I recently turned 50 years old and decided to make a goal: In the next five years I am going to hike at least 35 peaks. I've kept a tally, and over my lifetime I have climbed 45 peaks, but considering that we live only once, I need to hasten the work.
The most challenging aspect, however, is not necessarily the grit or drive. It's my health.
Over the past three years I've had consistent abdominal pain. Sometimes it's mild, sometimes it's maddening. I've been to every specialist imaginable and no one can figure it out. In the mild form it's always present, but unpredictable flareups can send it into the more maddening form. Hence it is difficult to plan any excruciating event. And, yes, hiking a steep hill is considered excruciating.
I had scans done on my abdomen and it was discovered I had an enlarged spleen and splenic varices (enlarged blood vessels between the spleen and liver). They ran blood tests which found that I have a Jak-2 mutation, which means my body makes too many red blood cells. The diagnosis: polycythemia vera.
P.V. is a very rare blood cancer. It is progressive and there's no cure. For sure, I thought, this was the reason for my abdominal pain. Not so fast! The doctors concluded that it wasn't. They still have no answer.
Fast-forward to right now and my P.V. is under control thanks to a very expensive injection I get twice a month. And my stomach still hurts. That's my life.
So making a goal to climb 35 peaks in five years is daunting. Some days I feel confident, but others I feel so crummy that I wouldn't be able to climb any hill.
That's why I need a goal. I need something to push me. I need to get all that negativity out of my head. I don't know that life is going to get any easier, so I need to live it NOW!
For my first challenge I chose Valentine Peak, a not-so-famous summit near my home, but none-the-less, a good hike.
One aspect that I like is that it begins at a cemetery.
Parowan cemetery as seen from the trailhead.
As the story goes, Hiram Ackley Hendrickson (an early pioneer who is now buried in the cemetery) observed that if you stand on the corner of 500 West and Center Street in Parowan on February 14th, the sun will rise directly over a rocky crest east of town. Thus, he gave it the name Valentine Peak and it eventually stuck.
The hike begins at 6,100 feet and climbs a well maintained trail through the juniper trees and a hill of red clay. I was surprised to see so many wildflowers of many colors, especially cushion phlox, a low-growing white flower with a hint of pink that almost looks like snow on the ground.
Fancy decorations along the trail. 
View of Tushar Mountains. 
Trail as it ascends toward Valentine Peak, looking back. 
Looking back down on the cemetery.
Whoever takes care of the trail has put a lot of care into it. There are multiple rest-stops with a bench or chair, as well as dog bowls accompanied with a bottle of water. There are also decorations scattered here and there, I suppose to help make the hiker happy.
Valentine Peak looms in the distance. When I first caught sight of it, it was much further than I anticipated. The trail begins at a challenging slope, then mellows out for a while and even briefly travels downhill. But then it picks up in steepness again, and toward the end the final pitch to the summit is very steep.
Indian paintbrush. 
Cushion phlox. 
Valentine Peak as seen from near the top. 
View of Brian Head and ridge to Horse Valley Peak as seen from Valentine Peak.
The summit supplies a grand view. Most prominently to the south and east are the snow-capped summits of Brian Head, Horse Valley Peak, and the ridges that lie between the two. To the south is the road that runs up Parowan Canyon. To the north, even further in the distance, are the Tushar Mountains which rise above 12,000 feet. And of course you can see most of the city of Parowan, but the cemetery is covered by foothills. Beyond this you can see Little Salt Lake, which is normally dry, but this year is filling with water from the high runoff.
So, for me, this is Peak #1. I have at least 34 more to go. I felt quite fatigued as I first began my ascent, but as my body warmed up it became easier. My worry, however, is how I will feel tomorrow, or the day after that. That's usually when the bad pain kicks in.
Valentine Peak
Miles from car (one way): 3.5
Elevation gain: 1,950 feet
Final elevation: 8,050 feet
 |
| Valentine Peak. |
Side story:
There is a fascinating pioneer story that most likely occurred on Valentine Peak. In 1851, a 23-year-old man by the name of James Martineau arrived in Parowan and one day decided to ascend a mountain peak southeast of town to view the valley.
After a five mile climb along a mountain ridge, scrambling over jagged rocks and ascending rugged cliffs, he finally arrived at the summit where he briefly enjoyed the fruits of his labor. Knowing that he didn't have much sunlight left, he decided to take a shortcut back to town. Instead of taking the circuitous route upon which he traveled, he would return on a more direct path.
James Henry Martineau.
Although this path was more direct, it was also much steeper and he found himself sliding down ravines and jumping down small ledges. His downward leaps became more frequent and of greater depth. Things seemed to be going well until one leap took him down a tall ledge of which he couldn't retreat, and left him on a small shelf overlooking a 150 foot sheer drop off!
Boy, was he in a predicament! There was no way up and no way to safely go down. He had no water, and had told no one where he would be.
After a quick survey of the area, he decided his only chance of escape was to jump and hopefully land on a tall pine tree which stood below and some little distance from the base of the cliff. The prospect terrified him. Unless the jump was executed perfectly, his life would come to a definitive end, either by being impaled by a large branch, or dashing his body against the hard ground.
James Martineau may have descended the peak from this area.
Seeing no other way out, James decided to give it a try. He only had a few feet to gain a running start. As he made the attempt, his knees buckled and he nearly collapsed at the edge.
He tottered back to safety and panted until he regained his composure. He attempted the leap two more times, but with the same result. Martineau described in his journal what happened next:
"I reflected on the promises made by Patriarch John Smith (uncle to the Prophet, Joseph) in his blessing upon my head. I could not see that I had done anything bad enough to forfeit them, consequently I must live to fulfill them. And so I gained faith enough to pray for strength and for safety in the leap I must now make. I arose, determined to do, or die and end it all. I rushed at the brink. And now, instead of weakness my sinews and limbs were as steel; I shot far out into the air, and in a moment found myself clinging to two limbs—one in each hand—with a grip like that of death, but safe and unharmed; not a shed of my clothing torn or disarranged, not a scratch or mark upon me. How this came about I had no knowledge, for I knew nothing as I fell swiftly through the air, and had no knowledge of grasping at or clutching a branch of the tree. But there I was, safe and unharmed. I now know I was saved by the power of God. He it was who guided my hands to the limbs by which I hung and enabled me to retain my hold when falling with so great speed, and that, too, without tearing my hands as such a strain would naturally do; it was He who gave me strength to leap out so far;—who steeled my muscles and strengthened my limbs, for no other power could have preserved me. I climbed down from one limb to another until the last one, and then hung and dropped from that about 20 feet to the ground—safe and unharmed!" ♠
(Source: Godfrey, Donald & Martineau-McCarty, Rebecca. (2008). An uncommon common pioneer: The journals of James Henry Martineau, 1828-1918. Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, p. 444)
No comments:
Post a Comment