Y Hike

This post should be titled whY did I think I could do this hike? For some reason the Universities around here think it's a good idea to plaster giant cement letters representing their school on the side of the mountain. And for some other reason, still unknown to even myself, I thought it was a good idea to hike there.

Anyone who knows me knows that I do not hike. I will take nature walks as long as the trail is flat and shady. But when the trail gains almost 1000 feet in 1.2 miles it is not my cup of tea. I wasn't trying to be brave, but I felt a little like Toad in this video.

The scene at about 40 seconds is a fairly accurate representation of our hike. Doug would have been Frog, and I was Toad, sadly lagging behind and muttering. At one point I made him run ahead to tell me how much farther we had to go while I collapsed on a bench thinking I would die and tried not to pass out and roll down the side of the mountain. You think I'm exaggerating but if you ask Doug he'll tell you that this is a very accurate account of the days happenings.

A rock with plants growing out of it

I pretended to be interested in the plants growing out of this rock and took multiple pictures of it so that I could rest for longer without seeming wimpy. Little did I know I was less than half way there. Later my pride didn't get in the way of collapsing on whatever benches were available.

The view from another of my resting spots

I finally got close enough to see the stupid giant white letter! At this point I had hope that I could make it all the way. Little did I know I still had a long way to go.

The sliver of white hope

Finally after much complaining, resting, and water, I made it to the Y. Now I can say I did it. And I never have to do it again.

The view of the valley from half way up the stupid mountain

The Y looked disproportionately long since we were near the bottom of it. It really is kind of ugly to have letters plastered all over the mountains.

A giant Y

You may be thinking to yourself that there haven't been any pictures of me and maybe I sent the camera along with Doug while I stayed behind. Well I thought of that and took a picture of my sweaty red face next to the stupid letter so you wouldn't doubt the validity of my claims of hiking up the mountain. You may say that my head is edited into the picture, but I assure you, there is no other picture of me so red and sweaty to have taken it from.

Yes, I was there

In the future, if you ever hear me mention going on a hike remind me not to unless I have months worth of training and gallons of water.