The final destination of my road trip was Leadville, Colorado; the highest incorporated town in the United States. Eliza is working as an apprentice in French and Wilderness trips for The High Mountain Institute this fall. This program offers a fully accredited semester of high school (like the Mountain School and Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki) for students from all over the country, but mostly from the northeast. This HMI video describes it better than I could for those who want to know more.
As for the altitude, it didn't effect me very much but I had eased into it gradually starting in Denver at a mile high; 5280 ft. Then I went to Boulder at 4320' from there to Allenspark at 8521', Taos at 7000' and finally climbing to Leadville at 10,000 feet.
I got used to seeing bags of chips blown up like balloons, ordering pizza and having it get cold very quickly, hearing my heart beat in my chest when I climbed stairs and yes, boiling water for morning tea happened more quickly but the water is less hot. To avoid altitude sickness which can come on at any time, even when you have been feeling fine, I drank a lot of water and stayed away from alcohol. I am told carbs help, too. Even so, I will admit to a tinge of queasiness in Leadville. Nothing a nap couldn't cure. Living is different at the top. Kind of exhilarating.
And....there is NO humidity!! Yeah! The sun was hot in the open but just step into the shade and there is instant relief. I'm having a little trouble adjusting to sea level.
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