Epic Road Trip 2009 - Day 3 (June 30, 2009)

Day 3, Black Mesa, Oklahoma (4,975 ft.) and to Colorado – The curtain rose on day three of our road trip and we awoke with a twofold objective; first, conquer the Oklahoma highpoint of Black Mesa and then drive to Leadville, Colorado to set the scene for the next highpoint. We slept in a bit as we were quite tired from the previous day’s activity. The weather looked like it would hold up pretty well for us as we headed to Oklahoma. We ate a late breakfast at a little café in Clayton which featured New Mexican chilis one last time. It was a good if unremarkable breakfast. We still had a ways to drive to arrive at Black Mesa so we were soon on the road again.

The mountains of New Mexico had receded behind us the previous day and the terrain consisted mainly of flat desolation with a few isolated mesas. Apparently the people in this area do not believe in fences as cattle grazed freely all around (and sometimes in the middle of) the road. This did cause a few driving difficulties from time to time. Herds of cattle are sometimes reluctant to move out of the road for a single Honda Fit. Soon enough we were passing through Kenton, Oklahoma. Kenton has the distinction of being the only city in Oklahoma in the Mountain Time Zone. Our book about state highpoints pointed out that this part of the country sucked so much that no state would claim it for a period of time. As we looked around this didn’t really come as a surprise. There was one notable feature of the terrain which was of primary interest to us.....to the north, a long flat-topped mesa running for miles.

This was undoubtedly Black Mesa. We followed the signs and were soon in a parking lot at the foot of the mesa. There was some scoffing that took place at the height of our objective after the mountain of the following day. The comfort level with the perceived effort involved with this feat caused me to make a somewhat dubious gear choice. Having hiked the previous day’s mountain in my high-dollar boots and suffering no problems save a bit of rawness on my feet and with the more daunting Mt. Elbert on tap for the next day, it seemed a good idea to utilize a different set of footwear in the interim. The job fell to my high-top Converse All-Stars. Additionally I deployed only one trekking pole.

We set out on the trail and quickly found that Black Mesa held a unique set of challenges for us to deal with. Unlike the previous day’s hike, most of Black Mesa’s trail was along flat ground. The hike consisted of several miles in a field below the mesa, then a quick climb to the top, then a few more miles atop the mesa to the highpoint. We saw one man coming the other direction early on in our hike. This was the only other soul we encountered during the climb.

The first challenge was the state of our feet following the Wheeler Peak ascent. Had I taken my footwear as seriously as I did for that hike, there would likely have been no problems. As it was, I stopped after about a mile having to treat budding blisters on my feet. I was not the only one, the moleskin from the first aid kit was a popular item as we sought to deal with the mutiny of our feet.

The other problem with our outing was that by sleeping in and relaxing we were now facing some significant summer heat. By 1 PM the temperatures were pushing 90 degrees; not unbearable but we had many miles to hike.

The trail meandered pointlessly through a pasture for quite a while before finally heading to the mesa. A short climb with a couple of switchbacks found us atop the mesa but the highpoint was still nowhere to be found. It was at about this point that I noticed that I had definitely failed to bring enough water along. I immediately began stretching my water supply and hoping I didn’t perish in the heat. As we hiked along the top of the mesa, the highpoint monument appeared on the horizon and we soon reached the “top” of the seemingly flat mesa. Geographically, it provided little sense of accomplishment or satisfaction. On the horizon, one could see obviously higher mountains though we knew those were in New Mexico and Colorado. There was no view save for the empty field we had just hiked through. Only the obelisk of a monument denoted we were in the right spot. We took some photos and shot tequila as a pesky raincloud opened up a light though steady rain. A glance at the sky and years of growing up in a similar desert climate told me the race against a deluge was about to begin.

We set out on the trail back to the trail with a thunderstorm gathering upwind. Along the way, we found a Texas Horned Lizard, the state reptile of Texas. I wanted to catch the critter to perform a little research (long story), but was generally too tired and dehydrated to chase a lizard. I just took a photo instead.

As the weather continued to threaten, I turned on my hiking afterburners. I left my partners behind as I tried to beat the weather to the car. Jared and Nate made the questionable decision of cutting large, unnecessary portions of the trail. Given the circumstances their choice is understandable, but in the absolute sense of outdoor responsibility they broke the stay on the trail rule. Our paths converged and we made it back to the car before the impending soaking. I quickly guzzled any liquids sitting around the car, trying to rehydrate. We were battered, blistered, and thirsty but had completed another state in our quest.

Our destination was now Leadville, and we had quite a distance to cover and a gimpy tire to worry about. Fortunately the tire was only slowly leaking and we could keep up with it by airing it up periodically. Meanwhile, the deluge had found us and we were in for some rainy driving for a little while. We headed back the way we came until we met up with I25 which was to be our passage to Colorado. The intimidation of the Rocky Mountains quickly asserted itself. The Front Range loomed over us, daring us to climb them. Mountains receded into the horizon. What looked like clouds turned out to be further mountain peaks. I began to feel a need to abandon hope with regard to our quest as there was entirely too much purple mountain’s majesty quickly enveloping us.

In the meantime, there were serious discussions being undertaken as to the progress of our trip. The plan called for an assault on Mount Elbert at the crack of dawn the next morning. The sight of these mountains, intense soreness, blistered feet, and increasing lateness of the hour all seemed to be calling for an extra day to be inserted into the itinerary. We were not pressed for time so as the evening wore on, the rest day became settled upon. Darkness enveloped the mountains which reassured me since I could no longer see the toothy legions of suffering all around. Hunger was becoming a major concern and we were striking out wherever we searched for something to eat.

We have always had a penchant for stumbling across places to eat that were both local and generally delicious. As we drove, this streak seemed at risk. However, we soon came to the town of Salida, Colorado and stumbled into the First Street Café. Looking into it after the fact, we were fortunate to land here. The food was quite good and we appreciated the beers to be had there (the rest day allowed us the chance to imbibe). Fed, we completed the drive into Leadville where we had a hotel reservation waiting for us.

Now Nate had stepped up to the plate to coordinate our lodging but is generally uninterested in upscale accommodations. Though his efforts to save money are laudable, each hotel we stayed at was like rolling dice….perhaps we would get crabs, or perhaps not. So far he was 2 for 2. Leadville would prove his first failure, but not because of crabs. We had a reservation for the night but knew we would be arriving fairly late. A call to the office reassured us that there was a procedure in place for this and that we had nothing to worry about. When we arrived we simply used the phone outside of the office to rouse someone to check us in. As we pulled into the parking lot after our long drive, the first thing we noticed was that it was quite frigid at 10,000 feet. We were still dressed for our desert hike of earlier in the day and quickly rethinking our current wardrobe. Nate proceeded to follow the instructions we had received to check in. Unfortunately, the phone seemed unheeded and we were left standing in the cold, in our shorts without a room.

Obviously the first order of business was to get some warmer clothes out of the car so we could bear the 50+ degree temperature drop. Nate was still over at the phone trying to raise somebody to give us a room. Jared and I took a walk down the street and spied a bar within easy walking distance. We used our powers of persuasion to wait out our predicament over some libations. After killing an hour sitting in a bar awkwardly filled with locals who could tell we weren’t from around there, we returned to the hotel to try again. We were still unable to actually check in. As midnight approached we were homeless in Leadville. The search for another hotel was on and we had passed one on the way into town. Our original hotel was somewhat shady but this new choice didn’t give me a good feeling at all. They did have a room for us though and the rate was extremely reasonable. We had found a place to lay our head in Colorado.