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Sid McGregor

Long's Peak

Long's Peak

Long's Peak

It's been a week since I was on top of the world. 8-7-2010. However, before I get into the event's of that particular day – we have to go back a while. March 13, 1979 to be exact.

According to my mom, it was warm, sunny and clear in Colorado Springs that day. I don't remember that much about it, because well, I was being born. Three days later I was driven home in a blizzard – which most likely melted away shortly thereafter. It wouldn't be the fist time that there was a lot of snow around my birthday. The most memorable time happened in 1998 – I was in college and had a bunch of friends over to Mom's house in Joplin. It started snowing around noon that day – by the time everyone was at the house around 6 – it was evident that they we going to be staying the night. We all crashed on the floor and had a snowball fight the next day. It is a good memory.

Since '79, my grandparents have lived here in Colorado. We would visit here at least once a year – taking in the mountains and the clean air and so on. I remember the room that I slept in at my grandmother's old house. You could look out the window in the bedroom and just make out the top of Pike's Peak at night. I remember not sleeping well when I was here because I didn't want to miss a second. Staring at the mountains and embracing the atmosphere completely during the weeks we were here. Every now and then we would stay at my Grandfather's place up in Evergreen. He lived on the side of a mountain and had deer in his yard on a daily basis. This was fascinating to me for whatever reason.

Over the years my obsession with mountain didn't let up. I've always looked forward to spending time in Colorado – with my grandparents and uncle's and cousins and all that come's with that. The more time I spent here – the more I wanted to just be here. When my grandparents began getting ill – I almost moved out here just to be close to them before they went. I never did it. I didn't quite have what it took to to that back then. I do regret that I wasn't closer and didn't spend more time helping out and being just a part of their lives.

Fast forward to 2009 – 11 years after that memorable snowstorm. Tiffanie and I move here and live with Andrew and Melia for a time until we could get ourselves a place of our own. I'll never forget driving into Denver on November 2^nd. We got here just after the sun set, and the lights of the city were laid out like a large strand of christmas lights – welcoming me home. I was in the moving truck, Tiff was driving our vehicle – and I started screaming “Whoo Hoo” and crying. I couldn't believe I was here – and brought my life with me. I was finally permanently reunited with this place that I always claimed I was from - a deep sense of belonging washed over me.

My grandmother died two weeks later. I didn't get down to Colorado Springs to see her because we spent everything we had just getting here. I called her as I was turning north on 25 from Limon. She didn't answer, but I left her a message telling her I was here and staring at the sun setting behind Pike's Peak. I stopped a little while later at a rest stop and jumped in a big pile of snow in my sandals. I regretted it for about two seconds. The last time I spoke with her – we were laying out the plans for Thanksgiving. I really miss her.

The last picture taken of Grandmother - and the last time I saw her. About four weeks before she passed.

For the next six months I worked at a church out here – contract position doing Audio Tech stuff. It was a miserable experience – but one that I learned from greatly. I didn't want to work at a church – but it seemed like the thing to do. It was a blessing in that I met some great people and my bills got paid and I learned a lot about myself. I wouldn't trade the experience, but I wouldn't want to do it again. Since June I've been unemployed. Finances are tight and tensions are high while I seek employment.

Everything you've just read wasn't on my mind last week. I was just climbing a mountain. Here's what happened that day.

I stayed at Andrew's that night. Tanner, Andrew and myself left his house around 3am and headed out. We arrived at the ranger station about an hour later and hit the trail head at 4:15am. It was cold – and dark. We signed the sheet at the booth and headed up the trail. About ½ a mile later – I was shedding layers. It wasn't any warmer – but we were working hard getting through the trees. Up up and up we went for the next hour until the sun was rising in the east.

As we were leaving the treeline – the sun was just about to break the horizon. I've never seen the sun from that angle (except in a plane – but those window's are so stupid small). Let me tell you -sunrise at 11,000 feet -highly recommended. The horizon was bursting in a deep red that faded to a dark blue and then black as you looked back west toward the peak. The moon was perfectly positioned right in the middle of the sky. I could of turned back there and been satisfied. There were several moments through out the next 12 hours that I wondered why we didn't just stop there – enjoy the sunrise – walk back, go to a Starbucks and enjoy some coffee and go back to bed.

We stopped around 6:30 for our first real break and met a guy who had done this hike 15 times. I think he's probably a little nuts – but then again. The first ½ of this hike is a bit daunting – it's just a really really long trail.

You don't feel like you're getting anywhere in particular until you reach the Boulder Field. And what is the Boulder Field, you may ask? Well it's just that – I field of boulders. Endless. Tiring. Remember those scenes in Lord of the Rings where Sam and Frodo are walking an walking over the rocks and they feel like they aren't getting anywhere – it's like that. In fact – from the boulder field to the peak – it was just like that.

When we reached the Boulder Field – we sat for 30 min or so. Andrew got out his little stove and cooked hotdogs. I ate one of my sandwiches and we just sat there for a while. The wind was whipping through there and it was cold – 45ish I would guess. From the field you can see what they call The Keyhole. It's the passage that you go through to get to the back side of Long's. From where we sat – it didn't look very far – but there was a bunch of boulders to climb over.

An hour after we left our resting place – we entered The Keyhole. The shoes I was wearing we not cooperating with my heels. I could tell that blisters had formed while climbing over the endless sea of huge rocks. I was getting miserable – but the view when you go through The Keyhole is breathtaking. It overlooks a huge green valley – with lakes and the whole works. It certainly helped with the mental state of mind. You suddenly felt like you had gotten somewhere. Also, The Keyhole puts you on the west side of the peak – so you are out of the sun. It was much cooler over there. After scrambling up the field, the cooler air was a relief. But as you may know – it's pretty dry in Colorado, especially at 13,000 ft, so your sweat dry's real fast and your body cools down. You have to keep moving.

Entering the Keyhole

About 100 yards later – I stopped and bummed some band-aids from Andrew (not the last time I would be bumming). I placed bandaids over my already popped blisters – hoping that it would prevent them from getting worse. I was worried about it and it weighed on my mind heavily. I knew that I would need my feet to get off this blasted rock (as I was calling it by then). By this time – I could tell that not only was I reaching my limit physically – but mentally as well. I was tired. We had been hiking for about 5 hours at this point, and it felt like the peak was no where in sight – and it wasn't. The next 2 ½ hours would nearly kill me.

Getting to the Boulder Field was to my ignorance – only ½ of the battle – if even that. From the field to The Keyhole to the peak would prove to be the hardest thing I have ever done mentally and physically. Getting to the Boulder Field was a walk in the park. But I wasn't prepared for this. I was just here to enjoy the day and go on a nice hike.

After patching up my feet – there was about a 300 yard scramble over and around – up and down more boulders. All you could see are just huge boulders with little bulls-eyes painted on one of them every 50 yards or so just to give you something to aim for. Otherwise – it would just be a big guessing game and you could easily end up too high or low and wind up climbing more than you needed – which at this point – every step mattered.

At the end of this scramble was the most impossible looking thing I've ever seen. They call it The Trough. It's a 600' climb -almost straight up. I made it up ½ way and stopped. I was done. I was more than done. My feet were killing me – I couldn't breathe – I was hungry – I was thirsty. I sat down – ate my second and last sandwich. I was out of food – but had plenty of water. I finished off my fist bottle while sitting here. The view was amazing. I could still see the valley and was honestly quite content sitting there. The wind was blocked and it was just comfortable. The only problem was people kept passing me and going on up. After about 20 min I decided that I would give it one last push. The top couldn't be far from here.

It took me the better part of an hour to climb the remaining 300'. It was grueling. I was exhausted. Famished. Done.

At the top of the Trough, you enter what they call The Narrows. The Narrows isn't a place for those afraid of heights. Luckily for me – I'm not, so it wasn't a big deal. The Narrows was probably my favorite part of the hike. The Narrows is passageway along a ridge that you can imagine is – narrow. Though it is not as narrow as it had been described to me – it was tight. The drop off to the right was steep. You didn't want to fall. You wouldn't stop. But if you aren't afraid of heights, then you don't really think about that – and you look past the drop off and see another huge valley with lot's of mountains surrounding it. It is beautiful.

At the end of The Narrows – I almost turned back. The Narrows wasn't the end. The Homestretch is the end. And while The Homestretch by itself isn't so bad – after the Boulder Filed and the Trough – The Homestretch looked anything like home. A 300' , class 3 climb. The last 300' I climbed took me over an hour. I didn't have an hour left in me. I took my pack off –sat down - got some water and just stared at this thing – thinking to myself...what the hell am I doing up here?

I was also alone. When I stopped at the Trough – Andrew and Tenner kept on. I saw them reach the top and I thought to myself – 'well isn't that nice.' As I was staring at The Homestretch – I couldn't see them and wasn't sure if this was the end – or another false peak. If it was another false peak – I was going to kill someone. Then again – I didn't really want to go up there anyway. I was done.

However - I said to myself, I've made it this far – if that's the peak, I better get up there. My heels didn't hurt anymore – the bandaids had done their job. But my legs were rubber and my spirit was shot. This was ridiculous. I began contemplating why humans see the need to conquer stuff like this. Is it a cocky american thing? I mean who first looked at a mountain and said – “let's walk up there?” What a moron. Yet – here I was about to join the club of morons who got up at 2 am and hiked a mountain – 7 miles one way. I wasn't even thinking about going back at this point. I figured there was zip line or a helicopter at the top. No one actually walked back, right?

About ½ way up The Homestretch – I sat down. My head was aching – I was out of food – I was pushing too hard. I was not being smart. I wasn't going to make it. I had come so close. I couldn't move. I was done. Again – but for good this time. I was ready to go down. I took my coat and my hat off. I put sunscreen on my head and just sat there for a bit. For some reason I stood up – put my pack back on and looked up. I was close. I have no idea why I did this.

“SID!!” someone yelled from the top. I looked around – didn't see anyone. “SID!!” they yelled again. I finally spotted the yellow coat that Andrew was sporting. “THIS IS IT – YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!”.

I grabbed a rock and pulled myself up.

A few steps later – I see Tanner emerge from the top and he scrambles down to meet me. Encouraging me and just being there. I was too tired to even speak. My head was pounding a little harder – the air was so thin as was my strength.

As I took the last few steps up the rocks – Andrew was taking pictures. I had about five steps left. With each step – all of the previous stories started to hit me like a brick wall. Andrew was walking toward me and I was about to have an emotional breakdown. Andrew grabbed me and hugged me – knowing that it was no small thing that I made it up there. I started weeping quietly. I had sunglasses on – and couldn't tell if he knew – but I was shaking – I almost fell to my knees the emotion was so heavy and hard hitting. It felt a bit like heaven honestly. (at least I hope). I had made it. Through all of the crap that that mountain threw at me – I made it. I conquered that beast.

I was in shock that I was on top. I bummed some food from Andrew and drank a lot of water. I didn't even care about the view at that point. In fact – it's been a week, and I can't even tell you what it looked like up there. I didn't care. I made it – what else could be as epic as that? Not much in my mind. What else could be as epic as my journey to the top of that mountain. It wasn't just 7 miles and 7½ hours. It was a lifetime. It took me 31 years to get to the top of that mountain and it was not always a pleasant journey. But in the end – you forget about all that and are just so excited to have made it that the details wash away – and you just embrace the sensation that you made it to the top – there is no where else to go. This is the end – and what a good end.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a helicopter or a zip line. We had to walk back. It took me 5 ½ hours to get back to the car. Climbing back down was just long and uneventful until the last mile. I was surprisingly strong coming down. I kept up with Andrew and Tanner and didn't feel the need to rest much. When we reached the treeline – my left knee started feeling a little weak. The bottom of my right foot felt bruised because I was favoring it – and when you're coming down all your weight hits your feet at a pretty constant pace. The last mile of the was down – I was hobbling. Andrew and Tanner beat me by 30 min. I couldn't move my left knee. People I had passed 30 min prior were passing me. It took me almost an hour to walk the last mile. It was ridiculous.

As I rounded the last turn – Andrew was there with his camera taking pictures. I looked totally trampled. But I was alive. I was alive – I made it. How did I do that? What great force carried me to get to the top and back again? I didn't know I had that much will power. I didn't know that I was physically capable of doing that. I'm not saying I could of gone farther – but I made it.

So – thats my story of Long's Peak. I left that morning with only the expatiation of hiking a mountain and coming down with some good pictures. I was so exhausted – I only took about 20 pictures. Like someone said who was at the top – if you want to see what it looked like – climb your own ass up there and take a look...or just google it.

I'm sitting here in my apartment in Longmont, CO. enjoying the dry air and the breeze. I'm on the third floor. There is a door in our bedroom that opens up to our balcony which faces west – towards the mountains. We sleep with it open partially because the night air is cool and provides great sleeping weather – even in August and partly because it remind me of my grandmother's window - the first thing I see in the morning is the sun rising on the mountains. I am home – but this journey is just beginning. The difference between last week and this week is that now I know that I just might have what it takes to push on through and make it after all.

Video highlight: http://vimeo.com/14148184

Long's Peak from Postmay Films on Vimeo.