Thanks for the hiking tips. Yesterday I tried Long's Peak, which is 14,000 feet. The trailhead starts around 9,000 feet. I did the climb when I was 18. It was a lot easier. They must have added something to the mountain or moved the trailhead down a ways.
I thought, "I won't try to do the whole thing. I'll just go until I get tired, then turn around." Well, that would have been about 10 minutes into the hike, so I started resting frequently and then trudging on. People were passing me like I was roadkill.
I made it about 2 1/2 miles and around 2000 feet up. About half way down, I began wondering if I'd make it back. One knee was screaming at me and the rest wasn't much better.
Last night I was pretty lame and rolled around in paind in bed, thinking "you dope".
Today most of the pain is gone and I'm getting around OK again. I think I'll take a break on the hiking. Maybe do a mile or two tomorrow to see what breaks.
Here's proof that I made it to timberline yesterday!