Mountain climbing

Yesterday I drove out to Saddle Mountain with Rachael to do our weekly hike. Usually we stick with safe city walks or Mt. Tabor, but we were ready for a challenge. Saddle Mountain is the tallest mountain in the coast range and though I don't remember how tall it is, I do know that we walked 1600 feet up in two hours. And the way my thighs feel right now it was totally vertical the entire way.

Even though the summit was so foggy we couldn't see anything, it was a fabulous feeling knowing we accomplished something that we'd set out to do. Unfortunately this means I can't ever give up on anything from now on because in the back of my mind I'll know that I climbed a mountain so I can probably take that box out to the garage.


The views were still amazing, because it wasn't so much what we couldn't see looking out over the summit, but what we could see as we hiked up. Everything was so green that it didn't seem real. There were mountainside meadows covered in grass and wildflowers.


We were able to hear the ocean and finally know what direction we were facing because the sounds of the waves were so clear.

We hiked just over six miles in three and a half hours and we were exhausted. Feet, legs, brains, they were all about to give out. I still had to drive the hour back into town as the only thing that had really kept us going was the promise we made to ourselves that if we get to the top, we'd get cheeseburgers and wine. It was delicious.

I also love that we live in Oregon so not only did we get to hike a mountain and hear the ocean, but I was able to walk, muddy and dirty, into a bar where I knew the employees and wouldn't be embarrassed that I hadn't worn make-up or brushed my hair in two days.


PS - A word of advice, don't shave legs after a vertical hike and a bottle of wine. It was the second most difficult task of the day.