Saturday, August 8, 2009

Stealing Life


"For it is the ultimate wisdom of the mountains that a man is never more a man than when he is striving for what is beyond his grasp, and that there is no conquest worth winning save that over his own weakness and fear."
-James Ullman

How many of our days are spent in an endless cycle where minutes seem to pass us by in seconds as we sit slack jawed in front of a television or computer screen? How many mornings do we wake up with no excitement in our lives? How many hours are spent in the office with the small drudgery of going from task to task all the while secretly knowing you are accomplishing nothing of importance? How often do we avoid challenges, steer clear from fear, and live our lives as if the sole purpose is to remain as comfortable as possible at all times?
On the morning before our Mt. Whitney ascent Nicole and I got up early to watch the sunrise over Crystal Lake. As we were hiking the trail in darkness we both were reflecting on all the people who were comfortably sleeping in their beds and would not be up for hours. As we watched the sunrise Nicole turned to me and said, "Matt, it's like we are stealing life."
On August 4th, 2009 the following six people decided to rise at 2 in the morning and steal a little bit from this life. Here are a few of the stories from this day as I salute this cast of characters:

Garrett Riley AKA "Billygoat" AKA "Big Goot"
This lean and mean version pushed his Nikes to the limit as he set a consistently fast pace and did not want to stop for breaks. He wore his socks as mittens, got the nickname "deuce-deuce" and made it to the top with no trouble at all. He was able to marvel at God's creation in his own special way as we stood atop trail crest and looked down at Kings Canyon. On the decent he was hurting but he did not complain once and just dealt with the pain.

Nicole Santiago AKA "White Lightning" AKA "Champ" AKA "Mini-punk"
What can I say about this amazing athlete? I think my brother said it best when he said Nicole could climb Whitney and than go run a 10K. She was always smiling, always encouraging people and setting a fast pace to the top. At trail camp it was bitterly cold and as we tried to eat Nicole looked at me in the freezing wind and said, "isn't this awesome?" Her smile was just as big after 22 miles as it was at the beginning of the hike. I can't wait for all of our adventures to come.

Tasha Riley AKA "Sweaty" AKA "Jabbermouth"
Tasha is really a great athlete, but she will never tell you about it, you have to join her on an adventure. Tasha took to the mountain with ease and kept me going on the way down with her constant jibber jabber. It is great to be able to run, hike and cross-country ski with my sister-in-law. She is in for Mt. Whitney next year and I look forward to it.

Denise Riley AKA "Squeakers" AKA "AARP"
Denise did a great job getting to the summit. She really trained hard, took every bit of advice very seriously, and was the first of our group to make the top. Denise seemed to almost be in a trance on top of Mt. Whitney but I think she was reflecting on her accomplishment. Denise and my Dad have set the bar very high as I will have to summit again in my late 50's. It was fun to go on training hikes with Denise and spend time in the mountains.

Tina AKA "little black bear"
Tina was an unknown to me but she did great. She kept a very cool head after some large rat dog chewed up her water bladder. We did not discover this until mile 4 of the hike but Tina played it cool. She was a great asset to the team and I hope she comes back with us next year.

Matt Riley AKA "Rolling Thunder" AKA "Moot"
This time around I enjoyed myself so much more on the hike. I was able to really focus on the views and scenery and I hope we can all do it again next year! I want to thank my great team for being such a positive and optimistic group. See you all next year!

10 comments:

  1. Classic great post! Not sure about the Gods creation part though (:

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  2. Not to say that the scenery wasn't beautiful...I would rank the view of Trail's Crest Stunning and awe inspiring..whether it is attached to Yahew...Zeus...Quetezquato.....Vishnu....or the result of completly natural volanic and glacial activity formed over hundreds of millions of years...

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  3. Matt, this was such a beautiful and thought provoking blog. I loved the "stealing life" and the thoughts of man striving to remain in his comfort zone. You and the team certainly didn't do that...lots of courage and amazing determination. I am SO PROUD of you and the team.
    You did a GREAT JOB as the veteran leader of the group. To me, part of being a great leader is someone that is a servant for others and puts their good above his own. That is a wonderful character trait, Matt! Congratulations on this wonderful Mt. Whitney summit! And thank you God for this amazing creation. Love you, Mom

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  4. Wow, so far you have all said it so well. Matt, it was an experience of a lifetime and I am so grateful to have shared it with all of you. (Even if I was the AARP rep.) I remember on my hikes with you how we talked about others just sitting in front of a t.v. and never pushing their limits. This was truly a spiritual experience - carrying our burdens up the mountain, but God making our burdens light. In my case, He had you help me.
    This was an awesome blog -really capturing the spirit of the climb. "RT, you're the man!"
    Love you,
    Denise

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  5. I will talk your ear off anytime! :) Looking forward to many more adventures!!

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  6. Dear Matt
    This was a wonderful post. You described your "adventure" so beautifully, you can truly imagine being there. I agree with your Mom, it is so important to be a leader who puts their own good above their own. You did this with class. I know everyone really appreciated your leadership.
    Thanks again for this post. I am very PROUD of all of you.
    Love, Sandy

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  7. What an accomplishment! I am so proud of you.
    Love, Namie

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  8. Matt: Yet another amazing post of the climb to the top. I love how you have all posted on your blogs the same wonderful accomplishments but a different twist on the experience. And I also love how all have posted on each other's blogs what they were feeling. It sounds like it was an amazing trek to the top. What a great experience for all. So glad that everyone had a super high and an amazing sense of reaching ones goals. Enjoy the moment, enjoy the ride and most of all enjoy life!! Great job on leading all to the top. Congrats.

    Love ya, Susan

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  9. I am very upset that Garrett stole my trail name, billy goat. Hey congrats to all you guy, hope to see you on the trail soon.

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