Todd and I hit the mummy bags after our arduous trudge through the night and I made the terribly wrong decision to let Harry the Super-Dog sleep in the tent. Harry had an evil case of the High Uintah farts! There is not much room in a three man tent after packing in all the gear which we had to do in order to make sure everything stayed dry through the night so adding the acid gas expelling, skunk killing, egg carcass spewing dog was absolutely not pleasant. Harry "butted" up against me all night mainly because there was no where else to go, therefore my sleep patterns jostled between move from this side of the rock jabbing me in the side, to quickly cover my face so it doesn't melt off from Harry's weapon of mass destruction. It's funny though, no matter how destructive the arid smell permeated, it wasn't enough to get me up out of the sleeping bag and let the dog out of the tent and tether him to the tent pole. Just too much work after a long hike hence, I regretfully put up with Harry's newfound ability to burn nose hairs and slept off and on through the short night.

Light came early and after a rough night I immediately let Harry out of the tent to clear his bowls and I took a gander at where we pitched camp. Absolutely gorgeous! We had no idea what we were hiking through all night but I would do almost anything to have this view every morning. The temperature was brisk though. Our breath was easily visible and the long johns were a definite must. But the allure of the surrounding mountains just took our words away. All Todd and I could do was stare and keep repeating, wow!


We were amped to get started on our summit attempt so we eagerly got dressed and cooked some backpacker's breakfast which consisted of instant oatmeal with some fresh blueberry's poured in. I also brewed a quick cup of coffee which even though it was from a tea bag tasted great on this early crisp and cool high altitude morning. Todd's a natural, nutritional, raw food consumer so I don't think his diet changed at all this trip. He easily consumed his Almond Milk drinks, mixed nuts, and fresh fruit. I have to say I was a little jealous of his clean diet and it seems to work because Todd turned out to be a hiking freak!

Todd snapped a couple of panoramic shots and we took off for the summit!


As we were leaving camp I took a glance at the inviting and non-threatening sky's and made the novice and regrettable mistake of striping off all my warm clothes and dumping nearly everything out of my summit backpack. I took out the extra warm fleece and the rain pants and a few other odds and ends that I would later wish I had.

I threw the much lighter pack on my super sore shoulders and we began hiking by 8:30 in the morning. My legs were already stiff from the previous evenings march. Later we mapped out our distance and figured we covered about 7 1/2 miles on the hike in. Not bad for our first backpacking attempt but we were both feeling it early this morning. Our excitement and adventurous spirit suppressed our soreness and we enthusiastically headed down the trail with little idea of how this altitude would effect us or how the weather could change on a dime.



The hike to the summit we estimated would take about four hours so we kept a consistent pace but of course we had to snap a few pics. It was a gorgeous day and we soon entered this expansive basin that reminded me of the valley in "The Land Before Time." There were domesticated sheep roaming the hillsides and Super-Harry being a herding breed had entered dogie heaven. I had him leashed to my backpack belt and he darn near pulled me off the rocks more than once. That dog can pull when he wants to. The sheep didn't help, they were taunting Harry by just barley trotting off the path then stopping and looking back at him while letting out this weird mutton laughter noise that really freaked out the poor canine.



At one point there were so many sheep it was hard to tell them apart from the rocks against the mountain.



We were having an absolute ball! This is the life! Hiking in the High Uintah's with the sun out and the scenery was unmatchable. I even found time to throw some snowballs from one of the many large patches of soft snow that were firmly preserved amongst the alpine slopes.



We chose not to take a short cut that would have saved over an hour and scuttlebutt suggested as much as two hours but we decided to take a more traditional and longer route. It was supposed to be an easier approach because you stretch out your vertical so that it's not such an upright and strenuous climb. Considering the altitude and our freshman capabilities we decided on the conservative approach. Unbeknown to us it also led to some wide open valley's and remarkable views. You didn't need a photography class to be able to snap award winning pics, sorry Todd, the landscape automatically made you pro!




After around two quick hours of hiking we came upon a refreshing and sparkling mountain stream. I used this opportunity to learn how to use my handy dandy water filtration system. I bought the Katadyn Hiker filter from Canyon Sports and it worked masterfully. It took me about ten minutes to put it together because of course I didn't test it or even open it at home. I just threw the whole bag into the backpack and headed out. After some quick pumps I was able to fill both Todd's and I water bladders and that was a bit comforting knowing that if we got lost at least we could have clean water.



While I was fiddling with the water pump a couple of pro hikers passed us and offered their GPS knowledge which was that the summit was one vertical mile from where we were sitting. Too bad the GPS didn't account for the steep winding and rocky trail that had to be conquered first. We wrapped up our little water slash lunch party and resumed our hike. As we peered off into the oncoming heights we noticed the first signs of a changing weather pattern.



At this point the trail begins to take a fairly stout vertical approach and I began to gas. Todd took over the lead and he was still hiking at a strong pace. The altitude, sun, sore legs, and  lazy summer immediately reminded me that this was for real and I began to hit a wall. I've felt similar body breaking points during my multiple marathons I've completed but I was having a tough time overcoming this exhaustion. Todd on the other hand was cruising like he was walking downhill at sea level. I began to question my mental and physical toughness. Something that shouldn't be done when attempting to summit a mountain. One should be confident and absolute in their thoughts. I wasn't.

The more we climbed up the steep slope of a meadow that rose high enough to meet the bottom of the final ridge, we could spy other groups making their way up the craggy spine of Kings Peak. This was the first sign that we were getting close and that all this effort may just pay off.


( The small dots lining the spine are other summit seekers making their way up Kings Peak )

The threatening clouds began making noise and lightning strikes hit adjacent peaks. This storm literally came out of nowhere! I was most concerned about the lightning but it remained at a distance that was menacing although not endangering. We continued.

Todd was stretching his lead over me and had to stop and wait for me to catch up which was not encouraging. I remembered watching the "Everest," program on the Discovery Channel, and one of the climbers mentioned that at that altitude you can only take one step then you stop to breath for a few minutes then take another step. I wasn't quite to that point but I could for the first time relate to what they were describing. I was slowing to a snails pace and even my Super-Dog Harry got bored with my sluggish gait. Harry joined the more energized Todd and I was pulling up the rear.

Raindrops began hitting the ground but they weren't quite enough to get us wet. The wind picked up as we approached the exposed ridge. Finally after struggling up the last few yards at a lumbering stride we made the ridge leading to Kings Peak. Just in time for a hail storm. Awesome! Here we met a few other hikers because everyone assembles on this ridge before venturing up the giant boulders leading to the summit. It was olympic speed dressing as we all attacked our packs desperately searching for any rain gear and warm clothing. I just happened to leave everything I could have used back at base camp. I did have a light wind breaker that formed some protection against the elements but with the wind and hail my fingers started going numb.

We had a brief conversation with a couple hikers about whether it was a good idea to summit. Todd said he was game and I was a little hesitant. I barely made it to where we were and we stood four strenuous hours away from base camp. I sucked it up and said "ok, lets give it a shot." Todd led the way up these incredibly huge rocks that were slippery and cavernous. The large steps and careful moves quickly ate up any desire I had left to summit. I was soon passed by a guy and his reluctant girlfriend and I realized I was done.

I have never quit a marathon, in fact I've completed five and most with some amazing pain but I can honestly say I didn't have it. Kings Peak Prevailed. I sat on a rock disgusted. Harry the Super-Dog, who had boldly scrambled over the rocks and was keeping up with Todd took a look back and knew I wasn't moving. Harry picked his way back down the imposing boulders to meet me. I huddled against the cold hard stone waiting to see if I could mentally overcome. I couldn't. I looked up for Todd but he had pressed on. I had given Todd the backpack at the ridge to lighten my load but that didn't seem to help. The wind and rain continued and I sat frustrated in disbelief. This was supposed to be a fun moderate hike not a physical and mental schism.

I tried to take solace in what we had accomplished in the last twenty-four hours but with Todd pushing toward the summit it was hard to be proud. I stopped an older female hiker who was climbing like she spends everyday on a stair-stepper and I told her to tell my friend "I'm done." She said, "Your going to wait for him aren't you?" Well I hadn't thought about that. We hadn't planned on separating or what to do if one of us couldn't make it. We assumed this was in the bag. I replied "yea, I'm waiting. I'm just climbing down beneath the ridge to wait where the wind isn't so bad." The hardcore lady then exclaimed, "You hiked all this way and your not going to the top?" I simply conceded, "Yea, I'm done, I know my limits and I'm done."

Todd however, championed on! While I sheepishly made my way below the ridge Todd summited!

I'm so proud of Todd! At least one of us was able to claim the highest point in Utah. For these two beginners a little success went a long way for both of us. We would later pass hikers and they would all ask the same thing,"Did you summit?" "Well," I would say with a smile, "he did." Todd is a natural hiker and I'm jealous but that just means I'll have to actually do some training and local hiking and not just jump off the couch and attack Kings Peak. It's tougher than you think.

Todd snapped a final panoramic shot from the ultimate Uintah height and headed back down. Oh yea, we still have to hoof it back to camp and in my battered condition with the rain picking up this might be more interesting and adventurous than we had bargained for.