Ten Things I Learned from Climbing My First Mountain

A couple of weeks ago, my family and I enjoyed a week in the Colorado mountains.  We had a great time!  I enjoyed the entire week, but one of the many highlights happened early on our last full day there.  My dad, brother, and I hiked a mountain near where we were staying.  I had never hiked a mountain before, so it was a challenge, but a memorable one.  I certainly learned a few things...

1. There is a reason I live in the Great Plains.  Plains.  Flat.  Grassy.  Flat.  Very flat.  I like it that way - I love the wide open sky and beautiful sunrises and sunsets we have here.  This was probably a very little mountain (as mountains go), but given where I come from, it was big enough for my taste.

2. I have a very helpful brother.  Not only did he carry the bag with our water all the way up the mountain, but he said "We're almost there" about a dozen times.  It really helped - the first couple of times.

3. He doesn't think I'm quite as helpful.  Okay, so maybe I didn't need to ask "Are we there yet?" quite as often as I did, but I didn't mean for him to take it personally.

4. "Level of difficulty" is relative.  Seriously, this hike was supposed to be "easy" or "moderate."  Maybe for a marathon contestant, but not for me.

5. Gloves should be part of my mountain climbing gear.  If I ever do it again, that is.  Apparently I have a unique descent style; my dad and brother said it looked like a crab slide.  I didn't see how it looked, but it worked, right?  I survived the trip down.  That was the goal.

6. Some people have strange hobbies.  Like building stone structures atop steep slopes.  That and, of course, climbing said slopes.  But I digress...

7. Pictures don't do it justice.  It was amazing - a gorgeous panoramic view as far as they eye could see.  I tried to capture it on camera, but it is impossible to catch that in a picture (as you can see in the picture at the top of this post).  Besides - the sun was in my eyes.

8. I am glad I went.  So maybe it is a little cliche, but it really was worth it.  It was a great experience!  I'm not entirely convinced I want to do it again, though.

9. Some things aren't worth it.  Like I said, it was worth it - the first time.  But if I had left my jacket or some other personal item up there, forget it.  I don't think I need anything that much.

10.  You never know what is waiting around the next corner - or up the next mountain!  Who knows what adventure could happen?  It might be challenging, it might be something I never want to do again, but it can still be an adventure.  What great memories do you have because you tried something new?