You are stronger than you believe. You have greater power than you know.

Antiope from Wonder Woman

Two weeks ago we set out to hike Humphrey’s Peak, the final summit for Ron and I in the Six Pack of Peaks Challenge. We began our hike at 2 A.M. with the hopes of reaching the peak to watch the sunrise. Starting that early presents challenges of its own we soon realized. Just because you want to rise at one in the morning to be at the trailhead at two o’clock doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to force yourself to sleep the night before. We ended up with very little sleep, in a horrible hotel that was over-priced for what it had to offer. The bed seemed to form a perfect bowl curving inward from all directions. We aren’t tent campers, but after the night in that room a tent would have been a great upgrade!

Once we hit the trailhead it took me a couple miles to actually get my hiking legs going, and my time was slower than I’ve ever hiked before. If you add in our lack of properly nourishing our bodies, hardly drinking any water, and having no electrolytes with us, we feel lucky to have made it at all. Rather than the summit, we reached the saddle just in time to watch the sunrise, and magnificent it was! That experience alone was worth the hike!

A sunrise like this makes me cry like a baby. Our world is so beautiful! Take a few moments to watch the video. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

We carried on from there, climbing to 12,500 feet. The summit is 12,633 feet and I could see it, feel it, taste it, and I wanted it badly! 

But, even being that close, sometimes you have to make a very tough call, and so I did. I was extremely disappointed, but I had altitude sickness too bad to carry on. My hands were also frozen to the point of pain like I’ve never felt before.

We took refuge from the bitter cold wind behind a large boulder, and I cried in pain and the fact that I was so cold, but just couldn’t go on. At that point I decided I just wasn’t going to come back. I tried, I failed, and I was going to be okay with that. I was alive and well because I made a tough call, and so be it. I had summited before, and figured that was good enough. 

As I turned around and headed down that mountain it felt like the walk of shame. No summit, no finish to the challenge, no glory. I made the right decision, but it felt so bad. 

I struggled with leftover altitude sickness for the next three days with my face, eyes, and body swollen, dizziness, disorientation, and extreme fatigue. On that third day as I started to feel better I had a change of heart. I wanted that summit. I wasn’t going to let one failed attempt stop me from trying again. I texted Ron at work and told him I wanted to try again (even though we had both agreed we were never hiking that mountain again). His response? I wondered how long before you said that. Let’s do it! 

We made plans to hike Humphrey’s Peak again the following weekend. This time we told no one. If we failed we would just keep trying until we successfully bagged that peak!

I watched the weather all week and Sunday was the only day that called for a chance of thunderstorms. It was also the only day we had help with the kids at home. Anyone who hikes big mountains knows that to be above the tree line when a thunderstorm rolls in is extremely dangerous. We figured we would watch the weather closely as we ascended and if we got to the saddle, where the tundra begins, and the threat of lightening was there, we would retreat and come back another day.

As we headed up Ron felt as if the weather was going to win. The clouds were sparse, white, and puffy, as we began, but they eventually covered the skies and looked ominous in the distance. Much to our surprise we were handed a little mercy. At the saddle it looked as if the storm clouds were headed in the other direction so onward we went. 

Why did I quit last time, and why did I feel the need to try again? It’s more than just a summit this time. It was the doctor telling me not to hike in altitude right now. And, it was the thought in the back of my head that kept saying, it’s now or never. You may never get the chance again. You’ve got this. Go for it!

This time we successfully hiked the sixth and final peak in the Six Pack of Peaks Challenge. 

I’ve always felt I needed a cape for that one special occasion when I wasn’t sure I could, but I did! 

When the doctor called last month to tell me I had another brain tumor, I did the only logical thing there was to do. I gave my brain tumor a name, Howard, and took him for a long walk up a steep hill. 

Against doctor’s orders, Howard and I hit the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 ft. I talked to him all the way up—that’s the beauty of naming him and giving him an identity—and I asked him to be calm and peaceful. Calm, like he wasn’t the last time I attempted two weeks ago. I asked him to keep all the other parts up there calm and peaceful too, especially when I was starting to struggle a little. He cooperated. Howard and I did it together. We’ve got this. 

Talk about Mountains to climb! This one came unexpectedly. 

It’s all about perspective and we’re keeping this one positive! 

Peace,
Pam