IMAGE '21: A Hard-Won But Rewarding Summit

摘要

Lift foot, step. Lift foot, step. Lift foot, step, panting to catch my breath at high altitude under the midday sun. I'd been at this for nearly 12 miles already, one increasingly unsteady foot in front of the other, the pressure of a headache building. Sweat ran into my eyes as I lifted my head searching for the end of this path. The unending series of switchbacks winding their way up a steep scree slope was not spirit-lifting. Somewhere up there was the summit of Pikes Peak.