Just after May 27 bled into May 28 this year, with just a couple hours left in Harlow Robinson's epic adventure and the mountain runner stationed atop Temptation Peak, his exhaustion momentarily gave way to awe.
At that point in Robinson's quest to consecutively summit all 12 peaks higher than 5,000 feet in the Front Range of the Chugach Mountains -- Temptation Peak marked his final summit -- he and two companions savored breathtaking views.
Before the men, the sun was setting on Denali and the Alaska Range. Behind them, a full moon was rising over the Chugach Mountains.
"That was the coolest part,'' Robinson said.
Bagging all dozen 5,000-footers in the Front Range in one trip -- sometimes called the Front Range Link-Up -- had been done before. Hard-core hiker Shawn Lyons did it 20 years ago. Joe Stock and Trond Jensen did it a few years ago. Ditto for Rob DeVelice and Charlie Thomas a couple years ago, and for J.T. Lindholm too.
Robinson, 43, was drawn to the quest partly by his sense of adventure, partly by his love of the mountains and partly because it served as great training for mountain-running races. He has won the tortuous Matanuska Peak Challenge six times and the backcountry Cross Pass Crossing marathon twice, and enters Sunday's 83rd Mount Marathon in Seward with nine straight top 15 finishes.
"I definitely like a good challenge, and I love the Front Range,'' Robinson said. "Plus, it's a great strategic challenge.''
Robinson's trip covered about 36 miles and 25,000 feet of vertical climbing, plus occasionally difficult route-finding. He was motivated too, by three previous attempts thwarted mostly by bad weather.
Robinson intended to do the adventure in May with his buddy Toby Schwoerer, the former Mount Marathon and Crow Pass champion. He and Schwoerer had tried the Front Range Link-Up together twice, but this time a late work commitment prevented Schwoerer from joining Robinson.
Thus it was that Robinson packed an ice axe, crampons, layers of clothing, sandwiches, trail mix, energy bars and goos, and a CamelBak to lug his water and Gatorade, and took off solo from the Rabbit Lake Trailhead about 4 a.m. on May 27. (Robinson, human resources development manager for Alaska Children's Services, said he consumed more than 10,000 calories and about 12 liters of fluids during the trip).
Foremost on Robinson's mind was safety -- he would be alone for most of the trip. He and his wife, Gina, have three kids, two of them small boys.
"I wasn't thrilled doing it on my own -- I didn't want to do anything risky to hurt myself,'' Robinson said. "Before every (treacherous) step, I'd ask myself, 'Is this a safe step?' There's a lot of places up there where you can get yourself in trouble.
"(Safety) was kind of our family agreement.''
Excellent weather had Robinson in just a T-shirt and shorts by 7 a.m. He bagged the first 10 of the dozen peaks on his own -- he texted Gina and friends frequently from summits -- before friends Patrick Conway and Trond Flagstad joined him for the last two peaks.
"Just having companionship was great,'' Robinson said. "By that point, I was talking to myself and getting weird.''
Robinson completed the journey about 2:40 a.m. at the Stuckagain Heights Trailhead, taking 22 hours, 42 minutes. That's two minutes slower than Lindholm did it.
"At some point, (time) kind of gets insignificant,'' Robinson said. "But the competitive side of me -- Oh, man.''
Gina Robinson and Harlow's brother, Vin, met him at the trailhead when he finished. Vin brought along a six-pack of Mirror Pond IPA and some Pringles.
"The crazy thing is I felt pretty damn good,'' Harlow Robinson said. "Those were the best potato chips and beer ever.''
Eight days later, Robinson joined a friend at the Grand Canyon in 105-degree temperatures for a one-day, 42-mile run and hike known as the Rim to Rim to Rim, all of which left him certain about one aspect of his training.
"I know my base is the best it's ever been,'' Robinson said.
Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.
Mapping out Mount Marathon
Sunday brings the 83rd running of Mount Marathon, the scramble up the 3,022-foot peak in Seward and the harrowing descent of its treacherous slopes. Here's what the Daily News has in store leading up to the annual Fourth of July spectacle:
Saturday
• Brent Knight and Holly Brooks, both of Anchorage, appeared headed for their first victories in Seward last year before blistering conditions and their ability to endure drove them over the brink.
• Best known as a bicycle racer, Matt Novakovich of Anchorage finished 10th in the men's race last year, and he has set his sights higher this year.
Sunday
• Take a look at the top contenders to seize titles in Alaska's most celebrated race.
By DOYLE WOODY
dwoody@adn.com