Tuesday, August 07, 2007

This Mountain Kicked My Ass

Mount Hood in Cloud

Looks like some kind of Alp, doesn't it? Must be at least 20,000 feet high if it was able to kick my purportedly rock-hard ass, right?

Well, it's not an Alp. It's Mount Hood and all I did was take a 6.8 mile hike on it well below the tree line and even more well below anything really tricky and daunting like snowfields and glaciers. Elevation gain: Only 1,650 feet. My hiking book rates the level of difficulty as moderate. In recent years, this hike has been no problem for me. Last Sunday, though, I found myself stopping frequently to rest! And it wasn't even hot out. What the frick? And when I got to this pond I collapsed in front of it and lay on my back for quite some time staring at the clouds.

Tarn

I never lie down on hikes. NEVER!

I'm a loser that's all there is to it. I don't really know why I'm so out of shape this year, but there's no disputing it. Crap.

I did enjoy the hike, though, especially the ramble back "down." By that time, the clouds had closed in and blotted out Hood completely.

Clouds Envelope the Mountain

Fortunately, we weren't ambushed by any hobbits.

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