Friday, August 03, 2007

The Assault on Cloud Peak








Three men and a dream . . .
A lush green valley with innumerable lakes . . .
A mystical 13,162 ft peak shrouded away in clouds . . .
A hailstorm, a lightning storm . . .
An endless field of car-sized boulders . . .
A triumphant summit . . .
An exhausted descent . . .
A highly illegal campfire . . .
An adventure, a conquest . . .
A memorable trip with two good friends . . .






10 comments:

Rappster said...

Wow, that's amazing that you were able to get a snapshot of the elusive six-foot tall mountain owl.

Thanks for the blog visit. You've correctly deduced my identity, it is Ryan Rapp.

You have been promoted to the title of "Super Sleuth."

On a completely different note, Cloud Peak looks amazing! It makes me want to watch "The Discovery Channel" while feasting on raw marshmallows. It's the home version, and it's my turn.

Danalin said...

Looks beautiful, Mark! That makes me want to find a good, hard hike very soon to conquer. Such an inspiration!

Tankfos said...

child's play!!

Looks like you guys had a lot of fun. that is a lot of rocks.

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Matthew said...

Man, looking at your photos made me miss hiking -- I need to get up in the hills again!

Wish I could've been there.

Tyler said...

What did you carry in your stylish fanny pack? It takes a man, free of all inhibitions to wear a fanny pack so openly and freely. I commend you!

Why does man strive to ascend lofty mountain summits such as cloud peak? I mean, you walk up, you walk down, an then your feet really hurt. I don't know, but we have some tall mountains always on our horizon and they call to me constantly.

It looks like your trip was rugged and a lot of fun. Just the kind of thing a real man would do.

Congrats on making it to the top in such inspiring fashion. It looks like there was a pretty tall cliff up there. I get nervous around sheer cliffs like that... I must be less of a man...

Mark said...

To answer Ty's question:

I carried two granola bars, 4 fruit rollups, and a bag of dried apricots in my stylish fanny pack. I took turns carrying the daypack as well, as this carried Dan's and my water.

There was a HUGE cliff at the top: about a 1500 ft sheer drop into that blue glacier lake. That one we had to crawl up to the edge on our hands and knees for fear of plummeting to our deaths. This fear was magnified by a small memorial cross at the edge of the precipice for a young man that apparently died there in 2003.

There were many other sheer drops as well, although the photos make them look hairier than they actually are.

Wendi said...

Quite the hike, Mark -- thanks for the great photos. Matt keeps assuring me that someday he'll take me up a 14'er (and driving to the summit of Mt. Evans doesn't count). I have serious doubts about my ability to make it through such a serious hike, but dreaming is free!

Elizabeth said...

If you hadn't mentioned that little part about the memorial cross at the edge of the cliff... I might have wanted to climb it too. :) I'm glad you went with Kevin and Dan. I know you all loved it!

Dad said...

What a trip Marcus!! I'm not sure outside of family there is more enjoyment in life than being with really good friends doing such a tough adventure. It is great you got to share it with a couple of close friends.

It looks very much like Colorado high country where you were.

dad

Ms.Bananna said...

The cross you mentioned is a tribute to Kenneth. He died in 2003 in AZ. He loved cloud peak and had climbed it years before. It was a place he loved dearly. His 2 cousins and little brother hiked up there In 2004 and left this cross and his ashes up top.