If you didn't think we were crazy before it is now official...we are nuts! Today we climbed Mt. Eldon again but decided to do the Eldon Lookout trail instead of Fatman's Loop, the one we did the other day. Mount Eldon is actually a dead volcano. It is next to Mt. Humphreys (chairlift day) and also part of the San Fransico Peaks here at Flagstaff. From a distance it looks so different than when you are actually hiking the trail. It was only 2 and 1/2 miles to the top but it was a climb of 2400 ft. of elevation. Lots of switch backs. By the time I realized it might a bit more vigorous than what I wanted it was too late.
I thought I could see Canada in the background we were so high up! The yellowish trees are aspens and they are right near the top but the last few hundred feet seemed like miles. I was just trudging along trying to keep one foot in front of the other. I think I may have gone into an altered state of mind. On the way down I didn't recognize most of it!
It was
like climbing large uneven steps. At this elevation, 9300 ft., my breath was a bit ragged. It was the biggest (the only?) mountain hike I have been on. We are proud of ourselves for getting to the top. We met several people going up and down but most are living here and have built up their lungs. The air is a bit thin for us. The whole hike took us 5 hours, a little more than we had anticipated.
But we had water and fruit and with rests it was ...well, John said I couldn't say gruelling in the blog. So it was challenging and exhilarating! If we are going to continue doing this type of hike we need to invest some better equipment like oxygen masks or.... peyote!
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