Meridian Life November/December 2022 | Page 31

and she was a college student from Laramie , Wyoming , and had come over to climb Elbert on her 22nd birthday . She spent the day climbing with us and was truly delightful . A little after 8 a . m . that morning , we were on top of Mt . Elbert , the highest of the 14ers . We celebrated by feasting on some very delicious fried chicken we had bought back in Leadville .
So , we had one more day to climb before heading back home and had successfully climbed three 14ers . Hannah had mentioned a circuit of mountains named the DeCaLiBron loop . Completing this circuit would give us a chance to add four more 14ers to our list of summits for the week . We were all in for it and the next morning at 2 a . m ., we broke camp and drove over to the Breckenridge area where we would attempt to complete the DeCaLiBron .
Upon arrival , we were amazed to see so many vehicles . There were people everywhere ! We had to park way down the gravel road and walk up . On the way we started noticing plates from all over the country , especially from the West and Midwest . Our route took us up Mt . Democrat first , then Lincoln , Cameron , and finally Bross . We were truly acclimatized and feeling great throughout he day and completed the circuit in just over six hours .
Normally , having that many people around on a hike or climb would have bothered me . After all , it is the “ quite solitude ” I go in search of . But on this day , it was different . There were people of all
Adam Hodges is General Manager at Anderson Health & Fitness Center , Meridian . If you have fitness questions , contact Hodges at ahodges @ andersonregional . org
www . meridianstar . com
“ it rainin ’ fire in the sky ” and how the shadow from the starlight is “ softer
than a lullaby .” John Denver
‘ Colorado Rocky Mountain High ’
ages , from all parts of the country , with different political and social backgrounds , all there to climb mountains . To push themselves to whatever limit was theirs , to accomplish whatever goal they had set for themselves . We met the cross-country and track teams from a high school in Nebraska that had come out to climb as part of a team building exercise . Everyone I spoke to that day , and there were many , was extremely positive and friendly , no doubt “ seeing the silver clouds below ” and “ finding grace ” in every step they took .
Me and my buddies took note of how people just seemed to be happy and loving in this mountain environment . Differences didn ’ t seem to matter . I came back home a little more tolerant of others and a little less fixated on what defines me politically and socially .
On this trip we truly witnessed “ it rainin ’ fire in the sky ” and how the shadow from the starlight is “ softer than a lullaby .”
Thank you Rocky Mountain High Colorado .