Personal Narrative: Boundary Peak

As said by Zopa, “You can never tell who the mountain will allow, and who it will not.” Peak needs to reach the top of the mountain as soon as possible, before he turns 15, in order to break the world record of having the youngest person reach above 29,000 feet. To do this, though, he endangers his life with the cold, getting oxygen, and just the climb itself. As they say, “Climb high, sleep low,” to get acclimatized, that way your lungs will be caught up with your body, or else they would collapse and you could come down with a serious case of HAPE. With the climb itself, Peak faces quite a few difficulties. At one point, when he was climbing up a steep slope with his axes, one of Sun-Jo’s slipped, and he was dangling. But, being the hero he is, Peak climbed sideways towards the rope that was hanging there, grabbed it, and swung down to Sun-Jo, saving him just as his crampon was slipping. There were other things like avalanches that happened, but the most killer thing was the so called death zone. In it, you have to get in and out in under 18 hours, or else you will meet certain death. Oxygen or not, there’s only a certain time limit you can survive it. Of course Peak made it out in time, but he did not, in fact, reach the summit, which was actually rather

Even though it is an exceedingly risky climb, he chose to attempt to conquer the mountain. Knowing the weather conditions could be unpredictable, he had to trust that his group of climbers would make the correct decisions. It takes courage to leave your fate to other people. His mother was very worried about him, she even said “People die up there Peak. You might die up there.” (Pg. 179) Peak could have died of HAPE, which stands for High-altitude pulmonary edema, meaning your lungs could not withhold the strain from the high altitudes, he could have been buried under snow from an avalanche, or killed from some other type of storm. Either way this would not stop Peak from following his

Conditions on the trail are certainly favorable to anyone sporting quality shoes; however, I do recommend a decent pair of hiking shoes. Although a short walk from the parking area, approximately half a mile, along with a small rock bed crossing, there are no steams or arduous leaps to take in your trek to the base of Lockegee Rock. Once at the base, one can expect a short vertical ascent to the summit. Climbing gear, certainly a helmet, may prove beneficial, however, plenty of rocky edges and tree roots make the climb fairly effortless for anyone in average to good health. While the trip to the base is not difficult, attempting an ascent to the summit for anyone with limited mobility and strength may not be wise, certainly not without special training and equipment. In any case, the prepared photographer leaves nothing to chance. Remember, if hiking to the top of the rock to capture the vista of the year, don’t forget that you will be lugging your camera gear as well.

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

Too bad, as the water I brought was now warm. Another trail went up to the summit. It was paved with wood at the bottom, which became wooded steps a bit further up, rather like a wooden escalator. There was a handrail on this section. At the top of the steps, about a third of the way, the trail became narrow and rocky, requiring careful footing. It was there I caught my first views of the other side of the mountain, the West Peak and one of the park’s several lakes— which I believe was Lake Lagunitas-- far below me.

The campground is at 1,000 feet, and Cerro Also Peak is 2,624 feet, a 1,600-foot climb, quite strenuous in places. There are two ways to get to the top. The longer and less steep departs next to campsite 19, and the shorter, steeper trail starts just past site 16, where it first crosses the creek on a wooden bridge. The main trail at site 19 is signed “Cerro Alto Trail 12E01.”

We setout with our nalgines full of watter and we thought that we would not even use halph, But we undermested the heat and the terain of the trail. At first it was nice and shadie walk through nature. There where lots of trees and felids of crops surrounding us, and I loved it. We where all happy untill we had to climb a 200 foot h, and to make things even worst the clouds have moved and now the sun is bakeing. When we made it to the top, we where all

“Dad, where are you going this time?” said Santiago with a smirk. It seems like you’re never here, and I need you. You may not realize it, but I do.

In today’s case, Upper Falls was the goal and for a brief moment I was overwhelmed with high expectations. I let slip that fact that Middle Falls steals the spotlight over the Upper Falls when it comes to the best views and that sent immediate disappointment piercing right through me. I realized that extra appreciation should have been given below at Middle Falls. For a few minutes the two of us leaned out over a railing absorbing the view of a sea of clouds hovering closely above a forest of evergreens. An unknown foothill jutted through the clouds across the valley, and the clear blue sky above it all made it not half bad easing my disappointment. Okay, Upper Falls has its perks. A discussion began regarding to continue our adventure higher up the mountain. Posted on the trail at Upper Falls was a sign that read you have reached the Upper Falls of Wallace Falls State Park. Feeling a craving to continue, and with neither one of us having previously hiked beyond this location on either of our separate itineraries, we stepped into the unknown. The trail beyond the sign appeared noticeably less traveled and not as easy to follow. Affixed to an occasional tree, a blue diamond shaped marker hinted as to the paths route. No further than a quarter of a mile beyond the trail arrived at the graded road stemming from the alternate route presenting us with a decision of direction. I knew going west would lead us on the alternate route back to the trailhead with an option hike to Wallace Lake. However, a curious stare down the road towards the east had us truly intrigued. Both of us had to know so we began

Sand. Anyone who’s ever been to the beach knows how tough it is to walk in sandy slopes, but a solid mile of 45 degrees or higher of it, near impossible. It was clear that none of us really wanted to continue, but we all knew how far we came. 4 miles through rocks larger than cars, scrambling over and around this fine mountains ridges and valleys, and literal straight up climbs. No matter how much we wanted to, we couldn’t turn back now. After our short thought mental debates we each got up and made our first steps into the grueling process to reach the peak above. Trudging, lumbering and dragging ourselves, along with each other on occasion, we finally witnessed the beauty of the landscape that surrounded us. To the North we could see Mt. Rainier in the distance along with Spirit Lake near the base of Mt. St. Helens sprawling outward with trees nipping at its shores. To the East we saw Mt. Adams and its snow covered summit along with brief bits of Eastern Washington and Oregon desert. And finally to the South we saw our very own Mt. Hood and the valley that lay beyond. It looked so much different from the height we were at. So much green and luscious environment living off of the Willamette and McKenzie

“If it were me, I wouldn’t be warnin’ ya. Watch your back, Gabrielle. You don’t have Xena to help you this time,” he advised before disappearing from view.

The voices I heard earlier in the day were a group of five with a couple of canines making their way up the trail. After a few comments of the rain were exchanged, the group passed to continue their ten or twelve minute journey to the top. Continuing the descent and rounding the south ridge to the west side, a second group of three approached on the trail below. In passing, I offered that our time from the top was approximately twenty minutes at minimum, meaning they at least had twenty to thirty minutes to the summit. Minutes later the trail delivered us to the familiar rock wall embedded in the mountain, and it sliced under the rock continuing on a long stretch to the second switchback leading down. After making the estimated 325 degree turn a third group could be seen below. The mountain, suddenly becoming crowded, felt as if traversing the switchbacks and navigating the trail resembled playing “chicken” with oncoming trekkers. Who has the right of way, and who will step aside and relinquish the trail

“I still don’t think this is a good idea, Caroline.” My father says in a grouchy disapproving tone. My mother rolls her eyes at him and smooths out her skirt before responding in her high pitched voice.

We were very thirsty for water but the water was not very good to drink so we had to wait. Once we cross the river there was also a very steep hill that we climb. When we went up hill we tied a tree to the rear axle to help with the breaking. When we finally got over the hill we had to walk 72 miles until we reach courthouse rock it's is three stories high in appearance from the different stratifications. We had a couple of stops to get some water for the rest of the trip then we had to travel 14 miles. Then we stopped and gather some food and water and rest for awhile and then

Accomplishment surges through my heated body, calves burning, as the last few steps are taken. As the mountain inclines, the vibrant green trees and grass are replaced with luxurious ruby rock that looks as though it is bleeding from its sides. The windy trail, wrapping itself around the mountain as thought it was giving a hug. The air, thin as a sheet, makes breathing a strenuous task. The trail, only wide enough for a sole body, has a sheer 5,790 foot drop from both sides. If you were to take one step left or right, you would succumb to the mighty cliffs. A long metal chain is drilled in the rock as a support, for the steep cliffs and thin trails have claimed over seven inexperienced hikers within the past few