Favs...






I climbed my first mountain.

The weather was rainy, clouds rolling over our shoulders bringing in steamy views, and still we went. For two and a half hours we ascended Bear Creek Mountain. At no point could we see more than a hundred yards ahead of us, but it was still one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Forests, tall and proud, and meadows lined with foilage more shades of red, yellow, and green than I've ever seen, led the way until we reached the foot. Sandy footing spotted the ground from long ago eruptions, and made for soft steps. The Goats Rocks Wilderness was rightly named. Tons of rocks stacked higher and higher until the top. 7,336 feet. The cliffs dropped into the fog like a dream dropping off into the darkness of night. You would walk to the edge, look over, and let your imagination tell you how far you would fall if you should slip.

Once at the top, we found the registry, signed it, looked at the cloud that was nestled around us, and made a promise to ourselves that we would come back. We were somewhere magnificent.

My brother told me that one time he asked God to see mountains. Yesterday we climbed one. I am happy that we did that together. My brother, Marci, and I had a wonderful day and there is nothing I would change about it. Even though the view was cut down to nothing, we had our goal set and we reached it, and we did it together. That's all that matters.

Some shameless plugs...