Thursday, August 13, 2009

When you think you're having a bad day...

Consider this guy.

Today I talked to a 79-year-old man who broke his arm a couple days ago. He was jogging down Barr Trail on Pikes Peak (that's right) in preparation for the Pikes Peak Marathon this weekend. But darkness befell and he had to switch on a light to see the trail. His light ended up running out of battery power, which caused him to stumble and fall, causing a fractured ulna. He had to spend the night on the mountain, and twelve hours later he was discovered by two hikers. They called search & rescue, who came and pulled him off the mountain.

When I talked to him today (with his arm in a cast and sling), his chief complaint was that he hadn't broken his arm with enough healing time to run the marathon. But he still managed to hike up the mountain, down to Barr Camp, up to the summit again, and completely back down today before the afternoon storms.

I admit the title of the post is a little deceiving. Considering this guy's age, I think he's doing pretty well.

Monday, August 3, 2009

The View from the Top

Today I was working on the summit of Pikes Peak (which I do now as an EMT), and I took some time to look outside the summit house and watch some people walk around. Today there was a kid of about sixteen years old, wearing baggy clothing and a grim expression, walking around by himself. After shuffling around for a couple of minutes, he stepped out onto the concrete overlook on the eastern-facing edge of the mountain.

From that overlook there is a vantage point of at least 100 miles of land to the east of Pikes Peak; and the other sides offer similar views. Today was an especially marvelous day to dwell at such a place and look into the distance for hours. As I watched this guy out on the overlook, I saw him gaze out for a few seconds, then look down and send a text message, and walk back to the building.

Sometimes the problem isn't the things we pay attention to, but the things we ignore.

Standing atop a 14,000 foot mountain, we give our attention to a 1.5 inch LCD screen in our hands. Is this a metaphor waiting to happen or is it just me?