Dead Weight
Friday, October 30
Last Sabbath was one of the clearest days I’ve seen in Colorado - the air was pure and clear, visibility was amazing, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The view was amazing.
Josiah and I were standing at 14,148 feet atop Mt. Democrat in the Colorado Rockies. You could see for hundreds of miles in every direction, and some believe you can see more 14ers from atop this peak than any other summit in Colorado.
The hike to the summit was fairly short, an elevation gain of only 2100 feet over 2 miles, and a well-marked trail all the way to the summit. The snow made it a little more difficult in places. Exposure in some places made for some very cutting winds and icy trails. And although the hike isn’t any too difficult, I don’t like carrying extra baggage around. My gear is pretty light, and aside from a headlamp and pocket knife, I don’t pack anything that I don’t plan on using.
There are four peaks above 14,000 feet in a convenient loop, and we’d planned to climb as many as possible. I’d brought along my GPS to track out elevation gain/loss, moving/stopped time, and total trip length. About 10 minutes into our hike, the cold got to my nearly-worthless Duracell rechargeable batteries and they died, leaving us with my slightly less accurate, but nonetheless realistic and honest, estimates of trip details.
When we cleared the summit, we had 360° views for hundreds of miles. At that altitude, the already blue Colorado sky appears deep and rich. Directly above you it’s so deep it’s almost black. Every peak above 12,000 feet is snow-capped, and the contrast is breathtaking. Although I’ve now summited eleven 14ers, the views never cease to amaze me.
This is a fitting place for a picture - but I don’t have one...
During Fountainview graduation in June, 2007, I did a night-summit of Mt. Askom. At 8376 feet, it’s about 400 feet below the elevation I grew up at in Colorado. However, the views are still breathtaking - especially at sunrise. Thinking we’d summit during the night, and in an attempt to travel light, I’d left my camera in the truck at the trailhead. We arrived at the summit about 5 minutes before sunrise. This was, without a doubt, one of the sweetest and most bitter mountaintop experiences I’ve had. The most amazing sunrise I’d ever seen, and no camera with which to capture it. After that day, I swore I’d never climb another mountain without my camera. And I haven’t.
As we stood atop Mt. Democrat in Colorado, I took off my pack and pulled out my camera. Not just any camera - a full-frame D-SLR with a wide-angle zoom lens. 3.2 lbs. at normal elevation, but at 14,000 feet, it weighs in at an astounding 7 lbs! I’ve lugged this beast to the summit of eleven 14ers. When I pulled the camera out and turned it on, nothing happened - the battery was dead. I might as well have taken a brick up that mountain.
Hmm, I wonder I there’s an object lesson there somewhere.
Josiah and I were standing at 14,148 feet atop Mt. Democrat in the Colorado Rockies. You could see for hundreds of miles in every direction, and some believe you can see more 14ers from atop this peak than any other summit in Colorado.
The hike to the summit was fairly short, an elevation gain of only 2100 feet over 2 miles, and a well-marked trail all the way to the summit. The snow made it a little more difficult in places. Exposure in some places made for some very cutting winds and icy trails. And although the hike isn’t any too difficult, I don’t like carrying extra baggage around. My gear is pretty light, and aside from a headlamp and pocket knife, I don’t pack anything that I don’t plan on using.
There are four peaks above 14,000 feet in a convenient loop, and we’d planned to climb as many as possible. I’d brought along my GPS to track out elevation gain/loss, moving/stopped time, and total trip length. About 10 minutes into our hike, the cold got to my nearly-worthless Duracell rechargeable batteries and they died, leaving us with my slightly less accurate, but nonetheless realistic and honest, estimates of trip details.
When we cleared the summit, we had 360° views for hundreds of miles. At that altitude, the already blue Colorado sky appears deep and rich. Directly above you it’s so deep it’s almost black. Every peak above 12,000 feet is snow-capped, and the contrast is breathtaking. Although I’ve now summited eleven 14ers, the views never cease to amaze me.
This is a fitting place for a picture - but I don’t have one...
During Fountainview graduation in June, 2007, I did a night-summit of Mt. Askom. At 8376 feet, it’s about 400 feet below the elevation I grew up at in Colorado. However, the views are still breathtaking - especially at sunrise. Thinking we’d summit during the night, and in an attempt to travel light, I’d left my camera in the truck at the trailhead. We arrived at the summit about 5 minutes before sunrise. This was, without a doubt, one of the sweetest and most bitter mountaintop experiences I’ve had. The most amazing sunrise I’d ever seen, and no camera with which to capture it. After that day, I swore I’d never climb another mountain without my camera. And I haven’t.
As we stood atop Mt. Democrat in Colorado, I took off my pack and pulled out my camera. Not just any camera - a full-frame D-SLR with a wide-angle zoom lens. 3.2 lbs. at normal elevation, but at 14,000 feet, it weighs in at an astounding 7 lbs! I’ve lugged this beast to the summit of eleven 14ers. When I pulled the camera out and turned it on, nothing happened - the battery was dead. I might as well have taken a brick up that mountain.
Hmm, I wonder I there’s an object lesson there somewhere.
Comments :
<< Home
I see one object lesson - kinda obvious, but very fitting for me:
It's more difficult to share your "mountain-top" experiences when you run out of energy before you get there!
The pressures of life and the "coldness" of our surroundings zap our spiritual energy often before we realize it. We can't rely on a "mountain-top" experience once a week or every so often to give us something to share with the people in the valley below.
We need a constant supply of energy from God. We need to have Him with us every step of the way. If we don't check on our connection with Him along the way, we will still have our mountain top experience with Him. But our testimony to others will be more along the lines of what we were missing in life, rather than what beauty we've just experienced.
It's more difficult to share your "mountain-top" experiences when you run out of energy before you get there!
The pressures of life and the "coldness" of our surroundings zap our spiritual energy often before we realize it. We can't rely on a "mountain-top" experience once a week or every so often to give us something to share with the people in the valley below.
We need a constant supply of energy from God. We need to have Him with us every step of the way. If we don't check on our connection with Him along the way, we will still have our mountain top experience with Him. But our testimony to others will be more along the lines of what we were missing in life, rather than what beauty we've just experienced.
lol! Yeah, I've held your camera before, I wouldn't dream of dragging it along with me, but hey, thats just me, and I'm lazy :p
I remember the good ol' days when after a long days work I would get on the computer, log onto Brandon's blog and know that I was in for a humorous story for the day. What ever happened to that??? lol, you need to write more posts!
I remember the good ol' days when after a long days work I would get on the computer, log onto Brandon's blog and know that I was in for a humorous story for the day. What ever happened to that??? lol, you need to write more posts!
The lesson? Buy a point-and-shoot that you can easily fit in your pocket. Forget D-SLRs, especially full-frame, hehe ;-) Ya, you know I'm not being serious...
But on a more serious note. I wonder if Simon thought the cross of Christ was "dead weight" as he carried it up the hill... Doesn't quite match your story, but it crossed my mind as I was thinking about what we may consider dead weight.
Post a Comment
But on a more serious note. I wonder if Simon thought the cross of Christ was "dead weight" as he carried it up the hill... Doesn't quite match your story, but it crossed my mind as I was thinking about what we may consider dead weight.
<< Home
