply as altitude sickness), can set in as low as 8,000 feet. At our starting point of 11,600 feet, the air contains only 66% of the oxygen found at sea level. At the summit altitude of 14,060 feet, there is only 60% as much oxygen. The thinner air also means that the relative humidity is drastically decreased. As you exhale, the moisture from your lungs transfers to the dry air you’ve just breathed in, making constant hydration essential. Dehydration can exacerbate the symptoms of AMS, making headaches, lightheadedness, poor judgment, dizzy spells, and visions spots even worse.

The most important thing, therefore, is to be prepared. This includes an extensive gear and supply list: food and water, (I brought along liquid carbohydrate fuel that tastes like death but is digested quickly, carb-loaded trail mix, trail bars, and a gallon of water), layers of clothing, (moisture-wicking tee shirt, mid layer, soft shell jacket, fleece, and a hard shell rain jacket, along with a hat and gloves), and emergency supplies, (signal mirror, storm proof matches, first aid kit, compass, emergency blanket, etc.) A detailed topography map and GPS are a must, and we had both. All told, my pack weighed a little over 20 lbs. While one of the easier fourteeners, Mt. Bierstadt is still deadly. You’d think that most people would have a reasonable idea of what to expect, and bring the proper gear. Sadly, this is not the case.

On our descent, we passed a kid in a cotton Superman shirt and shorts, with one empty plastic bottle of water – less than 1/8th of the amount I consumed on the hike – huffing and out of breath, asking if it got any worse. Shockingly, when we pointed to the summit, he was unaware that it was his destination. He had no pack, and informed us that he had set out at 11.45am – five hours after us. As this kid kept ascending, it would only get colder and windier, and the air thinner. And that would be his best case scenario. Mountains are notorious for creating their own weather patterns, which can change from sunny and calm to a freezing thunderstorm with pounding winds – in a matter of minutes. Hypothermia is a given with no heavy clothing or natural shelter. 

The hike had several distinct phases. The first 1.2 miles are relatively easy, descending about 200 feet, crossing Gomer Creek (the crossing seen on your right), and then ascending back up 200 feet. This took us about 40 minutes, stopping to take pictures twice. At 7.25am, we were at 11,700 feet.

The second phase is pretty comfortable as well, rising from 11,700 feet to 13,000 feet. In the picture to the left, you can faintly see the trail we came up along the ridge. This section was about 1.6 miles long and took us about 90 minutes; 30 of which were spent stopped taking pictures or eating. In the first half hour we covered 500 vertical feet and roughly .75 miles. After that, the grade began to pick up. The last 800 vertical feet took the remaining hour. At 8.55am, we were standing at 13,000 feet, having covered 1,300 vertical feet since we left camp. On foot, we had covered 2.80 miles in about 2 hours.

The third section – the final 1,060 vertical feet – would be the most challenging. The first 130 feet were not especially difficult, the trail traversing the mountain and thus making for a softer pitch. However, the terrain had changed from an ascending trail through soft ground to an ill-defined path over steep builders.

At 13,130 feet, we stopped to rest and down some carbohydrate fuel, hoping to accomplish the next 620 feet at a steady pace and avoiding any rest stops. As I mentioned before, this orange goo tastes like vomit. But the liquid carbohydrates digest quickly and give a burst of energy. The picture above shows the trail ahead, through the snow, and then over boulders. You can’t even see the top ridge. It was physically exhausting work, especially in the scarce air. Each step required a full extension of the leg, hauling body and pack a couple feet onto the next boulder, where the process would be repeated. When we finally emerged on semi-level ground, it had been 40 minutes, and we had ascended 630 feet in 0.4 miles. We had taken only a few extremely brief stops. Still, this slogging pace of 0.6 mph was about a quarter of what we were accomplishing at the lower elevations.

Having ascended those last grueling 630 feet and standing at 13,746 feet above sea level, we were greeted by a summit that still towered over 300 feet 0ver us (see above). On the way down, we saw one man reach that ridge – only to take one look at the summit, and turn to tell his wife that he was done and going no further.

The truth is that the final summit pitch was, compared to the boulders before, the easy part. The first leg started over the snowy ridge seen on your left, just feet away from a thousands-foot drop. Then we hit more boulders. Thankfully, a path could be made over the boulders that was not as physically exhausting as the previous pitch. The steps were smaller, and the excitement of being so close to the top – no doubt helped along by an altitude-induced euphoria – kept us going. When we finally reached the summit at 14,060 feet, it was 10.19am. We had covered 3.60 miles in about 3.50 hours, ascending 2,500 feet.

Feeling as though you are on top of the world is an expression often used, but rarely realized. This was one of those cases where the feeling matched the reality. It’s impossible to put into words how it feels to have reached the summit after so much hard work.

There are far more pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/reidksmith.

Day Seventeen and Eighteen, Guanella Pass, CO: Check-In

Sorry I haven’t updated lately – at first there was not much to report from Colorado, but today and last night I went up Bierstadt Mountain, a 14,060 foot peak. My Uncle Ben and I camped out at the foot of the mountain last night and then hiked/boulder scrambled up in the day, leaving at 6.45am.

So I just got back and I’m absolutely exhausted and in no shape to write a complete post. In the interest of not stealing my own thunder, I’ll leave the description of the hike until tomorrow.

Don’t worry. There are tons of pictures.

Day Fifteen, Denver, CO: Independence

I’m now staying with my Aunt Mary and Uncle Ben, who have been great hosts thus far and with whom I’ve had a blast. Since the beginning of the planning stages of this trip – which began over a year ago – I’ve viewed this stop as a chance to rest and regroup, as well as a sort of dividing line between the first and second halves of the trip. The first half was a lot of cities, but I anticipate the second half involving far more camping.

Ben and Mary have two children, both under five. I haven’t spent a lot of time with children this young before. It’s amazing how much care and attention they need. The notion that a child, even one that can speak and easily move around, must be tied entirely to his or her parents for all aspects of support is quite incredible.

So most of the day was spent relaxing with the family, as well as a great trip to the Flagship, three-storey REI store in Denver, where I picked up most of the final additions for gear. Besides the those few last-minute pickups at REI, Ben is a hiking/mountaineering gear maniac and was able to fill the few holes I had left.

Finally, I’ve included one more picture from Kansas that my Dad has touched up. Enjoy.

The future happiness or misery of a great proportion of the human race is at stake – and if we make the wrong choice, ourselves and our posterity must be wretched. Wrong choice! There can be but one choice consistent with the character of a people possessing the least degree of reason. And that is to separate – to separate from that people who from a total dissolution of virtue among them must be our enemies – an event which I devoutly pray may soon take place; and let it be as soon as may be.
-Henry Knox, May 16, 1776

Day Fourteen, Denver, CO: Up

Kept driving out of Kansas. This occupied the vast majority of the day. I don’t want to have to say anything else about it.

Finally arrived in Denver and I’m staying with my Aunt and Uncle and their two kids for the next several days. Now I’ve got to work out where I’ll be heading next – North, South, or somewhere in between? – make some last minute gear pickups and then hit the road again.

Denver is some 5,500+ feet above sea level. Which is a drastic change from Michigan’s 700 feet or so. But having camped at 2,100 feet the night before, I can’t say I’ve noticed any appreciable difference. I’ll be climbing a 14,000+ foot peak on Monday however, and I’ll probably have a different story to tell at that point.

Keep in mind that, for sake of contact, I’m now two (2) hours behind you guys. Unless any of you bums I went to college with have changed your sleeping habits and starting waking up before 10am, I don’t see this being a problem.

PS – Your comments breathe life into my heart. Keep me alive,  and leave a comment!

Day Thirteen, 14 miles outside Ogallah, KS: Amber Waves of Grain… and grain… and grain…

I have this to say about the state of Kansas: it is not interesting.

When I told my host in Kansas City, Torey, that surely there must be something in Kansas, he shook his head, laughed, and said, “no.” In my mind, I am thinking that this is no big deal. So  I won’t be able to stop and do fun things. For the most part, I am a person that enjoys driving. So this is not very concerning. I was looking at a ten hour drive split into two days. That is, by no means, un-doable.

But here is the kicker, and I cannot emphasize this enough. Residents of Kansas like to plant corn and wheat. When this gets old, they plant wind farms. When the entertainment value of this is exhausted, they work on making their roads straighter. See illustration below.

 
Kansas

 
Kansas (different area, but who can tell anyway, right?)

Zzzzzzzz.

Let me explain this in one other way. Take Michigan, right? Chop down all the trees, and burn all of the buildings. Plant the exact same kind of grass everywhere. Stretch out all the roads so that they are all perfectly parallel and perpendicular to each other. Bingo, you just created Kansas.

Leaving Kansas City in the morning, I did not know where I was going to end up at the end of the night, which was a very nice feeling. Had I actually punched in a destination to the GPS, I would have been told to “continue, four-hundred and seventy eight miles.” Barf.

After having stopped at a rest stop – I stopped about seven times, just to break up the monotony – I broke out my AAA camp book and decided on a little town called Ellis.

I don’t understand the deal with camping out of an RV. If someone told you they would build you a large trailer in your backyard, and it would produce electricity and water, and you could live in it for a few nights at a time… is this something you would jump at the chance to have? I suppose it is unfair for me to knock something I haven’t tried, and no offense to those who enjoy it, because I am sure there is something that I am missing. But I feel as though camping is a time to get away from all the things that keep us tied down.

 

For more pictures, see http://picasaweb.google.com/reidksmith

Day Twelve, Kansas City, MO: State Line

After last night, which was a blast by all accounts, I decided to extend my stay in Kansas City. Having only arranged to stay with my original host, Greg, for two nights, I stayed one more night with Torey, who I met last night.

Kansas City has surprised me in a lot of ways. As I said before, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot coming in, but the city has grown on me. It has a nice big city feel, but with small town conveniences. It’s easy to get around the city and park your car without having to hunt down a bunch of one-ways and parking structures. In general, the downtown has a great atmosphere. 

Tonight Torey and I went downtown to the Power and Lights District, at the center of which is a semi-indoor atrium ringed by bars and restaurants which, in this case, doubles as a concert stage. Unlike downtown Detroit, Kansas City regularly sponsors free concerts and provides their citizens with something to do. Tonight they brought in the old 90’s post-grunge group Lit. It was a lot like going back to high school and turning on the radio really loudly. In fact, the girls that we had met last night explained that they couldn’t find the keys to their time machine, and thus, would be unable to make it to the concert. After the concert, we went over to the Flying Saucer once again, which was just down the street. Every Wednesday night, they have glass night. For a little bit extra, they’ll give you the pint glass that they serve that designed night’s glass special in. (And the Fire Sale Beer was Moose Drool. Actually pretty good).

That was about the extent of what I actually did today. I should talk a little, now that I have an opportunity, about CouchSurfing. This is a sort of hybrid between Craigslist and Facebook. People have profiles on the site, and they can search for other people with whom to stay when passing through a city, (as I am). The idea is to meet like-minded people (although Greg informed me that I was the first Republican Couchsurfer he had met), who can not only host you, but actually show you around the city. That’s how I arranged to stay with Greg, who in turn had met Torey through a local couchsurfing event a few weeks ago.

Finally, Kansas City is interesting in that most of the city lies in Missouri; however, a smaller portion does lie in Kansas. The two sides of the city are “separated” by State Line Road. But for the name, you’d never know you were crossing a state line.

And so tomorrow I finally cross the State Line into Kansas and leave Missouri behind for the foreseeable future. I’ve spent the last six nights in Missouri and all told, I’ve enjoyed myself quite a bit. The people are friendly, the economy is buzzing, the baseball parks are great, and the beer is fantastic. I’m glad I gave it a shot. However, I do not plan on extending the same courtesy  to Kansas. I will be camping one night in Kansas on my way to Denver, (to break up the 10 hour drive), but am told there is nothing to do besides look at corn. That is generally not how I like to waste my time.

Day Eleven, Kansas City, MO: Free Hot Dogs and Flying Saucers

I went to breakfast with my host, Greg, at McDonalds in the Plaza. I can’t say enough about that Deluxe Breakfast. Great value. After breakfast, we went to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which was an interesting tour. The Negro Leagues had little structure for most of their existence, but at some times, their events rivaled those of Major League Baseball in size and attendance, not to mention player talent.

Following the museum we went to Arthur Bryant’s BBQ. Kansas City is famous for their BBQ restaurants. Arthur Bryant’s isn’t the most highly thought of among all the BBQ  places in KC, (Oklahoma Joe’s, which is located just across the state line, is supposed to be the best). However, Bryant’s was within walking distance of the museum.

Still having a few hours to kill before the game, we went to the Crown Center, which is easily one of the strangest places I’ve ever been to. Entering through Kansas City’s old Union Station, (left; built in the 1920’s to accommodate an increase in rail traffic which never materialized,) the Crown Center was created by the founder of Hallmark as an “Urban Experiment.” It has absolutely no clear identity, direction, or purpose.

Again, it’s difficult for me to describe how odd this area was. Think of an indoor mall attached to a 1920’s train station, with a large hotel located within, Corporate Headquarters-style decor (not surprising, as Hallmark’s headquarters are connected by skyway), and the oddest collection of shops you’ve ever seen. There was the Crayola Cafe (haven’t you always wanted to try the smoothie version of that Electric Yellow-colored crayon?), the Cat Boutique (?), Chocolate Factory, and Mobile Solutions. Mobile Solutions was really a microcosm of this entire urban schizoid aberration. At first, you might assume that the store carries cell phone cases, extra batteries, and things like that. In a way, that is correct. But Mobile Solutions also carries knock-off Calvin Klein sunglasses and an enormous selection of remote control helicopters. Like the mall it’s based in, it is designed for people with no clear reason for visiting and a fantastically short attention span.

It’s a small world. After arriving at Kauffman Stadium and buying tickets ($7), Greg, Marlene, Torey (a friend of Greg’s), and I enjoyed a nice KC-style tailgate. Kauffman Stadium is on the same general plot of land as the Chief’s Arrowhead Stadium, and thus they both share a parking lot that does not end. As it happened, we were parked next to two girls who were also tailgating. One of them was from Michigan and knew a few people I went to Albion with. It also turned out that they were sitting directly in front of us at the game.

Which didn’t make much of a difference, as we sat at the outfield bar for almost the entire time. Following this, there were a few more events that made this night incredibly remarkable.

First, there was a free hot dog giveaway in our rightful section, (which the bar directly overlooked). You know the kind where the girl trying to pay her way through college holds up three hot dogs and tries to get everyone to make an amount of noise that, were free food not involved, would be completely unacceptable? Whether it was the waving arms or my bar-perch that overlooked the section, this gracious lady decided that tonight was my night. This hot dog was the first prize I have ever won and I will never forget it. It tasted like delicious free.

Now under the impression that this new good luck  streak could only bring me more valuable free things, I immediately picked out the closest give away employees I could find (see picture). It turns out they were giving away hats, in this case. After realizing that I was not going to be getting a free hat, I settled for the picture to your right. Although I look a little distressed, I assure you that I felt fine.

As the game came to a close, I was witness to one of the most spectacular exchanges between two people that has ever occurred. While we were talking to a guy who was probably in his late 20’s, an innocent looking, 8-year-old-ish kid walked up. This was the result:

Guy: [With straight face] “Yeah, so this is my son-”
Kid: [Visibly flustered] “I’m not your son, for the last time!”
Guy: [Still straight-faced and unnerved] “Yeah, I have no idea who this kid really is…”
Kid: [Somehow even more bothered] “You’re such a dick!”
Guy: [Now searching his brain for some way to associate himself with this child, and saying the first thing that comes to mind] "Uh, he’s my AA sponsor.”

Of course we gave the guy directions to the bar we were headed to next and told him to meet us there. Not surprisingly, he didn’t make it there.

Really, the word “bar” does not adequately describe the Flying Saucer. They use the words “Draught Emporium” and I’m inclined to stick with that. The Flying Saucer has 200 beers on tap. Two hundred. And each beer has its own tap handle. The idea behind the Flying Saucer is simple; drink all of the beers. You have a membership card, and each time you order a beer, you swipe it. The beer you ordered is recorded, and when you reach 200 different beers, you get a saucer on the wall. Do it again, you get a different colored saucer, and so on. This is obviously not something you do in one night. However, it takes some people significantly less time to accomplish than others.

I usually get a positive reaction when I tell the people I meet what I’m doing. A lot of them think it’s a great idea. Some ask interesting questions, like, “What, did you just quit your job and go?” I laugh and remind them that I’m from Michigan, where people don’t have jobs. But invariably, most people express a desire to take a similar trip. Sure, some people can’t just get up and leave for two months, (especially if they’re lucky enough to have a job!) But otherwise, why not?

For more pictures, see http://picasaweb.google.com/reidksmith.