Reflections: Climbing New Routes

Climbing New Routes
Steve & Hannah
12-15-09

One time in my life I had to climb a mountain, literally. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. It was both physically and mentally challenging. I hated it, but I might do it again.
I was first quarter B.O.O.T.S. We were planning a trip up to Mount Ellinor. I was excited, but nervous at the same time. I had never climbed a mountain before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. We started out on a dirt trail at a pretty good pace. We hiked for probably half an hour or 40 minutes, then we stopped for a snack. We stayed on the trail for probably an hour and a half. The switbacks were horrible. I was almost in tears when Mr. Keith told me we had another 5 hours to go. I felt sick and I had a headache. I was ready to quit before we had even really started.
We stopped to eat lunch after we got off the dirt trail. We started out again on some rocks and then we reached a very steep rockey area. That wasn’t a very encouraging sight. Luckily, I had a few people to talk to try and keep my mind off of the task ahead, that I was completely dreading. After we got passed the rock, we saw a very steep trail that we were all hoping was the summit. It wasn’t. We had about another half hour of hiking. When we finally reached the top, it was beautiful, and it felt good. But then the thought of the hike back down, took that excitement away. I was already sore from the climb up, and coming down hurt even worse. My entire body ache. When we finally got to the bottom, all I could do was smile.
All in all, my climb up Mount Ellinor was definitely a challenge. It tested me both mentally and physically. It was hard, but it was worth it. I’ll never forget it.