Village Bible Church || Aurora | Indian Creek | Sugar Grove | IL

If one of your new year's resolutions is to get in shape, here's a target and a motive: join us for white water rafting and mountain hiking in God's Country July 18-22. We leave after work Wednesday and get home Sunday evening.

NOTE: This is an advanced climb.  We will not be using any ropes, or rappelling gear, HOWEVER, you need to be in good share to attempt to tackle this mountain. 

If you’d like to go on the trip for the fellowship, and rafting… there are lower trails where you can just hike short distances to soak in the view.  There are a couple of men who are choosing this option. 

Challenge & Training:

Mt. Missouri is not a technical climb.  No special equipment needed, just your legs – and LUNGS.  Close to the top there’s a lot less oxygen than we enjoy here at sea level.  So the best thing you can do is start training now – jumping rope, running (NOT WALKING; it’s good for you but it’s not enough to get the cardio-vascular fitness you need for this adventure). 

 Warning: Though it’s not a dangerous or technical climb it is very taxing.  On prior trips, when some of the guys were gasping for breath above timberline, it was said, “Didn’t we warn you?”  “Yes,” they said, “but we didn’t believe you!”  Well, believe us!  This is doable, but it’s hard.  (A few guys over the past few years have said, "This is the hardest thing I've ever done!") 

If you can run three miles, jump rope for twenty minutes, or play a full-court game of basketball, you can do this climb.  If not, but if you're a slow but steady plodder, you may be able to make it IF the weather cooperates.  Typically storms move into the Rockies every afternoon, which is why we try to reach the top before noon and be well on our way back down before lightning moves in. 

NOTE: A really slow hiker may not have time to get to the summit before it's prudent to turn around. 

Schedule:

We will leave at 4:00 pm Wednesday from the church parking lot and drove all night. Got home around 6:30 pm or so Sunday evening.  

 We’ll leave after work Wednesday July 18 and take turns driving through the night.  We arrive in Colorado around noon Thursday.  This town is at 10,000 feet; sleeping there helps us acclimate to the high altitudes where we’ll be hiking.  That afternoon we do a practice hike.  Friday morning we go white water rafting on one of the big rivers, and take another practice hike in the afternoon at higher altitude.  Saturday we’ll climb Mount Missouri.

Late afternoon we head home, driving about five hours before stopping in Nebraska for a good night’s sleep.  Sunday July 22 we finish our return trip, arriving home early evening if we do church in the car as we did last time, or maybe a little later if we stop to worship somewhere along the way.

This is a lot of time in the car (about eighteen hours each way), but it’s part of the adventure and fellowship time.

Costs:

The total cost of the trip will be between $350 and $400, and will be based on actual costs.

 Last year the cost was $308 (with lower fuel costs), but that will depends on where we choose to stay and how many men stay in a room, etc. 

We plan on six men in one large room Thursday and Friday nights, then two men per room on the way home Saturday night.The Timberline Hotel was not fancy and one bathroom but clean and quiet.    

 Also, what we spend on food and gas is a factor.     Rafting was about $71 each (that is an option).  I recommend it HIGHLY. 

We keep costs to a minimum, sharing gas, tolls, and cheap motel bill.  (The guys whose car we ride in are exempt from gas and tolls, since their vehicles take the wear and tear.) A couple of meals we ordered pizza and split the cost; for others you get and pay for what you want.  Last year the trip cost each guy about $300.00 (including two shared meals and food we bought individually)..  We decided not to stay in a motel Saturday night, but drive straight through on the way home.  If we stop for the night this year as we usually do, that will add to the trip cost. (Which we probably will - most of the guys didn't like the drive-through at the end of an exhausting few days.)

Deposit & Payments:  

$150 Deposit is due by Sunday May 20^th.  We’ll record costs along the way, and divide them at the end.

What to Pack:

For the BIG Hike: We're NOT going anyplace fancy, so don't bother packing nice clothes. 

Here are some packing guidelines: At the start of the big hike we should wear a T-shirt, a long-sleeve shirt and/or light sweater, windbreaker, wind pants over shorts, gloves, and a warm hat that covers the ears (it may be in the 30s when we hit the trail head), two pair of socks under sturdy but comfortable hiking boots. 

In our day packs for the hike bring something like bagels, trail mix, and a couple candy bars to keep us on our feet for twelve hours or so (no need to lug food and water from Illinois to Colorado; we'll shop at a nearby supermarket the night before the big hike). 

We’ll have a few Band-Aids, two pair of dry socks, a knife, a compass a small first aid kit including ibuprofen, a bandanna, sunblock, sunglasses, toilet paper, cell phone (sometimes you get reception on top and it’s nice to tell your wife you made it or contact others in our party).  Rarely have we needed insect repellent, but the couple times we did, we really needed it.  Small tube or wipes should be fine.  Some guys will, of course, bring cameras.  Binoculars are optional extra weight.  You can see plenty without them – only reason might be if we think we spot wildlife.  In recent trips a few guys have brought a GPS. 

For the Trip Itself:

In your duffel bag: a small pillow for the car, a towel for rafting day, a small Bible, minimal clean clothes (remember, we won’t be going anywhere fancy), a pair of sneakers for around town, bathing suit for rafting (though shorts can do double duty). 

The most important items in your backpack may well be: gatorade, water, dry socks, a couple of Band-Aids, and sunblock.  You can hike hungry if you have to.  But you’ve got to have water, and you’ve got to protect your feet from blisters if at all  possible.  A camelback water pack might be a good idea for some guys. 

Information on the Mountain:

Here are some interesting links and photos that we’ve found.

 Missouri Mountain is a mountain in the US State of Colorado. It is one of the fourteeners, a mountain that has a peak elevation of over 14,000 feet. It is located in the Collegiate Peaks, in the central Sawatch Range, just west of the Arkansas River, near Mount Belford and Mount Oxford. It is separated from its eastern neighbor Mount Belford by Elkhead Pass (13,220 feet).

Missouri Mountain is located in the San Isabel National Forest. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Mountain