Day 8 of #Brand30 - Stumbled Hell, We Landed Flat on Our Faces
We had now set a goal and reached all of our intermediate goals. We were poised for success, and nothing could stop us at this point! We were hydrated, we had eaten a healthy snack, and we survived the drive up to the trailhead. Ready! Set! Stumble! We hadn’t made it very far when our new friend, Altitude, introduced itself. Let me assure you, it was not a pleasant meeting. After less than a quarter mile, we decided to go back to the car while we still could. It was at this point I confessed to my hiking partner that when I first got out of the car and walked to the facilities (remember hydration), I felt lightheaded and thought I might pass out. We drove off the mountain and back to our hotel (at about 9,000 feet of elevation), stayed around there for a couple of days, and did a few easy hikes, hoping (not a plan) to acclimatize in time for our summit push.
The night before the summit attempt, we got our gear prepped, filled our packs, and set our alarm for two hours before daylight. The next morning when the alarm went off, we jumped out of our beds, drove back to the trailhead, and sprinted up the mountain! NOT! In reality, we turned the alarms off, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Our stumble on the mountain had broken our resolve, and believing we were no longer prepared, we scrapped the attempt. Why? Because we had missed a lot of crucial intermediate steps:
Check back tomorrow to read about the further adventures of flatlanders at altitude.
Corporate Hippie ????? Obsessed with the Cloud ??? Supporting Women in Tech????
2 年My takeaway from this is that it's lucky you had some extra days to try and acclimate at your hotel!