Walk to the top of Pike’s Peak? Hmm… Sure, why not?

It’s not really my fault that we did this. It’s all Andy & Kim’s fault. (That would be Andy Jameson, Joann’s brother and his wife Kim.) They came up with the idea, had already planned it out and started gathering their equipment. When Joann first told me about I thought that they were crazy – 12 miles up the mountain? No way. But then they explained that it was over two days, that we didn’t have to carry food because we were staying at a camp where they fed you dinner and breakfast and there was a place to sleep. Oh, only 6 miles a day? Next thing you know Joann talks me into it! (Not true, she also thought it was a crazy idea but I wore her down!).

To fully understand why this is such a big deal to us you have to go back ten months. Andy and Kim started doing Medifast to lose weight. When I was in England last Summer Jim Hackney had lost a lot of weight on Medifast as well. Mid November I decided that it was time to get healthier so I started Medifast. Last month (July) I hit my goal of losing 120 pounds. Joann had also done Medifast to lose weight as well. Together, the four of us have lost an amazing 244 pounds!

So, the thought of walking 6 miles even on flat ground would have been crazy-talk to me before, walking 6 miles two days in a row up a mountain would have been insane! But being skinny makes you do crazy things evidently. On July 1^st Joann and I started working out at a gym doing 3-4 strength workout a week and 6-7 days of cardio so we convinced ourselves that we could walk 6 miles a day for a few days.

On July 17 we decided “we’re in” and booked the campsite on the mountain, three weeks until we climb! We started scrambling for gear, we hit the gym hard, we pondered the sanity of our decision. That next Saturday we met Andy & Kim for a practice hike at the Eagle Mountain Park (it’s a really nice place). We did 5 miles and lived through it. Feeling more encouraged we continued to gather the essentials for the trip. That meant trips to places like Cabela’s, REI, and Academy. Lots of time thinking through the details of how to make it with as little weight as possible.

We walked the same course the next Saturday with packs on. Sure, they weren’t full packs, but they were packs! Once again we survived. By golly, I think we can do this!

Next – we begin the epic adventure!

John

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Joann's take on this crazy idea...

4P

Proud Pikes Peak People

Ten months ago we needed to exercise, loose weight or do anything healthy. Today we are 14ers. October 2010 Andy & Kim started the journey to better health with Medifast and exercise, by Thanksgiving they did the 5K Turkey Trot. John started Medifast in November, while traveling every week to Las Vegas. On the weekends I ate healthy with him and ate ‘not too bad’ during the week. By the end of January I had lost 10 lbs and started Medifast. In June 2011we had all reached our goals having lost a total of 244 lbs. July 1st John & I joined a gym and started working out 5 days a week. 17 days later on July 17^th, our 29^th anniversary, we lost our minds completely and in a moment of weakness agreed to join Andy & Kim on a hike up Pikes Peak. We began to train harder, the next 2 Saturdays up @ 5:30 a.m. (John didn’t know life existed prior to 8 on Saturdays) to hike 5+ miles at Eagle Mountain Park, elevation 500ft, before it got too hot. (Ha! Ha! As if you can get up that early in Texas.)

Sunday Morning, August 7, 2011 we hit the trail in Manitou Springs, elevation 6400ft, before 7 a.m. Hiking 6+ miles to an elevation of 10,200 ft to reach Barr Camp. A lot of water, Cliff bars, GU and breaks. Hundreds of people were on the trail out for a Sunday stroll or training for the up coming marathon or riding a unicycle, all of whom passed us with great regularity. We did manage to pass 1 person; he had stopped to collect water for his dog. We arrived tired but in better condition than I dreamed would be possible.  Upon arriving in camp we rested, filtered water, made use of the latrine instead of a bush. Made a short hike to the scenic overlook, yea no back pack required. Played Yatzee on the I-Pad & checked email, only the best hi-tech travel for us. Had a wonderful dinner of spaghetti, tex-mex mac & cheese and garlic bread. That night we slept in a lean-to and I only got lost once walking to the latrine in the dark.