Mt. Charleston the Mighty

G'Day to my wonderful family. A little while ago, 20 September, David and I attempted the infamous Mt. Charleston hike. We planned on taking the South loop, closest to the lodge and Bristle Cone trail head. Neither one of us expected to make it all the way to the top and we were OK with that. We just wanted to get away from life and spend some time in the mountains. I admit that it had been 10 years since I last hiked Mt. Charleston and over 6 years since I last did a major hike. (Major as in more then 1 mile.) 10 Years ago I hiked Mt. Charleston with our Grandfather on his last ever hike anywhere before he died. He was so determined to reach the top that, at his slow pace, we finally made it around 3pm. Then, about 2-3 miles from the bottom, he slips on some loose rocks and twisted his ankle. It was dark now and I ran down the mountain to call Dad and ask for help. My flashlights batteries dies about 20 minutes after I started running down the mountain and I took a wrong turn. Knowing we were close I kept going down and eventually came out to the picnic tables. I called Dad and he and Mom came up. Dad and I went after Grandpa and together we all came down that last little bit. Now for 2 weeks ago.

David and I woke up early and were on the trail by 6:30am. We reached the half way summit before 10am. We thought to ourselves, "We may be out of shape but we are making great time." We decided to stop going for the top at 1pm and turn around if we did not make it. But we made it all the way by 12:30. We only stayed until 1pm and then we started our way back down the mountain. That is when the troubles started.

All was great until David's knees started giving him grief. Add to that a little altitude sickness and an environmental pink eye from the howling wind on our right side. I felt very sorry for David. The good news is that David brought his hiking stick, the one with the face carved into the wood just below the handle. Plus my wife made me a walking pharmacy with advil, anti-diarrhea pills, anti-nausea pills, and several others. These, with plenty of water, helped David as well as myself. We did finally get back to the car, and it was before the sun was down so we didn't have to use our flashlights. (I might add that I brought 2 extra AA batteries just in case.) I really had fun and I'm pretty sure David did as well. We were soar for the next few days, or weeks, and I am still peeling off dead skin from my legs due to the fact that I did not put on the sunscreen that my wife packed for me. The joy. Love you all. SKT