Mr. Hikey Characters

Have you ever met a split personality person or somebody who is mean to others but nice toy you. Avi wrote a book called the True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle that has a cruel character that is just like that. Some of the things he does are kills a crew member in cold blood, singles out the oldest crew member and beats him to death along with threats if somebody is to slow, and finally killing another crew member in cold blood. Captain Jaggery is a split personality murders insane maniacal decel who has OCD in a mentally insane way.

This part of the run is not difficult for me, which is good because my mind is already focused on the cliff that I know is about 100 feet down the ridge and 50 feet on my left (north). Waiting for my turn at the top, I had lots of time to sit and think about what I was about to do, igniting my nerves and adrenaline, making my body feel numb. I ski to my spot above the cliff, and the iconic House Rock looks like it always does, almost like a fifty foot diving board that will shoot you out half-way down the rest of the mountain. I stop right above the point of no return. I must choose to hit the cliff or not. There is no turning back once I move from this spot.

Basically, here is what happens: Mark goes to climb Mt.Rainier, and he leaves home with his camera, his dog, his notebook, and a plan to reach the top of that mountain. Even if it's the last thing he ever does…

The air is thinner as breathing seems more labored, the temperature cooler, even in midsummer it seems as if Mother Nature engineered the day for comfort. With each step, the civilized world pushes deeper into the recesses of the mind becoming a distant memory. Anticipation mounts, as the path all but seems to disappear into a stand of Frasier Fir trees. Passing through the fir trees brings to mind memories of Christmas and all that the season brought at that time of year. Exiting the wooded parts of the trail, the skin is illuminated and warmed, provided by the sunlight that finds the occasional break in the trees. Entering a clearing, the mountaintop comes into view appearing even more intimidating than from the view at the bottom. As the trail ascends toward the peak, prior thoughts of a strenuous trip yield to the realization of a relaxing and tranquil atmosphere. The final steps approach the highest point in the eastern United States, opening onto gorgeous panoramic views of exquisite mountain ranges and unending blue skies. Thoughts of spending an eternity in such a natural wonder pass and soon are replaced with the curiosity of what the return trip down the mountain will bring. After taking in one last breath of the fresh mountain air, the trip back begins.

We were all encouraged to choke down as much food as possible. Any kind of energy was essential. A melancholy atmosphere hung heavy as the journey progressed. Minutes walking slowly progressed into hours, the sky seemed to darken steadily. All of us were oblivious to the danger shrouded by the dim evening. Only moments after scaling a rather steep ledge did nature dice to turn sour. A deafening rumble made each climber perk up. Snow began to descend at an alarming rate. Thunder began to mic the steady beating of a drum, causing more concern among the ranks of climbers. The powdery snow became more of a risk than ever, climbing under pressure and leaving nothing to stand on. Third base was more than three hours away. Three hours wasn't possible at the rate. Snowfall this bad could be detrimental to the climb’s success. Snow obscured vision and numbed faces. Shouts and orders deemed lost in the screaming wind; people’s figure became shapeless blurs frantically shifting, hoping if they struggled against the wind hard enough, they might find someone. Of course, this was to no avail. Not a single person doubted their demise would come at this point: the stakes were high and no-one could play too well against Mother Nature. The snow crept up to knee-level, making it harder and harder to travel. Death and I were face-to-face. To some, they couldn't bare the idea of dying up here; they had families and friends, children who need parents and

The pain for everyone grew increasingly greater each day that they were on the mountain. Everyone on the expedition had to dig deep into themselves to find the will to keep moving and to put their pain and fears aside. The pain that each of these men and women on this mountain were beginning to feel was pain that would linger well after they got off the mountain.

In Matthew Hedger’s article “Yosemite National Park Day Hikes: Vernal Falls Death March”, he claims that you don’t always know what you’re getting into and find that things are harder than they seem. Hedger supports his claim with a story of his hike up Vernal Falls. His purpose is to inform his readers that you can always get through difficult things and that they’re stronger than they think. The intended audience is anyone who enjoys a good story and wants to know about hiking.

There was no pavement for his dog to follow. The trail is marked only by small patches of white paint on trees, rocks, or occasional posts. No signs were in Braille, so Bill Irwin had to run his hands over their etched letters to read them. Many of the hundreds of footbridges were only twelve inches wide or less and Irwin had to cross them on his hands and knees. The trail often wound its way along steep cliffs and mountainsides. He had to contend with the continual unevenness of the trail’s rocky surface, which tore up his boots and twisted his ankles. And Bill Irwin fell literally thousands of times – fracturing several ribs on one occasion. There were no inspiring vistas that would reward all those uphill climbs. He made the journey in perpetual darkness. And although the Appalachian Trail Conference has published dozens of detailed topographical maps of the trail, they were all useless to this man who couldn’t see. How, then, could he find his

“I accepted the assignment because I was in the grip of the Everest mystique . In truth, I wanted to climb the mountain as badly as I’d ever want anything in my life” (84).

You will not want to climb Mt. Katahdin after hearing the story of 12 year old boy Donn Fendler. On July 17, 1939 Donn was climbing Mt. Katahdin with his friends and father until he raced ahead of the group leaving his father and most of his friends behind. The weather suddenly changed from sunny and warm to cloudy with lots of rain and sleet. Donn got scared. He ran to find his cousin and father. Donn survived by preserving against the odds by walking for nine days without any food. One major role in Donn's survival was following a stream which soon turned into a river leading to civilization. On day nine rescued by spotting an occupied cabin he then decided to climb up a tree branch and yell for help. Mrs.McMoran and Mr.McMoran saw him and

Two men on different mountains, in different decades, sit atop snowy, windy mountains, reflecting on what got them on such a cold, towering mound of rock and snow. Jon Krakauer tells his story of climbing the Devil’s Thumb “a dozen or so years,” ago, whereas Erik Weihenmayer, a blind man, pulls you into the middle of his story of climbing Mt. Everest with a team of nineteen. Krakauer, in an attempt to escape his boring, dead-end job, ventures to climb a mountain in Alaska by himself. Jon did not succeed on the route he had originally planned on taking, but did achieve his goal of reaching the summit of the Devil’s Thumb by going a different course. However; Jon found that climbing the mountain was unsatisfactory. Weihenmayer reached the summit of Everest with few problems. Erik states that some obstacles during climbing were made invalid because of his blindness. Although both men are in similar situations, they both have very differing experiences on these summits.

Little lights shine their way down the rugged winding path. Foot steps trudge in front and behind staying close together. Dodging thorns and burs left and right. Ouch!—Every time. Quiet laughs fill the silence as we continue on. Our trek takes us up a slippery slope and through a cow pasture and under a barbed wire fence and down a long tractor path all with the weight of our bags and rifles. Finally, we make it to where we head separate ways. As goodbyes and good lucks are exchanged, nerves set in. I brush them off as I head to my sixteen feet high tower hidden among the trees. I can’t see it in the darkness, but I know the location by memory. Soon, light catches orange tape constricted around cold steel—Found it. But I still have to climb all sixteen feet. I attach my lifeline to the stand as I

The climber has one place to go, to the top, this is an opportunity to prove everyone wrong, and smash all the lies people were telling him. In the poem, the author writes, “They tell you to never look down\The average climbing rope is 50 meters long\And rated by the numbers of falls\It can withstand\Because\It is expected that you are going to lose your grip”(2-7).This shows that no one believes in him. When the author writes, “it is expected”(7), he implies that everyone else thinks that. When Michael Salinger writes, “But not your fingertip pain\Trigger loaded cams\Sway at your waist\Like a cluster of colored pendulums\Picked one by one\Inserted into fissures and cracks\Then left behind\As if they were antique keys\Poking from an attic’s trunk\And you look up\ Because you’ve been warned to never look down Feeling for imperfections in the rock\Facilitating enough friction “ (20-35). The setting, a cliff, is creating a physical challenge as well. The climber is having fingertip pain because the cliff is so rough and jagged. The challenges in the poem “Ascent” by Michael Salinger, are not like the challenges in the story Same Sun

Mark Pfetzer starts his climbing experience at twelve years old. He lives in Rhode Island, his director named Christian. Mark at first didn’t trust the rope, but he found where to put his feet, and gained confidence. He loved it. Mark has never liked ball sports, but instead hiking, running, karate, and fly fishing. Mark does not connect with many people his age, so Mark usually hung around people of an older age. To get his training going, Mark wanted to register for the Rock Gym, but has to be fifteen. Since he looks older for his age, he gets past by. Inside of the gym, there is a huge rock wall where he starts climbing on it. There he meets Geoff, a climber and a doctor who says he could do ice climbing if he gets sponsors. Mark starts mailing for sponsor to get $300 to climb Mt. Crawford.

After three hours of of hiking what felt like a vertical slope, the top of Mount Haystack was right in front of me. I knew that I could keep pushing through because I had suffered so much worse before. I wasn’t about to let this mere incline prevent me from reaching the top. I powered through the aching muscles and throbbing knees, while ignoring the sharp radiating pain in my calves. After what felt like forever, I was standing 5260 ft above the sea and taking in a spectacular view. When I glanced to my left, I realized I wasn’t quite at the top, I still had two more peaks to go before I’d reach the top of Lafayette. So after a few minutes of rest I got started on the rest of the hike.