Perplexed.  Uncertain.

This past Saturday our family (all four of us) rose early, filled our backpack water bladders, packed some food, and drove to the trailhead of Mt. Quandary.

Mt. Quandary is one of Colorado’s 14ers - a group of 54 peaks rising at least 14,000 feet above sea level.  Every one of these peaks can be hiked.  That is, climbed without technical equipment.  Some are more demanding than others.

Our route on this day would take us about 3.5 miles in ascent, a little under 7 miles round trip.  We would gain 3,500 feet in elevation before we summit.  The ascent took 4 hours - less than one mile an hour.  The descent took 2.5 - a slower pace than when you walk briskly through the mall.  Seven hours after we began we crumpled into the seats of our car. 

This was my fourth 14er.  But, it is the first one I have climbed with my youngest son, Carter.  I don’t know exactly what kind of stuff God used to make Carter, but I know that he has a determination that I know nothing about.

The last mile of the Quandary trail is unbearably difficult.  It is relentlessly steep, very unstable, and terribly long.  The air is thin, and the people above you look discouragingly small.  The air gets thinner with every step you take, making frequent stops a necessity.

At just under 14,000 feet (Quandary is 14,265) we stopped for a needed rest.  Carter had not been feeling well for a while, and I began to wonder if he would make it.  Altitude can be dangerous.  A few miles up a secluded, rocky trail is no place to be with an altitude-sick 12 year old.  My Dad instincts kicked in and we had a brief discussion about turning around.  When Carter realized that I wasn’t going to make him turn around, he stood up and headed up the mountain - a few steps ahead of everyone.  He summoned energy and resolve from deep within and began climbing at a hurried pace - the rest of us could not keep up with him.  Carter did not stop until he reached the Summit - the three of us several steps behind (okay, I was more than several steps behind Donna and Austin - but, I made it).  When I made it to the summit this is what I saw...

...Carter signing the climber’s log.  Every 14er has a climber’s log that is attached to the summit with a sturdy wire, and protected by a PVC tube.  Carter proudly wrote his name down because he had climbed Mt. Quandary.

Thin air, physical limits, a rocky trail - these are some of the things that reveal a lot about a person.  As I ponder what might be the focus of Carter’s determination as he grows into a man, there is one thing I know - it will become subject to his fierce resolve.