Leximaven

I can’t wait. I even geeked out and made a spreedsheet of all my points of interests, mapped them in relation to how close they were to my hotel room and hyperlinked their Yelp rating. LOL!

Portland, here I come!

Never in my life would I have thought it possible for me to climb up a mountain. Not just any mountain, though. Camelback is said to be one of the toughest to climb (within city limits), especially if you climb the side without the railing, which I did.

It’s so hard to believe it’s been over a year since I grunted, moaned, laughed and forced myself up to the top. What a view! (Be careful if you’re scared of heights, like me, cuz there’s really nothing protecting you at the top and the wind gets gusty!)

My climbing companion was more a pro than I expected. When he said, “Let’s go hiking,” I thought about my leisure experience at South Mountain. Uhm, I was wrong. About 3/4 of the way up, he instructed me of the 3-point method: having 3 points of contact with the mountain at all times. Good to know. At that point, instinct had already kicked in and I was clinging to the side of the mountain like a fly clings to the windshield of a speeding car.

It’s can be quite scary to glance down and know that if your foot slipped…

Be careful of the super-charged buff boys running up and down the mountain in nothing but athletic shorts and shoes. I think I got passed several times by the same dude. Also, there may be dogs climbing too. I don’t know how you can bring a golden retriever to the summit – let alone a toy dog – but I saw it with my own eyes!

On the way down, I passed by two guys in pastel polyester suits and sweat bands. I sh*t you not. When I turned to see if my eyes had deceived me (post-climb hallucination?), I was confirmed and even more amused, since the entire canvas of their backs were soaked with seat, thanks to the oh-so-breathable poly suit jacket. My guess is these guys were a) crazy b) hung-over c) suicidal or d) all of the above.

So, yeah. Going up was hard. Coming down was hard. Going up and coming down were scary. My feet slipped alot, damn tennis shoes w/ horrible friction. Good thing I’m a pro at catching my balance!

Climbing this mountain will never be a hobby of mine. I like to keep my feet on solid ground. But, alas, I climbed the mountain on my own, all the way up to the top! How is cool is that?

When I reached the bottom safely, I did what can only be called a “happy dance,” waving my arms, kicking my feet and shouting, “I conquered Camelback Mountain! I conquered Camelback Mountain!”

Yep. It’s about time.