Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 30, 2007

by Logan Quinn
Something people from past years neglected to tell me before our arrival in Estes Park was that even during a summer with record high temperatures where we would encounter unbearable heat and oppressive humidity; where we would encounter days where you can literally feel your skin being cooked by the sun; where we are planning on riding 110 miles into Vegas where it hasn’t been below 115 degrees since we started, somehow, miraculously, it can still drop below 40 in the mountains when we decide sleeping outside might be fun.

However, a huge thanks goes out to Jack, a family friend of the Haberkorns, who allowed us to camp in his backyard. Without him, everyone would have been sleeping in the cold. As it was there was enough room in his house for about half of us, and being the well-mannered and kind-hearted gentlemen that we are on the 4k, we gave up all the room in the house to the girls (though a few of the guys managed to sneak in and find a spot in the warmth). The rest of us, determined to show our manliness, remained outside for the duration of the night. Poor decision… I personally slept in only a pair of shorts. And by slept, I’m only referring to the approximately 3.5 seconds when I wasn’t shivering too violently to sleep. Good thing we weren’t climbing a mountain or anything the next day, like, for instance, the Rocky Mountains. We didn’t have a 25 mile climb or anything… Still, the stars were stunning, as was the full moon, and watching people wake up was entertaining to say the least.

Today was the first day we had to start biking before breakfast, and let me tell you, people tolerate 12 miles much better when they have food in their stomachs. But the spread at the YMCA of the Rockies was more than worth the trip. As for the actual ride itself, it was easily one of the most beautiful days of the trip by far, and, as we neared the summit, possibly one of the most breathtaking sights I’d ever witnessed. There are extremely hard days on the 4k for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they prove physically demanding, taxing your every muscle as you convince yourself that you have something left to give. Other times they are particularly draining mentally, forcing you to overcome your fatigue as the day seems to stretch to eternity. This day would have been both, without the views that almost forced you to stop and take a picture. I’m convinced a third of all the pictures we will take on this trip will come from today and yesterday. Simply amazing is the only way to describe it.

While I’m on the subject of difficult days, I believe the easiest way to overcome whatever the day may entail is to distract yourself with something else, be it conversation, or admiring the landscape, or even, especially in the case of Jerome, daydreaming about sugar plumb fairies or whatever it may be he thinks about while he’s riding. Truthfully, I don’t even really want to know. My personal favorite activity has to be singing Disney songs, (particularly from the Little Mermaid, and, to a lesser extent Aladin and Beauty and the Beast). Which brings me to a topic that has dominated H4K discussion time for the better part of a week and doesn’t appear to have an end in sight, as opposing camps are beginning to form. Our Disney movie extravaganza in Boulder set off a debate that can only be described as epic, as Drew, Dewey, and myself (supporting Jasmine, Belle. and Ariel respectively) have been arguing since that night about which Disney princess is the most attractive. Oh yeah, we’re mature… And I know anyone reading this is burning to contribute, and we welcome your opinions… as long as you’re on my side (to qualify my argument, it only entails when Ariel is a human, not a fish… and yes I am aware she likes forks… a lot). hopkins4kforcancer@gmail.com. Let us know. This should be interesting…

Grand Lake itself is a wonderful town. We went in without showers available or a dinner guaranteed, and Sarah (who is my vote for van driver of the year) was able to find both in about 20 minutes, and the dinner she found was unbelievable. The Bear’s Den gave us an open menu and a room to ourselves. And to make the night even better, the waitress was on my side of the Disney argument. Oh man, do I need to start school again…