Not that I've ever had kids or anything, but I compare mountain climbing to going into labor. When you're in the middle of it all you're wondering what the fuck was on your mind to want to this. But when you're done you forget how hard it was and think maybe it wasn't so bad and you'll do it again.


My adventure

The day dawned at 4:47 a.m. when Grendel decided he wanted to outside RIGHT NOW. I ignored his whining and went back to sleep until 6 when my alarm went off.

As with anything when I’m excited, my morning bathing and eating ritual went very fast so I was out the door at 6:30. The drive takes about an hour so I put in my Pet Shop Boys CD and drove happily along. At about 7:10 or so my car started making weird noises and things got a little bumpy. I pulled over and checked my tires and sure enough I blew a tire. Lovely. Luckily for me I have Triple A and called a tow truck. I thought I had a spare tire but I didn’t. No problem. As I waited for the tow truck I called my mom and we chatted. She told me to get the tire fixed and go hiking anyway and just go until I felt I was done. It was still early and I could go.

So, 2 and half hours later, one vanilla latte and the contents of The New York Times Sunday Edition and I was back on the road.

I got to the trailhead around 10:30 or so and organized my pack and put my boots on. At first I thought maybe I should have used lighter boots but I was thankful for them later when things started to get hard. I was also VERY thankful for my hiking poles. I couldn’t have done it w/o those. I put the boots on and clomped across the parking lot. I followed two women to the trailhead because I wasn’t quite sure which way to go. They were much faster than me but it was fine. I wasn’t there to race them. The first part of the hike was relatively easy. I crossed a gorgeous waterfall and thought about taking a picture but I need to keep the momentum going. I walked across a field of little daises and admire the view of the Gorge. This seemed like a nice, soft primer for what was to come. I knew this was going to be hard but I guess you never really know how hard it is going to be until you’re in the middle of it.

Everyone who writes about Mt. Defiance writes about the miles of switchbacks you have to cross before you get to just the uphill part. The switchbacks were hard but I took my time and stopped when I needed to stop. I could feel the altitude getting higher as I climbed and focused on my breath. There was one part of the climb where I could veer off the path and look out over the Columbia River Gorge. I was really high up and looked out at the view and said, “Holy shit!” Then I laughed and ate more of my trail mix. I saw a few hawks in the Gorge and it gave me some comfort.

While the switchbacks were hard, it was the uphill stuff after the switchbacks that was really hard. Again, I took my time and kept going. I thought I was honestly going to get to the summit. I kept remembering my step-dad’s advice about enjoying the journey. So I looked at the scenery and the trees and smiled through my screaming feet. I had to dig deep at times to find the strength to keep going. I really wanted to summit. I had a few people pass me but I didn’t care. I needed to take my time.

Around the time my energy really started to wane I stopped a guy who was coming down the mountain. I asked him how much farther the summit was and he told me it was about another hour but if I hiked just a little more I’d get beyond the thick trees and get a nice view of the mountains. At that point I had to do some serious inventory as to whether I could continue. I knew I could probably do it but a voice reminded me I still had to get DOWN the mountain. I looked up at the trail and then turned around and headed down. The down part was REALLY hard and my feet were killing me. It felt like they had moved the trailhead and I was walking on a treadmill. As I walked down I had mixed emotions about the climb. I felt bad I didn’t make it to the top but I didn’t want to kill myself. If I had made it, I would have had to camp up there because I didn’t have the energy to get down. But it also felt good to know that I made it as far as I did. I couldn’t have done that 6-months ago. I started doubting my trek to Mt. Hood and I’m going to have to sit down with my co-worker next week and discuss it. I think I can do it, but I’m not sure. This was a hard climb.

I finally made it to my car and took my boots off. I almost had an orgasm when I took them off.. it felt good to get those things off. I think some steam came off of my feet. I looked around the parking lot and and put The Devlins into my CD player and smiled while Colin serenaded me home. I got home around 5:30 and limped around the house a bit and then crashed and slept really hard. I did get to enjoy the wonderful thunderstorm later that night.

So that was my adventure. I think if I can get some better boots (these didn’t fit as well as I would have liked) and put some pads on my shins I can do this again.