An Exciting Climb

personal Narrative

Emily Becker

Authors Note:This piece is my personal narrative I wrote about my fun filled adventure with my family.

I could feel the cold moving through my body, as the temperature dropped lower and lower I put on all the layers that I had brought with me. As I looked up, I saw the 11,000 foot  mountain towering over me as if I was a little bug below it. Being only 12, I didn’t know how I was going to make it to the top and back, but I was going to try.  I will never forget the entertaining, joy filled day that took place when I hiked Telescope Peak with my family.

Because the mountain was so tall, we had to start hiking from our campsite that was already 8,000 feet up the mountain. To get there, we first had to drive up the rough road ahead of us. The road was incredibly bumpy and had sheer cliffs with 90 degree drop-offs; this road was extraordinarily difficult to get up. Once we got up to our campsite, we set up our camp and went to bed. In the morning none of us felt like sitting out in the 45 degree weather and eat breakfast. As a result, all five of us sat in an average sized SUV as we ate breakfast while the windows steamed up with condensation.  Once we finished breakfast and got the courage to face the cold,we got out of the car and we were ready to leave for the 14 mile long hike.

We left at seven in the morning for the hike. We were expecting it to be cold so we put on a ton of layers. As it turns out, we were facing the east so we were sweating buckets. Since the path circled around the mountain we were soon cold enough and the sweat had cooled, making us even colder. 

 

After the five hours of hiking, we reached the top of the mountain. I remember twirling around at the top and being amazed at how high up we were and how beautiful and breathtaking everything was. On top of that, it was a perfect day for hiking because of the bright blue skies, crisp air that is easy to breathe in and out, views as miraculous as you could even imagine, and all this time I’m spending with my family. When I stopped looking around at the view I saw a green box,  an American flag, and  a picture frame sitting at the top. Inside the box was a notebook and a pen where you could write your name and the date of when you made it to the top.  In the picture frame was a picture of a soldier who died in war. One of the solders good friends hiked up the mountain and put the American flag and the picture in his honor, which was really fascinating  to see. It was lunchtime, so we all sat on the top and ate lunch, and all this time we were soaking in all the beauty that was around us. After lunch we were really tired so we decided to take a nap, and now I’m one of the few people who can truthfully say “I took a nap on top of a mountain in North America.”

After refueling with lunch and  a much needed nap, we decided to head back down, which was very slippery because of the snow. It was also very tiring on our toes because as we walked down the steep incline our toes were constantly getting rammed into our shoes.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the most painful part. After walking down about one third of the mountain I tripped on a rock, my hand went out to stop my fall and I got a fistful of cactus.

After thinking about all the joy, fun, pain, and beauty that went on that day I realized that my family and I hiked a 11,000 foot mountain for a total of 14 miles in one day. Even though I was young when I climbed that mountain, I’m glad I did because that day was filled with a lot of family  memories that will last a lifetime.