By Guest Blogger, Luke Lindstrom (14 years old)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
A piercing scream that could shatter windows entered my ears as I lay on the couch in the downstairs apartment of Nana and Grandpa’s house. The sun had just peeked over the mountains that morning. I realized it was one of my baby sisters (twins) making it known to all of us it was time for breakfast. I tried to ignore it to the best of my ability and rolled over, covering my ears. A few minutes later I gave up and came to her rescue…again.
Then I remembered what day this was: this was the day we would Conquer Bear Mountain! Opa (Mama’s father) knocked on the door. We had all our hiking equipment packed – Mama, Nathan, Mark and I. We had a great guide because Opa has climbed almost all of the 14ers in the Western Hemisphere, not just Colorado. Mark was a last-minute recruit. We all wondered if he would make it because he’s only 10 years old and not used to the altitude.
We only drove a mile to the trailhead, but it seemed like hours because we were so thrilled and extremely anxious to get going. We scrambled out of the Subaru and bolted for the trail. The first thing we saw was a river. We crossed the bridge and wound around through a maze of bushes to get to the path that would take us up Bear Mountain. Because it was the beginning, everyone was full of energy and we were making good speed. We took a turn and faced a new trail that was quite steep. I took special note of this corner, but I wished I had paid even more attention.
On our way, we met a lady coming down. She was very tired and asked, “Are you guys going up to Bear Mountain?”
“Yes we are.”
“Well good luck!” she said. “I’ve tried four times and I’ve never made it.”
After she left, Opa said, “Don’t worry. We’ll get there.”
I knew I had to make it up there. I had tried to climb to the top of Mount Audubon about five years ago and failed.
We kept hiking until we got to a hiking trail also used for a firefighting road, for putting out forest fires. We eventually stopped to put our noses to the pine tree bark and it smelled like vanilla and butterscotch. All but Mark, who was tired and laid down on the gravel road.
Opa commented to Mama, “I really don’t think he’ll make it.”
Mama, undeterred, decided to pick up Mark and put him on her back. That lasted all of 30 seconds. “This won’t work.”
We kept going and eventually got off the road and onto the mountain path.
Nathan thought he spotted a deer. And I saw it too – but thought it was the tail of a squirrel. Along the way, we spotted a very large rock and Nathan, Mark and I climbed on top of it and found a very large…ant hill! We named this rock “The Big Rock.”
We had been hiking for about four hours now and we were all getting tired so Opa and Mama guessed how many steps it would take to get to the saddle. Mama guessed 700. Opa guessed 1000. It took exactly 1,100 steps! We took a little break, ate our granola bars and rested before heading up on our final trek to the Summit.
Even though it was cloudy and windy, we could see several miles from the mountain. We were on the other side, so we didn’t see Boulder; just a few houses and trees. It was beautiful. We finally got to a stopping point and there were two paths. The sign did not clearly tell us which path to take. While waiting for the others to catch up, I scouted out one of the paths. When I went back to the fork, Opa was there and told us to take the other one, so we did, and that was the shorter way to the Summit.
It was very, very steep. Mark and Opa stayed about 20 feet below the Summit. But Mama, Nathan and I took those few steps to the top of the mountain. It was a little cloudy, but still the view was spectacular. And it was a thrill to me to know I had finally gotten to the top of a mountain. Yes, we conquered Bear Mountain!
Little did I know the most painful part was yet to come. For, three quarters of the way down, Mama asked if I could run to my grandparents’ house and get someone to pick us up. (Opa was going to stay longer on the mountain.) I said, “Sure, I’ll go.”
I was running downhill very fast and heard a noise. So I picked up a stick and kept on running, thinking that might have a cougar, because some have been sighted there. So I ran faster than before and then I heard a commotion around “The Corner.” Not paying attention to where I was running, I hit a rock, spun around. While I was lying there, I thought, oh great, I have a long ways to go. Well, I’d better get up and keep going. When I got up, I realized I had twisted my ankle and ended up limping all the way home. I met Nana and explained the situation and we got in her car and got the others. Mark and the rest of them were truly grateful because they had been on their feet for six hours straight.
Back home, I sat in the chair with and ice pack on my ankle, I realized that part of Conquering Bear Mountain was more than getting to the Summit. You had to get back home again too.
