Rocky Mountain National Park

by Mike Graf

  “We’ll see,” Mom replied. “But it’s okay if you aren’t.”

  • • •

  A short time later, James stood up and walked a few feet. Then he stopped and held on to a rock. “I don’t know,” he reported. “I still feel dizzy.”

  “Come on,” Mom said. “This is not a good place to wobble around.” Mom put her arm around James and they both began to hike slowly downhill.

  Eventually they made it to the junction back in the forest. At this lower elevation, James felt a little better. “I think I could have made it,” James said to Mom.

  “If you weren’t feeling sick from the altitude, I know you could have,” Mom replied.

  Mom and James sat down, put on an extra layer of clothes, and waited. Eventually they heard Morgan and Dad’s voices. They looked up and saw them slogging down the wet, forested trail.

  James stood up. “Well, how was it?”

  • • •

  Later that afternoon they were back in camp. It was sunny and the family took advantage of the weather by hanging out around the campsite. Dad sat in his chair and yawned and stretched. Then he shared some trivia from his book. “It says here that Colorado is one of the top ten states for lightning strikes.”

  “That’s no surprise,” Mom responded.

  Before dinner, the Parkers decided to take a short walk from the campground up to Sprague Lake. The gravel path around the lake was entirely flat. Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad started strolling along it. “Ahh,” Dad breathed. “Finally a trail that’s gentle on my foot!”

  The calm evening waters of the lake reflected many of the mountains of the Glacier Basin area. James pulled out his map while studying the peaks. The rest of the family gathered around. “There’s Thatchtop, Otis, Taylor, Hallett, and Flattop,” James pointed out.

  James put his map away, and the family continued on their leisurely walk. Nearby, several fly fishermen waded in the water, casting their lines.

  Soon they came to an information sign with a bench nearby. Mom, Dad, and Morgan sat down while James went to investigate, pulling out his journal when he returned.

  This is James Parker reporting from Rocky Mountain National Park.

  Guess what? We hiked to Andrews Glacier today, but I didn’t make it. Somewhere between 11,000 and 11,500 feet, altitude sickness kicked in and I had to stop.

  Mom stopped too, but I think she did it because of me.

  I just read a sign at Sprague Lake. It was about Abner Sprague, who used to run a lodge here. I wonder where it was.

  Anyway, one thing he mentioned was that people can always come back next year to see the things they missed.

  That makes me wonder about going all the way up Longs Peak. But I wonder if I’m the only one of us wondering that.

  Tomorrow we have our last and most difficult training hike, up Flattop Mountain. We’ll see how that goes.

  It’s hard to not finish a hike, though. Dad and Morgan finished one today. Morgan said Andrews Glacier was a large slab of ice dropping into a small lake. And there were even some people climbing on the ice field.

  I guess they were acclimated, something I hope to be soon. Dad’s reading a book on Colorado’s fourteeners. It’s about all of the state’s mountains over 14,000 feet. Boy, that would be something, climbing all those peaks.

  Reporting from Rocky,

  James Parker

  After hanging out at the lake, the family walked back to camp. While Mom and Dad set up dinner, James and Morgan strolled over to buy firewood.

  As they got close, the twins noticed some visitors peering at the field across the way. Morgan and James stepped over. “Look!” Morgan pointed.

  Two bull elk were in the meadow, nibbling on grass. One of the elk stopped eating briefly and glanced at the people watching. Then it resumed feeding.

  “We’ll have to tell Mom and Dad,” James said.

  “Definitely,” Morgan added.

  12

  On their final day of training, the Parkers took one last hike before their attempt to summit Longs Peak on Sunday.

  “Over 2,800 feet of climbing today,” Dad announced. “And to the highest elevation we’ve been to so far.”

  “Today I’m going to make it to the top,” James announced enthusiastically.

  The family jumped on the now familiar shuttle bus. This time they went all the way to the end of the road.

  The first part of their trail skirted Bear Lake. The nature path there was full of people. From that trail, the Parkers took the first of three junctions leading toward Flattop Mountain.

  Right away, the path climbed steadily and the views became more expansive with each bend in the trail. At one point, Mom stopped and held a finger to her wrist. “What are you doing?” Morgan asked.

  “Checking my pulse,” Mom replied. “Let’s all do this.”

  Mom showed everyone how to find their heartbeat. “Okay, count,” she said while looking at her watch.

  Mom timed them for fifteen seconds. “Stop,” she then called out. “Now multiply that number by four.”

  “128,” Morgan said after a moment.

  “132,” James announced.

  Dad’s heart rate was around 120. “What’s yours?” Morgan asked Mom

  “About what yours was,” Mom replied.

  The family was stopped in a subalpine zone, which was full of stunted trees. Everyone took a moment to look around. “Hey, there’s Sprague Lake down there,” Dad realized.

  “And Estes Park,” Morgan added.

  Then Mom noticed thick growth on the base of the trees. “The spruce and fir trees have skirts on them,” she said.

  “Skirts?” Morgan asked, puzzled.

  “Yes, the wind rips off the upper branches in winter blizzards, but the bottom part gets buried in snow and protected from the elements, so that part grows in nice and thick.”

  Dad then looked up at the sky. “What kind of clouds are those?” he quizzed his family.

  “Cumulus!” James responded.

  “Yep.”

  “Cirrus too,” Morgan added.

  “Right again.”

  Mom noticed some clouds were whipping across the upper part of Flattop Mountain, partially obscuring the area they were climbing to. “What about those?” she asked.

  “They’re stratus, low-lying to the ground,” Dad replied.

  Then Mom had everyone take their pulse again, and they were all now significantly below where they were before. “Good,” Mom explained. “We’re recovering quickly. That means we’re in decent shape and getting used to these high-altitude climbs.”

  “High-elevation hikers often try to keep their heart rates down by increasing oxygen intake,” Mom added. “And it gets harder to do in the thinner air. So what mountaineers do every five to ten breaths or so is fully exhale and inhale like this.” Mom forced all the air out of her lungs then breathed in deeply. Morgan, James, and Dad copied her.

  “Regular breathing doesn’t get rid of all our unused air. This method does. It will help us increase lung capacity.”

  “And slow down our pulse?” Morgan asked.

  “Exactly.”

  The family continued on its journey. Soon they were completely above tree line, switchbacking up the steep trail.

  Mom noticed reflections of the sun shimmering far off to the east. She paused for a moment and stared at the glare. “I think,” she mused, “that those are lakes on the Great Plains!”

  The family gazed at the distant bodies of water and tried Mom’s breathing technique again. “How is everyone?” Mom asked.

  “A bit dizzy,” Morgan admitted.

  “Me too,” James said.

  “Are you okay to go on?”

  Everyone nodded.

  James noticed a different trail in the distance. “Hey,” he called out, “there are people way down there.” James pulled out his map and held it steady in the wind. “It must be this one, to Fern Lake,” he pointed out.

  Mom leaned over and l
ooked. “Hmm,” she pondered.

  On a tight switchback, Morgan paused and noticed a lake far below.

  James again checked the map. “I bet that’s Emerald Lake,” he said. “And there’s also a trail to it.”

  “There are a host of options for hiking in this area,” Dad realized.

  The family kept going, but their pace was now noticeably slower.

  Soon they approached a dirty patch of snow and a wooden post. The family again took a few moments to rest, letting their breathing and heart rates slow down. Meanwhile, Dad checked his GPS. “Over 12,000 feet!” he announced. “No wonder we’re all short of breath.”

  Wind whipped about, blowing clouds across the mountain.

  James began walking again. “I’m dizzy,” he said, “but it seems to get worse when I stop.”

  The family followed James. Dad glanced at Longs Peak towering in the distance. “I have no idea how Enos Mills climbed that thing over 300 times.”

  FATHER OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

  Enos Mills moved to Colorado when he was young. While in the Rocky Mountain area, he made forty solo summits of Longs Peak and over 300 total climbs, mostly as a guide. In 1902, Mills bought a house he converted into Longs Peak Inn. From there he regularly led excursions into the mountains. He also measured snow depth, took government surveys, gave lectures, and wrote books. Mills eventually led a campaign to preserve the Rocky Mountain area, and it paid off. The park was created in 1915. He was later nicknamed the Father of Rocky Mountain National Park.

  A group of hikers came down the trail, playfully joking and laughing. Morgan noticed how easily they seemed to be walking. She looked at her family after they passed. “They’re not even breathing hard!”

  The group heard Morgan’s comment and stopped. “It’s much easier coming down,” one of them explained.

  “How much farther is it?” James asked.

  “You’re almost there.”

  James led the way up the final set of switchbacks. “Come on,” he said, urging himself and his family on.

  With renewed determination, the Parkers surged toward the summit. A short time later, the trail finally leveled out.

  The top of the mountain was a long, flat, and mostly barren plateau. The trail on it was marked by piles of stones, or cairns. Wind whipped about on the peak, and clouds skirted the terrain. The Parkers pulled coats from their packs, bundled up, and carried on, going from one cairn to the next.

  Dad caught a glimpse of an ice field hanging down from the mountain to their left. “Hold on a second,” he told his family.

  He watched more clouds whip by. Dad held his cap down and caught a peek of the slab of ice again. He could see a distinct crack near the top.

  The family kept moving forward, following the rock markers. “I’m going to take a quick look at something and be right there,” Dad said.

  While Morgan, James, and Mom pressed on, clouds enveloped Flattop, creating a gray and foggy scene. They slowly wended their way along the path.

  Meanwhile, Dad hopped from rock to rock until he neared a steep drop-off. Ahead of him was tiny Tyndall Glacier hanging precipitously in a deep mountain bowl. Dad stared at the ice sheet, trying to pick out its glacial features.

  But the clouds kept obscuring it. And the wind began to make Dad’s eyes water. He turned to see if he could glimpse his family, but they were buried somewhere in the fog.

  Dad’s pulse quickened. He hastily hopped back to the trail. Stepping on a rock, he popped it loose, causing his bad ankle to twist. “Ahh!” Dad called out, wincing. He leaned over and waited for the pain to subside. Then he plowed forward, eventually spotting a trail marker.

  Dad sped up. “Honey! James! Morgan!” he called out, but his voice was lost in the clouds and wind.

  Dad continued on, picking his way between cairns. Soon, he saw the silhouettes of several ghostlike figures in front of him. One of them was leaning on a sign.

  He quickly got close enough to realize it was his family standing at the trail junction along with several other hikers. He hurried until he was within earshot. “I don’t think we should separate anymore,” Dad announced breathlessly.

  “I completely agree,” Mom said.

  The family stood at the summit watching the wind blow clouds across the mountain plateau.

  “Not much of a view right now,” Dad managed to say. He quickly checked the elevation. “We’re at 12,324 feet,” he called out.

  “We made it to our highest point yet,” Morgan said.

  Mom looked at her family, all bundled up and shivering. “Perhaps we should head down now.”

  As soon as the family dropped off Flattop’s summit, the wind calmed down and the clouds dissipated. Beautiful views of mountains, forests, and lakes were visible once again.

  The family continued plunging down, eventually making their way back into the forest. There they slowed and shed some of their clothes. While taking off her jacket, Mom looked at Dad. “You know,” she suggested, “why don’t we all take a day off tomorrow and spend some time in Estes Park? That way we can get some rest and decide if a Longs Peak climb really is the thing to do.”

  Dad recalled the moment of panic he felt on Flattop when he couldn’t see his family. He also thought about his retwisted ankle. “I think that’s a great idea,” he agreed.

  13

  The next day the Parkers took their time in the morning and waited for the sun to warm and dry their campsite. Finally, they drove into Estes Park, just before noon.

  The family’s first stop was a Laundromat with showers. “It will feel great to get clean again,” Mom said.

  “And to wear fresh clothes,” Dad added.

  After a few hours at the laundry, the family gathered their belongings and left to enjoy the town. As they walked around, Dad ran his hands through his freshly washed hair. “I feel like a new man!” he exclaimed.

  Their next stop was a pizza parlor. “It’s only three o’clock,” Mom said. “I don’t know if this will be a late lunch or an early dinner.”

  “But I’m definitely hungry,” James replied, smelling the food.

  After eating, the Parkers strolled through the busy village. They saved their excursion into a sporting goods store for last. The family walked inside and started looking around. Mom went over to the clothing section, searching for a tarp and emergency ponchos. Morgan and James browsed the camping and backpacking supplies. Dad noticed books on hiking in Colorado and began skimming through one.

  After Mom bought the outdoor gear and a birding book that came with a CD, she found Morgan and James. Dad was reading about climbing Longs Peak. He looked up as his family approached. “Oops, sorry, time must have gotten away from me,” Dad said. He closed the book. “There’s one other thing I need. I’ll be just a minute.”

  “Okay, we’ll wait outside,” Mom said.

  Dad found the backpacking section and inspected the hiking poles.

  It was raining again when Mom and the twins stepped outside. They stopped under the store’s awning and gazed out at the water-slickened streets. As sheets of rain blew across the road, people rushed to cross the street, covering their heads with jackets or whatever else they had.

  Lightning lit up the darkened sky, and thunder boomed loudly. James looked toward the mountains. “I sure wouldn’t want to be up on a peak right now,” he mumbled.

  “I wouldn’t want you up there either,” Mom replied. “You know, I’ve been thinking…,” Mom began, then stopped.

  Dad paid for his book, and he also bought a collapsible walking stick. “Whoa!” Dad exclaimed as he stepped outside. “It’s like a whole different day out here.”

  The Parkers stayed put under the awning, waiting for the storm to let up. But the rain came down even harder, accompanied by intermittent rolls of thunder.

  “What did you get?” Morgan asked.

  “This,” Dad replied, pulling his purchase from its bag. He extended his walking stick then collapsed it. “And
it fits in my day pack!”

  “Is that for your ankle?” James asked.

  “Yep. Just in case.”

  Mom took a deep breath. She glanced at the twins, and at Dad. “You know,” she began again, “I’ve been thinking.”

  Dad stopped. He looked at Mom and the kids. Then Dad stared into the rainy street. “I already know what you’re going to say.”

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  “You don’t want to climb Longs.”

  Mom paused for a second. “It’s not that I don’t want to. But what did you expect? I mean, look at the weather we’ve been having!”

  Morgan chimed in. “Dad, I really don’t want to go anymore either.”

  Then Dad looked at James. James shook his head. “I’m not so sure I want to get up and hike right after midnight,” James admitted. Then he added softly, “Maybe you shouldn’t go either.”

  Dad sighed. He noticed the sullen looks on his family’s faces. “Nobody has to go up Longs Peak,” he said. “It’s something you only do if you really want to.” Dad put his arms around Mom. “Can I speak with you over here for a minute?”

  Mom and Dad walked over to the next store’s awning. Morgan and James watched them. “They’re getting upset,” Morgan realized.

  Lightning flashed in the clouds again. James stared at his parents’ animated discussion instead. At one point, Mom shook her head passionately, insistently replying, “No!”

  “There’s electricity in the air now, that’s for sure,” James commented.

  After talking for a few more minutes, Mom and Dad came back over.

  “Well, we’ve made a decision,” Dad announced.

  “And?” James asked.

  Mom looked at the twins. “The three of us are going to do that other hike, the Fern Lake loop. We’ll go early and try to beat the storms.”

  Morgan looked at Dad. “And you?”

  Dad pondered one last moment. “I’m going to give Longs a try,” he replied. “But I promise to be careful. And if there’s any sign of bad weather, I’m out of there.”