A Single Southern Guy in America

May 19, 2004

No Rest For The Weary

So, as soon as I post about needing to get a break from all the serious blogging, that post has to get a comment about the Berg video...Sigh.

Alright, I have one serious thing to add to the Command Post, one follow up to the Rudy Speaks post, and then I'm going to move on to more fun stuff.

On the upside, I am proud to announce that after a few weeks absence I still nailed my 20 minutes to the top of the mountain again, on my first circuit.

That's right I went twice today. Well, actually, you see there's two trails to the top: The East Summit and West Summit trails. The vast majority of folks tackle the easier West Summit approach and that is the one I use for my timed ascents. However, the much more rugged East Summit Trail has beckoned to me of late, and I descended through the rough and craggy rocks. About a third of the way down the trail had three options.

Yours truly took the road less traveled (seriously, does this surprise anyone?) only to find it end in a rock fall with no hint on where to pick it up again. So, I returned to my roots--I went off-trail--hopping stands of poison ivy, walking face first into well developed spider webs, stepping off in holes covered with leaves and pine needles, and perching precariously on any number of unbalanced rocks.

Long story short, I made my way back to the Base Trail and headed back to the West Side. Seeing I had plenty of sunlight, I opted to tackle the mountain again, this time scoring a 24 minute ascent after my mini-adventure where hikers rarely venture. Ahh, and the painful stretch upon my return to the parking lot only foreshadowed the soreness that probably will be. I noticed a few of the Arkansas Pike Peak marathon team members out today. My hat's off to them. It'll be a bit before I can begin to entertain such a goal.

Posted by Adam H at May 19, 2004 10:12 PM ~ Link Cosmos | Trackbacks (0)

Comments