Confessions of a Former Peak Bagger

One of my favorite chapters in my book, Continental Quotient is Confessions of a Former Peak Bagger.

I wrote this story while living in Colorado. 

One of the best aspects of being a writer is reliving all these stories as I write them. I was first introduced to hiking by my boyfriend in 1988. I had never hiked a mountain and I didn’t have hiking boots. I bought boots for the hike to Mount Lafayette.

I’ve always been goal driven and always had a need to look forward to something. When I started hiking in the White Mountains of NewHampshire I had a goal to finish all the 4,000 footers. When I moved to Colorado I only had two mountains left to hike to be a member of the club. 

I will hike these mountains. I will finish them by 2015. How’s that for a goal?! 

Here is an excerpt of one my favorite stories in my book, Continental Quotient:

That summer, I would read the White Mountain Guide, looked at the map, and planned my day or overnight trip, and bagged every peak I could. The best part was seeing all the checks next to the peaks in the back of the AMC Guide. I spent almost every weekend hiking and backpacking; it was my escape.

My high school friends were in college, and I climbed peaks on the weekend. Nothing in my life was going right, I checked of another peak. I took a college class and dropped out because I didn’t like the teacher or the subject matter and would drive north to climb Mount Jefferson and felt a sense of accomplishment. I spent almost every weekend in the mountains while living in southern New Hampshire; either going up for a day hike or overnight backpacking adventure. I hiked alone. I backpacked overnight alone. I wasn’t scared of anything I loved the solitude of being in the mountains.

Have a great day. Hope you are out hiking in the Whites.

 

Can you really fall out of love with a place

I believe you can because it happened with me – is happening with me.

When I moved to Granby in 2007, I chose this place because of the beautiful, remote, mountain landscape, and for the plentiful hiking and world-class skiing at Winter Park Resort.

Things have changed so much in my life, as I suspect happens to a lot of people, and I am thinking of other places, warmer places. Places like Tucson or San Diego, or even Denver. I haven’t loved a city since 1988 when I thought I would live in Boston and be an athletic trainer for the Boston Bruins.

I became a small-town girl once I moved to Maine and reinforced it when I moved a year later to Vermont. When I lived in Vermont I was that skier who loved to get first and last chair. I was a ski bum with a job. I learned how to après ski at Killington. In the summer I hiked sections of the Long Trail. I perfected eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in one sitting.

Killington Peak is much like seeing Devil’s Thumb on the Continental Divide; it was a figure on the landscape that reassured me that I was in the right place - a rocky mound that served as a reminder of beauty and an inspiration to artistry.

I haven’t skied much this season. I haven’t hiked a big mountain in years.

I am falling out of love with the mountains which begs the questions, can you really fall out of love with a place?

As my boss paces back and forth in front of my desk telling tales of hiking 14ers, I’m learning why I’m falling out of love with this place: I’m not doing the things that made me love it in the first place.

With an early spring and hopefully the hiking and mountain biking trails accessible soon, I’m going to do everything I can to fall back in love. Hiking big mountains. Camping. Backpacking.

I’m still going to swim, bike, and run – the things I could do year-round if I lived in Tucson or San Diego, but I’m going to get back on track. I’m going to hike the big mountains and all the little ones in Grand County.

Thoughts from a Former Peak Bagger

There are so many times during the year that I think of all the things I want to do some day. I like making lists of all the things I want to do. I haven't been getting to many of them since I'm still working on the list from last year or a decade ago. I keep thinking of all the peaks around Grand County that I still haven't done like Byers and Vasquez. Or even the 14,000 footers that I'd like to do. I've lived in Colorado for almost seven years and haven't done one.

It's about time that I get one done and that is my top goal from next summer: To hike a 14,000 footer. Over the winter I will start planning and reading and learning about hiking them. There's a story in there some where.

Vasquez Wilderness

Here's the story I wrote this year about peak bagging and why I suddenly stopped climbing the big mountains.

I haven't hiked Byers Peak, yet. As an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast living in Grand County for over three years, I'm embarrassed to admit it. The craggy peak taunts me every morning while I drive to work: Hike me, hike me.

Read the rest of the story here: