Scrapbook Adventures Backpacking to Sandbeach Lake in the Rockies . . . An introduction to Acute Mountain Sickness - 7/98 Text and photos by Kip Ladage Altitude sickness . . .  why would I waste space writing about altitude sickness? For one reason: It can happen to you! Nothing ruins a great vacation faster than a severe case of altitude sickness. And how would I know. . . my son and I experienced a serious case of altitude sickness recently.  Our family vacation to the West Coast had been planned for more than a year. Disneyland and a visit with relatives was our goal -- but only after we spent several days hiking around several of the scenic “natural” areas en route to California.  After two and half days leisurely traveling across Iowa and Nebraska, we finally reached Colorado. Since we had no predetermined itinerary, we also did not have reservations anywhere. No problem we thought, we can set up our tent at any campground that has an empty patch of grass. Well, that is not exactly what happened.  Campgrounds were few and far between, and those that we found were full. So, since we had planned to do some backpacking anyway, why not backpack in to a campsite! Mistake #1!  Our first stop was a visit to the Ranger Station at Rocky Mountain National Park where we purchased our backcountry permits. From the station, we had to drive several miles outside of Estes Park to the trailhead. Sandbeach Lake was our destination, a strenuous 4.2 mile hike from the Wild Basin trailhead.  We weren’t able to begin our hike until nearly 4:30 in the afternoon. By allowing 2 miles per hour of hiking time, plus an additional 2 hours for altitude gain, we estimated our arrival at Sandbeach Lake would be 8:30 P.M. Since we didn’t want to hike the Rocky Mountains after dark, and after being warned of mountain lions on this trail, we knew we would have to hike faster than we normally do. Mistake #2!  Our hike began around 8,200 feet, considerably higher than the 900 feet above sea level we were used to. Within the first half mile, my wife and daughter opted out of the hike, choosing instead to return to the trailhead and drive until they found lodging for the night. Zach (my 14-year old son) and I continued up the mountain, covering the miles as quickly as we could. The rock strewn terrain was challenging, and each step upward was difficult, but we ignored our being winded -- incorrectly attributing the wheezing to a lack of conditioning. On we went … Mistake #3!  We reached Sandbeach Lake well before dark. After selecting an appropriate campsite, we began the nightly duty of cooking our freeze-dried meals. Unlike our other hikes, neither of us could eat. Nausea was setting in, an altitude symptom we erroneously blamed on hiking too hard. Mistake #4!  With each passing moment, our flu-like symptoms grew worse. We struggled to clean up our cooking site and hang our bear bags in a nearby tree. Finally, we both agreed to try to sleep off whatever was bothering us.  The night was long and relatively sleepless. Middle-of-the-night visitors sniffed at our tent, and a fidgety feeling made it hard to relax. Still, we felt too bad to do anything. By morning though, after a brief nap, we thought we were ready for another day in the Rockies.  Neither one of us was hungry for breakfast, so we chose instead to hike around Sandbeach Lake. After all, how many times do you hike above the tree line -- where the snow is still piled deep late in July? Although we didn’t cover a lot of distance, we did explore the scenery, still without eating or drinking. Unfortunately, the nausea was beginning to return. We shot a few photos and decided to hike back to the trailhead. Mistake #5! It didn’t take long before the feelings of being terribly winded struck in earnest. Unlike his normally energetic self, Zach repeatedly stopped for a rest. With each rest break we took, I encouraged Zach to drink plenty of water. He did so, better than I did.  Having hiked many times with Zach before, his lack of energy seemed worse than normal. At one point we considered hiding his pack and getting him off the mountain, returning for the pack after he was feeling better. Still, neither of us thought we had a problem. We both just planned on conditioning better before our next hike.  Less than a quarter of a mile from the trailhead we met a ranger on the trail. After exchanging courtesies and having our permit checked, we went our separate ways. Only a short distance from our meeting with the ranger, I began having troubles. My feet did not want to negotiate a switchback. Now I thought, I must be getting as tired as Zach.      Continued on page 2 . . . click here.     Click here to e-mail questions and comments regarding Backpacking to Sandbeach Lake...an Introduction to Acute Mountain Sickness.     Click here to link to Ladage Photography and Destinations.