Summer Hikes (By Spencer)

          Me and my dad went on a weeklong trip to Oklahoma to show the film Legends from the sky near Tulsa. The showing was only two days long and the drive was about eight hours long one way. The reason it took a week was my dad had four hikes planned. Ever since highschool my dad has had a goal to hike the highest point in every state.

          The first hike we went on was the highest point in Oklahoma, which is called Black Mesa. It is a ten mile hike in the desert. About half of it is flat ground and the incline isn't that steep. There was little shade and few trees along the trail. Walking back from the highest point, my dad stepped over the rattlesnake. It raddled and frightened us. we saw another one but we were more alert that time.

          The second hike was called Mt Sunflower in Kansas, but it didn't actually fit the requirements of a mountain. In fact, I don't think it even fit the requirements of a hill. That hike was about ten feet. We drove half a mile, parked, and walked ten feet to the monument.

          After these two hikes we spent two days showing the film and doing film workshops. Then it was back to hiking.

Wheeler Peak

          We drove for about three more hours and ended up at Signal Hill in Arkansas. The hike was only one mile one way, so we reached the top easily.

          Our last, but definitely not least hike was Wheeler Peak in New Mexico. This was not a ten miler like Black Mesa's, but an even harder seven. At first there was beautiful, dense undergrowth, but it soon faded above the tree line. Most of it so steep, it was like climbing stairs. after this long but rewarding hike we reached the bottom again.

          Since then I have hiked one more high point: Mt Humphreys, the highest in Arizona.