September 11, 2010 - Columbia Peak 14,073 ft - I got an early start from
home and had to use my headlamp for the first half hour of the hike through the forest. It took two hours to get to the fork in the
trail - left to Mt. Harvard or right to Columbia. I already did Harvard earlier, so to the right it was.
This hike ended up being the hardest one of the summer for me. The main reason for that is the steepness of the hike. There
were very few flat or even gradual ascents. As soon as I got out of the forest, it was a battle with the steepness, the loose
dirt, all the small rocks and those frustrating larger rocks that many times slid under my feet.
After two false peaks, geesh those take the wind out of your sails - especially after such a grueling hike as this, I
final stood at the base of the final climb to the Columbia summit. It was about now I was thinking about the return trip down
through that loose dirt and rock. Sigh. It was time to rest and regroup. As I looked down the mountain, I saw no one else coming
up the way I did. OK, that is not a good thing.
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