How I did it: I thought about the mountain trail a lot, its challenges and undiscovered (to me) beauty, while slogging away at the gym or up and down lesser (to me) heights.

Lessons & tips: I'll try to add to this entry later.  In brief: be cautious, be prepared, bring plenty of water and for god's sake don't sit in the tin-roofed shack on top during a rainstorm or actually be anywhere near it around noon or afternoon.  I heard a hair-raising story from a very fit young woman who'd blazed up the trail and back in a day with her dad and uncle; they did both of these things and as she told me, "Lightning struck the ground just about 200 yards ahead of us; it was an experience I'll never forget."  And she was damn lucky to be able to tell me about it!

Resources: Web, REI, other hikers

Sep 14, 12:21AM PDT | 0 comments | 1 cheer