My Reasons

My Reasons

This Is Where It All Begins

This Is Where It All Begins

Sunday, September 13, 2009

We Did It!

Ben and I decided a few weeks ago that we really wanted to hike Pikes Peak again this year. Taking his knee injury and my mono into account, we decided that we were both well enough on the mend and we got everything ready to go. Ben's knee held out wonderfuly, no pain, and my mono was just the same as it always is, annoying, but do-able.

Man are we glad we did it! It was awesome! We did it faster than we did last year, so we were pretty pumped. We only sat down to rest three times during the entire 13 mile trek ( gaining 7300ft in that distance) up the mountain. We are pretty proud of ourselves. We just kept on trekking and got in a groove.




It was VERY cold this time, but we saw it coming and prepared well, so we were fine. On top, it was 25 degrees when we got there. The fog rolling in and out made for some really cool scenery. It snowed about an hour after we summited. We made it up just in time.





We even tried the famous Pikes Peak doughnuts. The elevation is so high up there, that there is only one recipe that works for doughnuts. They were o.k., but kind of weird. It was fun to try them though.



The road was closed to to bad weather at one point during the hike, and we were pretty worried about not finding a ride home. I guess we could have hiked down, but the storm didn't look very inviting. The road was opened back up by the time we finished and we found this great couple to give us a lift down. Cowboy Stan and his wife..can't remember her name. They were pretty classic. We seem to find some fun folks to get rides with down the peak.

Here are some pictures of the ride home.




We came home to happy kids, warm showers, and chowed some homemade pizza. It was a great day!

We are pretty sore today, but we are researching and planning on hiking another 14er here in the next few weeks. Wish us luck!

10 comments:

Shaina said...

You guys are very impressive! I thought about you all day, and am so glad that you were safe and happy!!

Deanna said...

I agree - You guys are impressive!!! I don't know that I could do that without Mono or a knee injury! kudos to the two of you!!!

runningfan said...

You are incredible! How fun that you and Ben have the same interests and drive!

Colleen said...

Nice work Maynards! I am glad the weather held out for you guys and that you both were able to do so well considering the knee/mono situation! Very impressive!

Familia Morales said...

Awesome! Especially that you did it faster than last year with the injury and the mono. The pictures are great, they make me miss the mountains!

Dan and Katie said...

Now I really want to do it again! I am going to have to talk my friends into it!

Trinette McCrary said...

Wahoo! I'm happy the weather held up for you. It's amazing what fresh air and a mountain can do for you. Great hike to you.

Lisa said...

Wow! i have neither mono or an injured knee, and a 13 mile hike sounds intense.....way to stay active and have fun!

The Hardy Things in Life said...

Sweet, that is so awesome!! You guys ROCK!! We miss you and love ya so much!!

Jenni said...

You know Becky . . .I wish I was more like you. Congrats on such an amazing hike! It would have killed me, not going to lie. And I'm so glad you got a picture of Cowboy Stan!