Monday, September 24, 2012

Highpointing 2012, Part One -- Acclimatizing at Rocky Mountain National Park. Aug. 29 - Sept. 1, 2012


Highpointing, Round Three! 

The girls and I had four peaks on our list of possibilities this year: Colorado's Mt. Elbert, New Mexico's Wheeler Peak, Utah's Kings Peak, and Nevada's Boundary Peak.  Our hope was to get at least two of the four after a week of acclimating in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We got lucky with the weather (gorgeous) and the acclimatization process (easy and fast), so we ended up hiking three of the four highpoints instead of just two.  We had time to go for all four, but we felt like we were done after the third mountain.  Could we have pushed ourselves and gotten that fourth highpoint (Kings Peak in Utah)?  Yes.  Would there have been any point to such pushing?  No.  Our goal is to enjoy ourselves while we hike.  After our third mountain (Boundary Peak in Nevada), we felt like we needed a break.

Part One -- Acclimatizing at Rocky Mountain National Park.  Aug. 29 - Sept 1, 2012

We landed in Denver just after midnight on August 29.  I highly recommend landing in the middle of the night if you can arrange it.  Seriously.  It makes rental car negotiations that much easier...I had reserved the cheapest car I could find, but when I got to the rental car office at Denver's airport, I was able to negotiate a fantastic price on a major upgrade.  There are a lot of available cars in the middle of the night and no one in line behind you, so one can take one's time talking with the agent and seeing what's possible in terms of deals and prices.  We were able to get a high-clearance 2WD for a fraction of the usual cost.  Why did I want a high-clearance vehicle?  You need something with high-clearance to get to the trailheads for Nevada's Boundary Peak.  A high clearance vehicle is also useful for getting to South Elbert Trail's upper trailhead (Colorado's Mt. Elbert).   

Later that morning, we drove out to meet Hugh, who had recently been in Boulder on business.  Hugh beat us to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and secured a campsite at Longs Peak Campground (elevation 9300 feet).  He was setting up his tent when we arrived.


We spent the first day hanging around the campsite, getting used to the altitude.  The girls and I felt 100% normal, but we didn't want to venture higher until the following morning.  Our plan was to increase our altitude a little each day, then sleep at 9300 feet every evening. 

The first night (Aug. 29), enjoying the full moon and the campfire...


The next morning's sunrise...


The next day, Aug. 30, we drove into the main section of RMNP and up to about 10,800 feet.


At one of the scenic rest stops off Trail Ridge Road...


The girls and I continued to feel 100% normal, so we decided to drive all the way to the Visitors Center at 11,700 feet.  We weren't planning on staying that high for long; my goal for the day was to linger around 10,500.
 


Elk lounged in the valley below...


In retrospect, we shouldn't have gone all the way to the Visitor's Center on Aug. 29; Hugh ended up getting a terrible headache.  The girls and I took him back down to the campsite (9300 feet) so he could rest for a while.  Then, since Alex and Sage felt fine, the girls and I went back up to just under 11,000 feet and casually hiked a tiny section of the Ute Trail.  



Sage fell asleep on the way back to the campground...


Elk by the side of the road...


Elk IN the road (Estes Park)...


Hugh still had a headache when we returned to the campground, so he drove down into Estes Park (elevation 7500 feet) with me following behind him.  His headache disappeared after only 30-40 minutes at lower altitude.  We agreed he should sleep in Estes Park that night just to be safe; he checked into a motel and we promised to meet him there the following morning.

The girls and I woke up the next day (Aug. 31) and Hugh was there, in the campground, ready to cook breakfast.  He looked a million times better and his headache was gone; the one night at lower altitude had done him a world of good.

We all agreed, however, that even though Hugh now felt fine, he probably should not go higher than 9300 feet for another 24 hours.  Hugh, being the great dad and outdoorsman that he is, encouraged us to resume our acclimatization process since we (the girls and I) felt 100% fine and dandy.  Alex, Sage, and I therefore ascended to 11,000 feet plus for the day while Hugh rested at the campground.

One of the short viewpoint trails off Trail Ridge Road, at about 11,500 feet...



Trail Ridge, which ascends to 12,500 feet...


"Mushroom rocks" on Trail Ridge...



(Sage took this picture...she calls it "Giant Mushroom")...


We reached the end of the trail and climbed the boulder...



At 12,500 feet and feeling 100% normal.


Views...the building in the center right of the photo is the Visitor's Center...


Yellow-bellied marmot checking us out...


We stayed between 11,500 and 12,500 feet for six hours, then we returned to the campsite and hung out with Hugh for the rest of the day.

Alex and Sage used the previous evening's burnt wood to draw pictures.



The next morning (Sept. 1), we agreed it was safe to take Hugh to a higher altitude.  He accompanied us up Trail Ridge, where we hung about for six hours playing cards and eating sandwiches.



He felt fine the entire day.

Hugh asked me not to make a big deal of his altitude issues on this blog, and I'm not -- but I did tell him I would write of his headache and the precautions we took because there's a good lesson to be learned here.  Hugh has never had a problem with altitude before.  He's been at high altitude countless times and not once has he ever gotten a headache, so he was surprised at the effect altitude had on him this time around.  So remember, folks -- previous trouble-free high-altitude excursions are no guarantee of future trouble-free high-altitude excursions.  High altitude can cause problems even if you've been A-OK a million times before.  If you're at high altitude and you start to feel awful, then Go Down!  Here's Princeton University's informative page on high altitude and illnesses.

On the flip side, Alex, who got headaches on Mauna Kea and Humphreys Peak, felt 100% fine and normal during our entire highpointing trip, with the exception of one brief headache she got near the summit of Elbert (the headache disappeared as soon as she slowed down...more on that tomorrow).  Sage and I never suffered any headaches or other ill effects of high altitude. 

The girls and I felt we were now ready to go for a highpoint.  The weather forecast predicted beautiful skies over Mt. Elbert for Labor Day (Sept 3), so the next morning (Sept. 2), Hugh, the girls, and I packed up our tents and headed for Leadville.

Come back tomorrow for Highpointing 2012, Part Two -- Highpoint: Colorado.  Mt. Elbert, 14,440 feet. 

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