Goal #15: Climb a Mountain

April 30, 2010 @ 12:34 pm

Why climb a mountain? Because it's there.

There are some great mountains in this world and before long The Beau and I will probably be living very near to some of the best in this country (woot - Colorado). But I want to do more than look at them (or drive up to my luxury chalet on top of one ... maybe someday), I want to conquer them. I want to be fit and sporty enough, with the endurance and the strength to climb them.

I've actually gone rock climbing before. It's all in the legs when it comes to rock climbing, and hauling around 100+ pounds of fat my whole life has made for some reasonably strong ones. But I didn't really enjoy it; I got worn out, I was worried about being too heavy for my belay-partner, the harness barely fit. It was fun (and rappelling was awesome), but not as much as it could have been.

At University we had a ridge of foothills running behind the town. Directly behind the college was a trail that scaled the ridge. It was a mile and a half long and jumped something like 1,200 - 1,500 feet ... so it got steep in places. I went several times by myself; it was a workout, I huffed and puffed, and I loved it.

I don't want to climb Everest, I don't want to suit up with ropes and picks and a ton of equipment geared for long-term wilderness survival. I just want to hike up a mountain, scramble over some boulders, and maybe go rock climbing again. I want to do like I did in college, but more often and in time with a little more difficulty. I would love to hike into some wilderness, up a mountain, and go camping for several days, doing nothing but enjoying time in the great outdoors. Some day... and some day soon.