Omayra Acevedo, Peak to Peak. My legs were burning. I could feel the scorching sensation of my lungs as I hauled my almost 27-pound backpack up the mountain. The sweat rolling down my back was begging for the piercing chill of jet streams. I heard nothing save the sound of dirt, pebbles and rocks shifting under my feet as I cautiously placed one foot in front of the other. I stopped sporadically to take in the view and pretend that I could actually catch my breath. Uncertain of which was more of a struggle: the heat, the wind or the elevation, I pushed through my first experience with altitude sickness.

It was before eight in the morning when my three companions and I ventured up Mt Bierstadt. Clouds danced across the beautiful blue sky, waterscapes shimmered like pools of diamonds, the sunshine and crisp scent of sweet rocky mountain morning air filled my senses. Hiker’s starting point is 11,669 feet after driving roughly 12 miles from Georgetown up Guanella Pass. Crossing the small creek, I took my fist slip. Luckily, I avoided the fall. At least that time.

It’s between a 6.8 and seven-mile hike round trip – depending who you ask; with a whopping 2,391 feet (or 2,850) of elevation gain. Again, depends who you ask. Average time to hike Mt. Bierstadt up and back is five hours. Sounds about right. Unless you’re running it, then you can be in and out of there in about three hours. Perhaps, next time I should ditch the backpack and consider joining the few athletes I came across that day. Maybe.

The thing about being outdoors, at least for me, is not about timing myself. It’s about all the other things. Time spent with my own thoughts, feeling sensations I wouldn’t experience otherwise, finding inspiration, learning what I’m willing to risk or not risk for victory, pleasure and/or pain. Having so much on my mind lately, hiking a fourteener was a great reminder of what’s important in my life and the things that aren’t really worth wasting my time on.

Through a bit of nausea, headaches and numbness, I found strength and determination. A couple of things I thought I was beginning to lose. I made it to the top of the world and back. Okay, maybe not that far. Still, when you find yourself sitting on a mountain peak, looking down at mountain tops, it sure does seem like you’ve reached the sky. 

(Originally published in the July 23, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)