So, embarking on my new writing journey, I've committed to
getting up early and writing before heading to work. So far, so good. I've read
several times a writer needs to sit down and write at least 500 words a day. I’m
not sure what’s so magical about 500 words, but there you have it. 500 (plus)
words it will be.
But what topic should I use? I have so many rolling around
in my brain. I have the starts for bazillions of speculative fiction stories up
there. I have musings about what’s going on in my life. Things I've done.
Things I want to do.
Probably the biggest thing going on right now is the
decision to postpone hiking Mt. Whitney until 2014. That probably needs more
background story for readers to understand.
Several years ago, one of my best friends planted the idea
of taking the Lowest to Highest trek – the lesser known sibling of the Badwater
Marathon. The better known event is an
ultra-marathon running (no pun intended, but appreciated) from Badwater,
California to Mt. Whitney – also in California. The course is about 135 miles
long and takes the participants from the lowest elevation in the western
hemisphere (Badwater) to the highest elevation in the lower 48 United States.
The Lowest to Highest (L2H) variant is a backpacking trip.
The distance is about the same. The route is significantly different. Rather
than following a paved road the entire distance, it follows a network of trails
and GPS points. The scenery, from the photos I've seen, is also much prettier. The time investment is also greater. A marathon run time for the average runner (at least according to askville)
is roughly 7 hours. The best time for Badwater is 22:51:29 (thank you Doug Ratliff). That’s a full day
of running. In comparison, hiking the L2H will take at least 7 days.
In 2012 I attempted the final stage of the hike – the Mt Whitney
portion. One of my sisters-in-law has always wanted to hike Whitney. She put
together the trip and it was awesome. We were able to do about half the trip
before weather stopped us. Pretty much the most awesome thing I've done in
years.
The preparation for the hike and the hike itself pretty much
kicked the crap out of me physically. It took a full six months before I was
willing to consider doing it again. Then Ron called. Ron is one of my two best
friends. (There’s another topic, neh? Best friends?) He’s also the guy who put
the crazy idea of the L2H in my head. He pitched hiking Whitney again this year
and I agreed. The challenge – getting the permit. We didn't So we’ll try again
next year.
However, it may be for the best. My body – specifically my
feet and legs – hasn't fully healed from last year’s hike. It’s definitely much
better but hiking season is about to begin here in the lovely Wasatch mountains
and my body is barely able to handle the local trails, let alone fighting the altitude
monster that is Mt Whitney.
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