On the rebound: Climbing Little Si

Another recovery milestone: Near the summit of Little Si

April 11, 2017
Hi, Tracy
Today I enjoyed another milestone. Facing an uncertain outcome, I climbed Little Si at the invitation of my occasional hiking friend, Sue Butkus. Sue wanted to check out the hike for a group of lady friends who will be making the hike as a group. After finding myself winded climbing Madison Street from the waterfront and having to stop for breath or take the "indoor" route up the hill, courtesy of escalators in buildings along the way, I had my doubts. But we came to an agreement:

I would join Sue at 9 a.m. today in North Bend and we would start the hike. If I got winded, I would return to the car and curl up with a good book while she finished the hike. Well, we did it, and I got winded, but we just took breaks and then forged ahead. Reaching the peak of Mount Si usually takes me less than 90 minutes when I'm in shape. Today it took four hours, and another 2.5 hours to return to the trailhead. But I did it! I was tired coming down and quite prudent to make sure that I didn't injure myself due to a slip and fall from exhaustion. Afterward we celebrated with milkshakes at Scott's Dairy Freeze Ice Cream.

The downside: I wore rain pants over my long underwear and safari pants, to keep warm and dry. But when it came time to pee, all those garmets were a burden, and sometimes urgency overcame frantic attempts to get ready. This proved especially true when I found myself back home without my apartment key and I had to use the loo while I waited for the locksmith. I took off my rain pants and then was confronted with reality and had to put the rain pants back on over my wet safari pants. The good news was the locksmith was able to get me into the apartment in just a couple minutes and at a very favorable rate, including additional keys.

Another down side was the fatigue of my legs and joints. I put them through a workout, and had the beginnings of a charlie horse when I climbed out of my car as I arrived home. I took steps to cut it short and will hope it doesn't return during the night.

The photo below is of a boulder field greened with moss. The photo doesn't do justice to the rich hues of the verdent velvet on those big boulders.

Love,
Dad