This is part of a series of vignettes by Jeffrey Derek Dosdall. It is based on real experiences.
The sun beat down on me. It was a bright, warm, cloudless day. The air was still. And the sun is a lot stronger when you’re 13,000 feet above sea level.
I scrambled up another boulder. I kept my eyes on the rocks ahead of me, ignoring the 2,000-foot drop on either side. I felt the fear of vertigo, but I kept going. King’s Peak had beaten me once before, when I was fifteen years old. I would not lose again. Last time I had gotten altitude sickness. This time, my breathing was even; hours of practicing the trumpet had prepared my lungs, and hours of hiking in the mountains near my house had prepared the rest of me.
Blood pumped through my legs, arms, and head. The summit was close. “I can do it,” I mumbled. “You’ll beg for mercy before the end, stupid pile of rocks.” King’s Peak is really just a pile of boulders stacked 13,500 feet high. Most of the rocks were bare and gray, and by now all the snow had melted away. The air was thin, but clear. You have no idea how bad the pollution in the valley is until you get out of it.
To my surprise, I saw green grass growing in a crack between the rocks. I hadn’t seen plants for a few thousand feet. Springing out of the grass was a brilliant yellow flower. It had a perfect flower shape, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a purer yellow. “What are you doing here?” I said. “Well, hang in there, little flower. You’re an inspiration to us all.”
I kept climbing. Looking ahead, I saw a wooden sign. Then the rocks started sloping back downwards. What? I thought. Oh, storms, this is it!! I started screaming “We Are the Champions.” Now I dared to look around me.
I saw everything.
Dozens or even hundreds of miles of mountainous landscape lay before me. Off in one direction I saw the giant Wyoming wind farm. I saw other peaks, nearly as tall as King’s Peak. I saw a beautiful, green valley with patches of evergreen trees and perfect, blue lakes. I saw the path we had come from, and the plummet at Gunsight Pass. That’s a long way down, I thought.
I sat down to rest. It would be a long trip back down to the camp. But I had done it. I beat that stupid pile of rocks. What started as a grudge match ended up being one of the most scenic views I’ve ever seen.
The earth is beautiful. Please, help us keep it that way.
Jeffrey Derek Dosdall is a junior at BYU Provo and a member of the BYU Earth Stewardship Club. He is majoring in biodiversity and conservation and minoring in music. He plays the trumpet and writes science fiction/fantasy novels. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
