From Horizons to Huron, Snowbird to the Sawatch
On post-deployment miles, peak-bagging, and the kind of friendship that always picks up where it left off
Nearly a decade ago, Rob (Robrunsround) and I met at Sigma Chi Fraternity’s Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit in sunny Snowbird, Utah. We were actually paired as roommates that week, though because we were in separate breakout groups, we didn’t spend a ton of time together.
The values-based conference was focused on social style analysis, team-building, goal-setting, and conflict resolution. Only one person from each chapter in the country is selected each year, so I was honored to represent Penn State’s Alpha Chi in 2016. It was one of the most impactful and transformative weeks of my life.
Thanks to social media, and our shared interest in endurance sport, Rob and I kept in touch.
Something I’ve always appreciated about our relationship is our ability to go deep and talk about real, heavy shit. The struggles of young adulthood. Changing and losing jobs. Moving to another state. Aging parents. Breakups and heartbreak. Death of a loved one.
Other than a serendipitous run-in at Arches National Park during the pandemic, we had one of those friendships where you don’t talk often, but when you do catch up every few months, it’s for an hour or two. That was until Rob moved to Colorado last year.
Since then, we’ve linked up in Boulder to climb Mount Sanitas, I crashed at his place in Colorado Springs to get an early start on Pikes Peak, and we summited another 14er together last weekend, Huron Peak.
Rob just got back to the States from deployment overseas and has been making the most of his month off before returning to work. He visited family, enjoyed some R&R (“running & (more) running”), and made the trip to Leadville to play in the Sawatch with Candice Burt and me.
It was heartwarming to see my girlfriend and buddy immediately connect and share stories about their mutual love of trail running—races, gear, nutrition, FKTs, even chafing solutions.
In the morning, we took separate cars as Rob and I planned to climb Huron via Lulu Gulch while Candice climbed off-trail to scout the Nolan’s 14 route and continued onto Missouri Mountain.
Rob, filled with natural energy, and to warm up in nothing but shorts and a T-shirt, set a strong pace from the trailhead. We took the 4WD road until we were met with steady switchbacks, which led us up Middle Mountain, our first peak of the day.
We traversed the talus slope over to Browns Peak, another Colorado 13er, and saw Huron’s rugged east face. Dozens of hikers the size of ants, the first people we encountered all day, also came into view as we reached the saddle and standard route.
Both experienced endurance athletes, capitalizing on a summer of building fitness, we made a steady push, passing multiple groups along the way, until we reached the summit of Huron at 14,006’.
“Yeah, buddy!” Excited to stand atop another peak together, we soaked up the rare 60° cloudless day in the alpine and chatted with couples buzzing from climbing their first 14er.
Fueled by watermelon Sour Patch Kids, Rob scurried down the scree and ran the five miles on singletrack back to the car, snagging one of the fastest times for the Strava segment in the process. Wanting to get extra miles in, he looped back until he met me.
Back at the trailhead, we met a 25-year-old Aspen lift mechanic named Jamie, also from the King of Prussia area, who entered Penn State the year after I graduated. Stoked on life, and waiting for his slower buddies to reach the locked car, he opened a camping chair, cracked a beer, and soaked up the sun. Content.
Once back in Leadville, we hit Harrison Avenue for Boom Day. We enjoyed burgers and turkey legs while we shopped and watched burro races, eager to take on our Longs-awaited challenge (pun intended) in a few days.
Love how important your friendships are to you. It was fun to meet Rob!
That last pic is golden. Love the write up and appreciate your friendship as always. Cant wait for next adventure!
PS if natural energy=strong espresso then yes I was indeed hopped up on natural energy ;-)