i climbed the mountain...

not the metaphorical one (i'm still working on that), the literal one. this weekend we hiked mt. boney. & let me tell you, it was HARD. (it didn't help that it had rained the night before, making everything soft, slick & muddy). it's 9 & 1/2-ish miles, hiking up to an elevation of about 2,825 ft. luckily we had some motivation, because we were hiking in the memory of my uncle bug. we ended up taking a "short-cut" home... it being a "short-cut" in the loosest sense of the word. like most short-cuts, whether hiking or in real life, the distance traveled may have been less, but the obstacles proved much more difficult. we often lost the trail (that is if you call occasional arrows spray painted on random rocks a trail), we had to climb up & over boulders, slide down rock face & bushwacked our way through the overgrown brush. (to be honest, i felt a bit like joan wilder in romancing the stone.) but in the end, it was all worth it. i am proud that i accomplished this feat, & even more proud that my mom did. the view was incredible (although it was cloudy most of the day), & i was reminded of an important life lesson:

the experienced climber is not intimidated by a mountain -- he is inspired by it. the persistent winner is not discouraged by a problem -- he is challenged by it. mountains are created to be conquered; adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved. it is better to master one mountain than a thousand foothills.
- william arthur ward

now i just have to get around to tackling that metaphorical hill...