It's been a couple of days since I've updated, so I'm just going to back track a little bit. So, you know what is not easy? Hiking up a 14,267 foot mountain. Oh. My. God. Without a doubt, that was the most physically demanding thing I've ever done in my life. There were definitely times I wasn't sure I was going to make it.
On Monday Ben, Andy, Jo, and I woke up at 5am and headed off to Grays and Torreys near Bakersfield (I think?). After we got off the freeway we took this windy, dirt road up and up and up. Jo and I thought we were getting a pretty sweet deal since the road was taking care of a lot of elevation. Ha. We got to the trail around 7:15 and were hiking by 7:30. Both Grays and Torreys are over 14,000 feet and only about a half mile apart when you get to the first summit. We had planned on hiking the 9 mile trail to see both of them. That did not happen. We started with a nice walk through a field with a gentle incline. I knew it wasn't going to be easy when I had difficulty breathing in this portion of the hike. I know I'm not in tip-top shape, but simply walking at 11,000 feet will really get to you.
Anyway, the hike was beautiful and much different than most hikes I've been on. We were above the tree line, so we weren't hiking through the woods. Despite sunscreen, I got nice sunburn on my part line, ears, and neck. After a couple of miles through the fields we reached the meat and potatoes part of the hike. It was a rocky, snowy climb up to the top. We had about 2 miles of what felt like straight incline. This is where I began to doubt if I could make it up to the summit. However, I would be damned if I hiked as far as I did without going up to see the view. I was shocked at how slowly I had to take it. I was stopping quite frequently to catch my breath and give my legs a rest. The train wasn't wide either. It was quite narrow and rocky, which meant I had to think about every single step. One wrong step and you've just sent a bunch of rocks down the mountain.
At one point, Ben, Jo, and I thought we found a short cut. All we had to do was cross over a snowy chute and we cut off a huge incline. It seemed like a pretty great idea. Crossing the chute was pretty intense. I liked it because I wasn't hiking up, but Jo wasn't a fan since one wrong foot placement would send you sliding down a huge snowy mountain. Once we got across, we realized that it indeed was NOT a short cut. Luckily it didn't add anything to our trip either. I wasn't upset because it wouldn't be a Keck family hike if we didn't do part of the trail backwards. On top we had a nice little lunch of summer sausage, bread, cheese, peanut butter, and of course Snickers!
We didn't make it the extra mile over to Torreys peak. I was just happy enough to have reached Grays. So, we began our descent. At first walking down was great. I was actually able to hold a conversation and I felt more and more oxygen flowing into my system. At one point we saw some wild sheep, which was neat. When we were about halfway down the mountain and back into the meadowy section, my feet really started to hurt. I hiked this entire thing in sneakers and my feet were starting to feel every rock I was stepping on.
Eventually we made it back to the car, around 2pm I believe. Jo and I passed out on the ride home. I couldn't move a muscle. Meanwhile, Andy, Ben, and Bailey (the dog) were trying to figure out what else they were going to do with the day. When we got back to the house I laid on a couch, drank Gatorade, and did not move. Jo did about the same. Andy decided he couldn't stay indoors so went rock climbing! The kid is freaking nuts. After the hike my arms even hurt and he went rock climbing. Colorado must be good for your health and physical well-being. Wow. Ben took the dog for a long walk. Jo and I continued to remain motionless.
Jo has been excited this entire trip to go to Moe's while in Eagle. Moe's is an Alabama style BBQ place. From all three siblings, I've heard nothing but extraordinary things about the BBQ. It seems odd that it would be in Eagle, CO but who am I to turn down pulled pork? Well it turns out Moe's was closed for an employee retreat. Ahhh. That was bad news, but we went and got some pizza instead. It was delicious. Though I probably could have eaten cardboard at that point and thought it was tasty.
Overall, it was an incredible and demanding visit with the boys. Their lifestyle is so on the go. It's awesome to see how active nearly everyone in Colorado seems to be, but I just wasn't used to it. Regardless, we had a wonderful time, got to see some beautiful mountains, and burned some calories!
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