Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Getting High with Ricochet Friends
Struggling to absorb enough oxygen from thin air, it’s a labor to walk 20 feet. The steep broken rocks that loom above look like teeth, and I imagine myself falling away from the narrow trail and tumbling down to hungry stone faces below. With a firm grip on trekking poles for balance, I pause and contemplate turning around to return to the forgiving embrace of a warm, soft bed when a voice above shouts encouragement. Taking a deep breath, I forge forward, knowing that pride may have to haul me up the last thousand feet or so.
We did it! From L to R: drlorentz,(anonymous member) , Dan, Nice Grizzly, me, Dave, Kelly, Danny
As a flatlander, I arrived a bit underprepared for the Ricochet Mountain Meetup lead by Contributor (and intrepid mountaineer) @davesussman to the top of the San Gabriel Mountains. Our hike up “Mt. Baldy” resulted in a gain of about 4,000 feet of altitude that rewarded our group of eight with stunning views from the highest spot in Los Angeles County, at 10,064 feet.
Steep climbing at higher elevations is strenuous. To get ready, you need to work out hard for at least a couple of months beforehand, with practice doing actual climbing for sustained periods of time. I’m in reasonably good condition but my travel and work schedule made it challenging to get the hours in, and my only reliable source of altitude gain was a small 150-foot ski hill in Michigan.
A week ago, the temptation to chicken out hit. I didn’t want to look foolish in front of real athletes; MLH previously had run to the top of Mt. Baldy, Dave is a mountaineer who regularly conquers very high elevations and Nice Grizzly is a natural climber — small, strong and energetic. Drlorenz, Nice Grizzly’s brother Dan, and Dave’s two friends Danny and Kelly all had lots of experience, and I figured I’d hold everyone up, or worse, get altitude sickness and end up barfing into my hair while everyone gawked in horror.
Just before the steep part! From L to R, Kelly, Me, Dan, Dave, Anonymous, Nice Grizzly, Danny
With Dave’s calm assurances that I’d be fine (we’d hiked up a couple of smaller mountains earlier this year), I overcame my fear and arrived on time at our “base camp” 4,000 feet below the peak. We began the skyward trek at 8 AM, and I immediately became the last person in our procession; I felt like I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs. I wasn’t having an asthma attack, but the air seemed “thin.”
It should be pointed out that there are two ways to get to the peak of Mt. Baldy; the long, gradual hike, or the less boring, shorter, very steep and brutal one. Naturally, our group took the billy goat trail straight up the mountainside, and while my legs screamed for mercy, I was grateful for the amazing views.
Nice Grizzly made sure I knew that even she thought this was a very tough hike, which made me feel a lot better as Dave cheerfully mocked encouraged us to move ever upward (see video below).
Nice Grizzly.
From L to R; me, drlorentz, Nice Grizzly’s brother, Dan.
Every 10 minutes or so, Dave stopped everyone so the stragglers (me) could catch up. Drlorentz discreetly monitored our altitude and I was delighted every time he reported our gains. At 8,000 feet, I knew I’d see everyone at the top, and stopped thinking about my warm bed.
Just a simple case of payback (see video below).
Well-earned snacks with the Ricochet Gals.
At 12:30 PM, we all reached the peak and took a well-deserved lunch break.
As I marveled at the view, relief and joy washed over me (I made it! I didn’t throw up!) and we huddled together behind a windbreak to share our food and hearty congratulations. After we had replenished ourselves, we tackled the descent, which includes the famed Devil’s Backbone, a narrow walkway with 3,000-ft. drop-offs on each side. Scary, but fun.
Like all Ricochet meetups, this was like a marvelous family reunion, but with the added twist of accomplishing a difficult and dangerous feat together.
To Ricochetti and guests, Dave Sussman, Nice Grizzly, Dan, drlorentz, Danny, and Kelly; thank you for a wonderful, perfect day. (More photos soon!)
See all the latest Ricochet meetups at RicochetMeetup.com
.
Published in Meetups
Peaking! From L to R: Nice Grizzly, Me, Anonymous, drlorentz, Kelly, Dave Sussman, Dan, Danny
They should be, about half of those boys I was hiking with have gone on to become Eagle Scouts. Only 3% of all the boys who enroll in Scouting make it to that rank. I had the pleasure of being their “Adult Minder” as they were exploring the limits of their endurance (mental and physical). A lot of growing happens in those New Mexican mountains, and I had the honor of being there for them.
The sad part is that they have all grown out of Scouting now, and are either in college and many have graduated. Most of their younger siblings, whom I know and have helping, are now finishing up (had two Eagle ceremonies in the last month, and a foursome ceremony coming up in December). My days of Assistant Scoutmastering is coming to an end here shortly, closing another chapter of my life.
No more hiking in the mountains for me.
Well now I need to get back in shape. My kids and I did several hikes this summer for my vacation. My favorite was the Naches Peak Loop. It’s only about half as high, but I’ll put the scenery up against any other place on earth. Hurricane Ridge was also only about half as high (I really need to get into the Olympics at some point…), but again the view is breathtaking.
Hey, Dan and Michelle. Siblings! Funny to see them walking and talking in the recent video. I haven’t seen Dan in ages.
Sweet!
Those are different friends. They stay down near the water. The friend I was referring to did a climb of Mount Tyree.
However, the web site says the oldest climber was 66, and he is not that close to my age. Maybe I wasn’t listening carefully enough. Maybe he’s the 2nd oldest. Or maybe it was a different mountain. He has gone mountain-climbing crazy since his kids graduated from college. Actually, he jumped the gun on that, and I’m still having trouble keeping up with his latest mountain adventures.
His oldest and our youngest were in Boy Scouts together, and we took them on a hike across Isle Royale in Lake Superior in one of the coldest, wettest July weeks in recent years. By recent, I mean 1998. This week I’ve been scanning my slides and photos from 1998, and have been disappointed to see how much the Ektachromes have deteriorated in such a short time. The Kodachromes are doing a little better, but haven’t improved with age. I’ve deteriorated since then, too. Mount Baldy would be challenge enough for me.
I’m glad the Ricochet group had a good time. They all look like they’re younger than me, but I’m thinking about it.
One possibility would be in early March. We hope to go to Texas again in February, and I’ll start riding again in the Corpus Christi/Rockport area, where it’s flat and boring. Then I’ll work my way up to Fredericksburg again, in the hill country where Lance Armstrong used to do some of his off-season training. (My speeds are much slower than his, and I’ll bet he never stopped on a steep hill to huff-and-puff like I sometimes do.) Whether that would get me in reasonable enough shape to do Mount Baldy next (on foot) I don’t know.
In late September I was huffing and puffing my way across the hills of Wisconsin’s driftless area. I’m already way out of shape for that now.
Whoa! The Meet-UP looks wonderful, indeed…Thanks for the come-with!
At the risk of butting into other peoples’ business, I would also prefer to have this post back on the Member Feed.
I’m also very hesitant to have my face on the Main Feed, and in the past I have also undertaken the frustrating task of asking other Ricochet members at meetups not to post pictures of me on public sites. It’s a sad but inevitable consequence of the politicized world we live in, especially for members in states like California.
While I know advertising successful meetups on the Main Feed is a great marketing opportunity for the site, it’s also very awkward when it requires blatant memory holing of participants. This discussion was more enjoyable when everyone involved could let their guard down a little.
I have to admit when I first saw the title of this post, I pictured 6foot2 and her fellow Ricochetti sitting around a hookah . . . What a relief!
Meetups are fun, whether it’s a mini-Meetup like the one this Thursday in Fuquay-Varina, or the elaborate ones like Las Vegas, Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta . . . you name it. Go to one if you can!
I don’t want to derail the purpose of this thread by having this debate here, so I have written a post where we can discuss this further.
Oh, but I love this. I just love it. Tanned hides and taut muscles. Ricochet!
Lots of awesome photos. Thanks.
Hmm… “Tanned hides and taut muscles.” Ricochet’s next sales pitch?
Thank you, @peterrobinson! Achieving altitude is a elemental delight. At the summit, we are triumphant gleeful children, having left responsibilities and worries far below.
How beautiful! Great job putting this together. Such a joy to live vicariously through you!