Zebulon M. Pike

Declared Pike's Peak Unclimbable

Should have looked on top for the indian artifacts showing that it had been conquered about as often as France (without the surrenders).  Zebulon, an alien posing as an American Officer/Expeditionary, tried climbing Pike's Peak a few times and was thwarted each time.  Obviously he didn't understand the whole "winter storm" concept we have all taken advantage of all these years.  He did declare that Pike's Peak was an unclimable mountain.  When the first ascent was made in

We made it up to famous Barr Camp at 10,200 feet.  We had hiked about seven miles so far and weren't too worse for the wear.  Barr Camp was our first real rest stop we took, having made little 5-10 minute breaks before.  I patched up my now bleeding ankles with a large roll of moleskin.  Jay was offering all kinds of support by now.  My ankles were sucking, my knee was starting to twinge and I was losing energy and enthusiasm with each passing thousands of feet of elevation gain.

Just after leaving the camp, we picked up a visitor along the way.  A mountain jay we referred to as Sysiphus started following us up the trail.  He stayed with us all the way to treeline before dissappearing back into the forest.  He was friendly enough to eat some gorp directly out of our hands.  I think he followed us for about two miles.  We also ran into a group of two men and a boy.  We would pass them while they were on a break and then they would pass us while we were on our break.  Each time, one of the guys would pop out with a really random question.  "What was your favorite meat dish?  What was your favorite campy horror flick?  What was the name of your first love?"  We didn't know this guy from Adam, but he was bringing back these incredible memories of filet mignon on a bed of sliced avacado and tomatoes that I had at Upstairs at the Pudding on the Harvard campus.  It was exactly what I needed to put the smile back on my pudgy little face and keep going.

We reached treeline and I could tell now that we were entering a new world.  12,000 feet is, in my opinion, what separates navy men from other gay men.  Up until this elevation, you can rest and get your breath back and rejuvinate your energy reservoir.  After 12,000 feet, that just doesn't happen anymore, at least not when your not acclimatized to 15,000 feet.

The trees took on the blasted lands look with not quite being dead but not really alive.  The rocks and boulders got larger and the trail began a series of switchbacks that pretty much stays what the trail is until the summit.  This is where the beating really began, after nine miles and almost 6,000 feet of elevation gain.

To be honest, I don't really remember the last few miles of the hike.  I know it was very slow going and we were stopping constantly to catch our breath.  We didn't speak very much except to quietly encourage the other that we were almost there.

We reached the summit at 2:45 PM, almost eight hours on the dot from the time we had hit the trail head.  Neither one of us was really talking.  I had found a wierd, emotional place when I hit the summit and needed some time to pull myself together.  This was the culmination of a lot for me.  This was hours and hours of therapy getting to this place and I will be eternally grateful to Jay for doing this with me.

At the summit is the Cog Rail trainstation and a little building with an oxygen bar.  You can tell those who hiked up and those who rode the train by the expression on the face.  Those with slack, punch-drunk looking faces hiked, those that are ash white and dizzy looking are the ones who rode the train.  Either way, it's a juxtaposition of the mind and body on the different modes of transportation.  Jay and I went and sat on a bench inside for about twenty minutes and stared off into a blank silence, everything had the sound of cotton stuffing and PVC pipe.

We took the train down after about an hour and a half of agro entertainment.  On the train down we ran into a former co-worker and a poker-buddy who had moved out of state about a year before the hike.  We hadn't seen her forever.  She had a new boyfriend whom she was smitten with.  He grabbed the microphone from the hostess on the train and proposed marriage to her right there on the spot, had the ring and everything.  She accepted and had a nice round of applause from everyone on the train.  We wished her luck...this was her fifth marriage.