I love love love Iron Mtn. I hike it all the time. In fact I was just there today (17th time). Once I watched the sunset from it and hiked back down in the dark.

For some reason, I have a hangup when it comes to longer hikes. I feel like I won’t make it or something. So I had the bright idea that I should get over this unreasonable fear by training on familiar territory.

So, the idea is to hike to the summit, back down to the gate, turn around and do it again. This will be 11.2 miles total and will hopefully allow me to break through the 6 mile barrier I seem to have right now.

There’s a register up top. The first time I get there, I will write down my intentions to return in a couple hours, which will definitely motivate me to complete the challenge.

And I really really want to do this.