Go take a hike!

Harry Dunne: I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this.

Lloyd Christmas: I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man.

Dumb and Dumber

          I am back! Sorry I have been away from this board for so long. I could make up a laundry list of reasons (read: excuses) as to why haven’t posted for so long, but the bottom line is that none of that really matters. What does matter, and the reason I currently post this on a completely infrequent basis, is to share my experiences in the hopes that they might help anyone out there.

This past March, a long-time friend of mine shared that she and her husband were training to take on the Incline, in Manitou Springs. For those that are unfamiliar, think a StairMaster on steroids. Seriously. Just look at this thing.

This is looking down the trail...

This is looking up...

To give you an example, apparently Kevin Bacon was here last week, (yes, THAT Kevin Bacon) and took on the incline. Check it out; http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/actor-kevin-bacon-tackles-colorados-incline-trail-in-manitou-springs, and said it almost killed him. True story.

When I told my wife about it, she said that we should plan a hike with the kids. To give you some perspective, we attempted to scale a 14er last year (Mount Bierstadt, at 14,065 feet). I say attempted, because the climb up the mountain was, for all intents and purposes, a colossal struggle, to say the least. It started with the complaining about being tired and then hungry, followed by him having to go pee about every quarter-mile, soon to be followed with a headache, and then finished off with altitude sickness. Needless to say, we didn’t make the peak. At about 500 vertical feet shy of the top, my son and I had to turn around and hike back down the mountain, while my wife and daughter finished what we started. The worst part is that my son lacks the endurance for distances. About every 100-200 yards, he would want to sit down and take a quick rest.

This was Mt. Bierstadt last year, at the start of the hike...

This is where CJ had to bail out last year.

Diane and Jackie made it to the top!

So when my wife suggested we make it a family outing, needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive. While the Incline is no 14er, it is a strenuous climb, going up 2000 feet in less than a mile, with some parts of the climb reaching over a 70 degree incline. Like this:

Not one to shy away from a challenge, I hesitantly agreed, bracing myself for the worst. We started by preparing CJ for what was to come, explaining that it would be a difficult hike, with an early start, and probably a long day all around.

One of the things I realized on the climb is that you have a lot of time to think, mainly because after the first two or three hundred steps, you find it difficult to talk, due to you trying to do other minor things, like breathe. And as I climbed, I started thinking about the similarities the hike had to our struggle with CJ’s autism. Often times, you struggle to make it up the hill, feeling like so many other families are doing better than you, while you struggle to find your footing. At other times, all you want to do is sit down, wondering if you even have the strength to go on. Then there are times that you need help to get past the next hurdle, or times when you help others to get through something that you were able to conquer. But no matter what, you keep going, pushing past levels you thought were possible, trying to reach another goal.

Us taking a rest and a snack.

The amazing thing is that there were no complaints, no headaches, and virtually no potty breaks. (The hike down was a different story) Near the end of the uphill part of the journey, the kids went ahead of us to the summit and waited, while my wife and I worked our way up the mountain. It took us an additional 20 minutes to get up to them, and at the end, as we approached the top, my wife looked up and saw them sitting at the last “step”, cheering us on. As I looked at them, I knew THAT was why we did all of this, and that we should never lose sight of that fact.

Us at the top!

Look at how far we came!

I hope that all of you are able to summit the struggles you work through every day.

Oh, and by the way, my friend that turned me on to this adventure, she had to take the bailout point, which is about 2/3 of the way up the hike. Sorry Mari, maybe next year?