studentspeak

I Can Hardly Move

The Incline absolutely destroyed me yet again. The Incline is honestly one of the most intense, painful, and rewarding exercises that exists. The councilman I interviewed for this film, Scott Hente, told me a story about troops from Fort Carson he saw on the Incline.

He said there must have been 50-60 troops on the Incline one early morning while he and his wife were hiking to the top. He could tell that there were some young guys who had never done the Incline (these types of people stick out like a sore thumb when you are up there). Once at the top, Scott and his wife started talking to some of the soldiers waiting for friends to finish. One said, “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” Scott replied, “Really? I would have thought Iraq would have been harder!” The soldier looked at him and said, “No, this was harder than Iraq.”

The reward for me this time was greater than just making it to the top: it was the fantastic shots I was able to get. I was slightly disappointed though that the camera couldn’t capture the heart stopping views from the top. I reached the top just as the sun set behind Pike’s Peak. I do have shots where the peak appears to be engulfed in an orange, hot flame on the western slope. The shots that just don’t capture the true reality are the ones looking east down the Incline. As the sun crawled behind Pike’s, the lights of Manitou and Colorado Springs began to flicker. The canvas of purple and orange sky behind the flickering lights set the perfect landscape. It’s one of those moments when you can breath (even though it’s not freakin’ easy after a 2,000 ft vertical in a mile) and take in a bit of life in a whole new context.

Now, I’m off to editing the film. I’ll post it here once I’m finished. I hope it can capture the true essence of this thing.

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