When I was in my teens and early to late 20s I was a mountain climber so altitudes from Sea level to over 14,000 feet were something I was used to. Though I might feel sort of like a 5 year old at 14,000 feet because of the lack of oxygen I could condition myself and plan ahead so I didn't make a mistake that cost my life or other's lives at that altitude. But now I'm 63 and I'm finding that since I live at sea level now for about the last 15 years or so that when I go to higher altitudes I can get a headache (above 7000 feet) if I stay there more than 24 hours.
So, since I knew I was going to go to Colorado (which is mostly above 5000 feet in altitude everywhere) I decided to take a train so I could have more time to acclimatize to a higher altitude so I didn't have any problems while I was above 5000 feet consistently for about a week or more since I'm now over 60. So, my wife and I boarded the train in Emeryville, near Berkeley in California and booked one of the largest sleepers available with a sink, toilet and shower and electricity and two large berths for sleeping (upper and lower). So, after riding the Zephyr for around 34 hours or more we arrived at over 5000 feet in Denver after riding in the train to altitudes over 9000 feet through Winter Park, Colorado then through a 6.2 mile long tunnel (about 10 minutes to get through it) and down to Denver at about 5000 feet in elevation. Though I felt Denver at 5000 feet a little it was bearable even though I found myself winded a little if I went up stairs too fast or tried to walk too fast when I first reached Denver. Then the next day my son picked me up in his car and drove me to Ft. Collins which is only at about 4900 feet and I felt I was breathing a little easier. But the air was incredibly dry and found I had to watch for chilblains and cracked lips which might tend to bleed. So, the cold and the dryness I found the hardest to adapt to in Ft. Collins since I live on the west coast pacific ocean where the air is always moist and clear blowing off the ocean and onto the land. Later we drove to Pueblo after my son had loaded up his stuff for the long drive back to the California coast. He chose Pueblo because it is only 4600 feet there as he was worried about me at these higher altitudes because of my age and not being adapted to them.
So, the happiest we both were as far as breathing went was at Pueblo, Colorado. However, the next day we decided to drive through Taos on the way to Santa Fe where I had booked a room online at the La Fonda a very historic and nice hotel in the middle of Santa Fe where there had been an Inn continually since about 1600 at that site. We both had trouble because of the 7100 feet altitude or so of Santa Fe and because we traveled all that previous day at or about 8000 to 9000 feet in order to drive through Taos on the way to Santa Fe. Because we were not doing well at that altitude and because a storm was coming bringing snow and very heavy winds to Flagstaff and points east, we decided to make a run for it to Winslow which is only at about 4600 feet so as not to get caught in the snow somewhere without a 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive car or truck. My son's car is a front wheel drive high mileage car that gets about 30 miles per gallon but very roomy for us and luggage. So, we stayed at the La Posada in Winslow which was highly recommended and it turned out to be quite an experience. It had been converted from a train station in 1930 into a very artsy hotel with art all over the place and quaint rooms and a restaurant as part of the hotel. It is a pretty amazing place. In fact, you can ride the train from Los Angeles to this La Posada hotel and stay there on its way to Albuquerque, New Mexico and points east. So, we both felt better at a lower altitude. We realized by looking at maps that both Colorado and New Mexico are both mostly above 5000 to 6000 feet in altitude. Where as northern Arizona is over 6000 feet but southern Arizona is much lower mostly in altitude. We decided that is why there is about 6 million people in Arizona and only about 2 million in New Mexico. And we agreed that we thought it is the high altitude combined with high winds and cold winters that kept the populations down in New Mexico. The next day we set out for the Arizona Meteor Crater which is a really nice experience about 20 to 30 miles west of Winslow on Highway 40. After that, we took a scenic drive bypassing Flagstaff up to the rim of the Grand Canyon and luckily it wasn't snowing there because it sure was in Flagstaff as we could see in the distance and also was shown on my IPhone weather icon. Because the winds were picking up we decided to try to drive that evening to Needles, California and were very surprised the next morning to wake up to above 60 degree weather after seeing daytime temperatures from 30 to 50 for the previous week and night time temperatures down to 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. So, it was warm enough to go wading in the Colorado River which we did. It was nice to be where it was warm (relatively speaking) in California once again and to be able to breathe more easily and not getting a headache from the altitude. I used to live at 3500 feet for many years in Mt. Shasta but the last time I did that it was about 1992. The really strange thing is that when I returned to the coast I now breathe incredibly slowly and if I breathe any faster it is like experiencing oxygen intoxication from too much oxygen. So, my body doesn't know what to do with all the extra oxygen here on the California Coast now. Life is pretty funny in the end I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment