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.
Once I skirted the huge rock (previous image) the real work began. This was going to be a long and
steep ascent. Initially it was tolerable but as I got higher, the dirt was very loose, mixed in with scree (very tiny loose rocks) and
the worst was the medium-sized rocks. I would think they were solid but countless times slid back down to where I had started. It
was a frustrating climb. When I finally got through the initial ascent, I got to a ridge and had to rest.
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