Conquering Camelback has been on my bucket list since I found out what a bucket list was. I have an extreme fear of heights and have always had to stop at the part with the rails because I got too scared. This time was different. I was going to beat Camelback, panic attacks and all!
I started with a friend who has done Echo ~10 times before (thank god, because he brought a Camelbak). Going up, I didn't realize how much I would be using my hands. I kept thinking how this was more of a rock climbing experience than a hike.
When it came to the first set of rails, I thought I was cool enough to not need them. Wrong. As soon as I realized I had nowhere for my feet to go, I turned around and saw the steep drop and almost pooped my pants. Seriously. A fellow hiker was nice enough to encourage me and I managed to get across to the rails. (Warning: do not proceed up the slippery rock to the right of the rails. Just don't.)
The steep incline didn't really get to me until after the second set of rails. As I looked up, I knew how high I was and started freaking out again. I had to mentally get myself out of the panic attacks I was having by looking at the children (literally, 7 year olds) and older folk (literally, 65 year olds) that were doing this with ease.
Alas, with many breaks along the way, I made it to the top. But that was only half the fun, because I had the entire way down to look forward to!
Surprisingly, going down was like, 150% easier than going up. It was hotter and more crowded (we started at 7 AM) so the number of people was annoying. However, I made it down without any falls or injuries. Yay. When I got off the mountain, I can honestly say I have never felt so accomplished with a physical task. It was WELL worth the blood, sweat, and almost tears!
(Also, this provided an awesome full body workout. My polar HR *said* I burned 1000 calories in the 1:45:00 it took to do the entire hike.)
Tips (from my experience):
-Wear gloves. You will need them.
-Bring water and lots of it. Because you will be using your hands for ~50% of this hike, I suggest a hands-free system (such as a Camelback).
-Start early, before it is crowded + hot.
-Enjoy the summit. You EARNED it.
-if I can make it to the top, so can you.
Happy hiking!