A Fun Story

It's hard to believe that it's been almost seven months since my mom passed away.  In some ways it feels like just yesterday and in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago.  Tonight I want to share a great story about my mom that really captures her essence, and hopefully helps you to understand just why exactly I am willing to undertake this crazy idea.

About 5 years ago my mom's youngest sister turned 50.  She decided for her birthday that she wanted to climb the tallest mountain in NYS - Mt. Marcy.  Standing at 5,344 ft. Mt. Marcy is in the High Peak region of the Adirondack Park.  It's a strenuous hike from my understanding and not something typically to be done on a whim but on the other hand it isn't technical mountain climbing either. 

My mom and their other sister accompanied her as well as various other family and friends, all women, on this hike.  (I knew my limits and sat it out! :)   My mom at the time was just a couple years shy of 60 and had no intention of hiking to the top.  She went out on the trail with the group that day wearing her cheap discount store windpants and some plain walking-type sneakers.  She had no trekking poles but having been told by the others that it would be helpful she creatively made one out of a broomstick handle. :) And she set out without a drop of water and only some grapes in a cooler backpack that she had.

She had no intention of going more than a mile or two along the path but one thing led to another and as the story goes, before they knew it my mom was out ahead of some of the more experienced climbers.  Eventually one of my cousins did give her a set of trekking poles so she could do the thing properly.  As you might guess, she made it to the top (GO MOM!) and the picture here is her on top of the mountain. I cropped the others out since I didn't ask their permission to post this but the full picture tells the story.  Everyone else in their hiking boots and gear and my mom looking like she just ran out to go to the corner grocery store and accidentally climbed a mountain.

My aunt said that when they reached to the top my mom looked at her and said "so where is the ride down?"  We laughed about that for a while.  Not sure now if she really thought there was (similar to Whiteface Mountain) or she was just pulling my aunts leg.

So they all climbed down. My mom outstripped them all again some of the time.  She ate her refreshing and trusty grapes along the way (I'm guessing someone took pity and gave her water).  And when they got down to the bottom and my 20-something cousin could absolutely walk no more without her legs seizing up, my mother volunteered to go get the car and pick them up. 

I love that story because it's so representative of how awesome my mom is.  She was 'plucky' and I love a plucky heroine in a good story.  Only she could accidentally climb a mountain.  That's why I hope to climb Mt. Marcy next summer and eventually climb to Mt. Everest Base Camp.  My mom was incredible and it was an honor to be her daughter!

Nepal...here I come!

So this is a photo from base camp and approximately where I will be going in November 2013 if all goes according to plan (keep in mind that the top of that mountain is roughly where a jumbo jet cruises - 29,000 ft.).  While it isn't a technical climb, it is 14 days of treking between roughly 8,000 ft and 18,000 ft.  The altitude will be a huge challenge in and of itself (and that's with Sherpas carrying our belongings).  However, I also need to begin building my endurance and ability to hike long distances without tiring.

I played tennis and softball in high school and actually think that if I stick to my careful plan I should be able to do this.  The leader of the trek said the most important thing is the ability to walk for long distances for many days.  So here's my plan of attack over the next couple years:

2011 - before I can start any serious training I need to lose roughly 40 lbs. so I'm focusing on that this year.  I will also begin walking 3-4 days per week and once fall comes I plan to try hiking on some area trails (I am shocked at how many there are) just to get myself used to the journey a bit.

2012 - In addition to continuing to lose weight and weekly walking/hiking I have a couple other goals.  First is to run three 5K's (one each season: spring, summer, fall).  I might not be able to run the whole way at first but I want to start to train for them over the winter.  This will help me with endurance.  Additionally, I plan to hike the tallest mountain in NYS: Mt. Marcy.  It's 5,344 ft. so only a quarter of the way I will be going but still it's a days journey and great training.  It's also special because my mom climbed it back in 2006 (more on that in the future).

2013 - In 2013 I hope to be able to climb a couple more Adirondack high peak's during the summer as well as continuing hiking, walking and running.  If my running goes well I may attempt a 10K. That's a big goal since I'm not a runner by any stretch.  Again, with hard work and dedication the majority of my weight should be off by then so running should be a bit of an easier prospect.

I may try to go out west a little bit in 2012/13 to start to figure out how I do with the altitude. I was in Colorado Springs 10 years ago and that was no issue for me, so perhaps a fun trip like that might be thrown on the schedule but it isn't a must.  The company paces everything purposefully so you can acclimatize along the way.

I get really pumped up planning it all out and thinking about what it will be like.  I am not always the most patient person in the world so having a plan that spells out how what I am doing now will help me achieve the end goal is important. 

Thanks for all the encouraging comments. So far no one has told me I'm absolutely crazy so that is a start! :-)  By the way, a great song to get me pumped about this trip is the new Coldplay single "Every teardrop is a waterfall". You can listen to it here.