Pain. Cows. Chipmunks. All these can be experienced from the local mountain -- or large hill, whichever you prefer. On Monday, my friends and I decided to trek up to the top of the mountain.
6:40 AM
The sun was already bright and shining down. I just woke up, and I dragged myself out of bed groggily. I felt tired just thinking about the long trek up the mountain. I crammed down a bowl of cereal and turned on the television to get a gist of what the weather was going to be like.
"High 60s, low 70s."
Great. It's a sunny day, it's going to be hot, you're going to be climbing a mountain. What have I gotten myself into?
7:50 AM
Just left the house. I had to pick up five of my friends, since I sure as hell am not going to hike up the mountain by myself. I mean, who else would I force to carry me up the mountain when my legs collapsed?
8:00 AM
We've reached the parking lot of the mountain (that sounds kind-of strange). We bid farewell to my mom and we started on our journey to the summit of Mission Peak.
Gate Two
Gate Two is the gate where we started. We drove all the way up from Gate One, since that area is all pavement, so it's not really anything special. Gate One was the gently sloping part of the mountain. I started to get a mild pain in my leg and I started getting nervous. If I felt this way already, what was it going to be like on the upper parts of the mountain?
"Bleh, I hate nature." I grumbled.
Gate Three
After probably ten minutes of easy hiking, we reached Gate Three. It was starting to get steeper, and the throbbing pain in my leg was starting to get stronger. I took out of my iPod, to try and drown out the pain. Teenagers from California always have their iPod handy. ;) It's basic Survival 101. I nearly stepped into a cow pie. Ech.
After five minutes, the dull pain in my leg reared it's angry head and attacked me. My legs felt like they were going to explode. I looked around, and everyone else seemed to be fine. This is going to be a long hike...
"OWWWWW. OWWWW. OWWWW," I yelled, grabbing onto Juan's backpack.
"LET GO," he said angrily.
"IF I'M GOING DOWN, YOU'RE GOING DOWN WITH ME."
"CAN I HAVE A TISSUE?" I said, my allergies getting to me.
"SURE."
This was the scene throughout all of Gate Three. The final part of Gate Three was the worst. It involved a steep incline, and the path was filled with little pebbles, to make it even worse. On the bright side, we saw these little chipmunk-like creatures. We tried to catch one, but it was no use. We were in the shadow of the summit; it seemed so close, yet so far.
Gate Four
The final and most treacherous gate on the whole mountain. Most of Gate Four is a steep rise. It made Gate Three look like a gently sloping hill. We stopped at the base for about ten minutes to rest, drink water, and chat amongst ourselves before the final bid for the summit. The sun was high ahead, and it was about eleven o'clock.
Man, I should have listened to my mom and put on sunblock... The sun was starting to hurt my skin, and I could almost feel my skin getting darker and darker and darker... Well, I suppose it's customary for Californian teenagers to look like burnt potatoes. We finally started on our final journey to the peak, and it was hard. The path to the top was filled with large rocks, and you had to put your foot in these foot holes, made by past trekkers. The path was totally bare, and it seemed like an ancient river once was there.
On the final part of Gate Four, the path made an even steeper rise, and you had to be careful not to fall. The summit, still so close, yet so far. Once you reached the top of the path, it seemed like there was yet another path to hike across. We saw an old man hiking quickly across the path, and I was shocked.
"Dang, I must be out of shape... I'M GETTING FAT." I thought to myself.
The Summit
Finally. We were here at 2,400 feet, and we did it without anyone getting injured. It took us about two hours to get to this point. We could see the whole city, and could even see to San Francisco. You could see the pollution in the air, and if you looked the other way, you would see more mountains. There was a pole at the top, to mark the peak, and we all sat around there. Juan passed out chocolates, and we devoured them ravenously... well, at least I did. The breeze was comfortable, and I didn't really want to think about the descent. After about twenty-minutes at the top, we decided to make our way back down the mountain.
The Descent
Descending the mountain was painful. You had to make sure you didn't slip on a pebble and fall off the mountain. On the way to the base, Guan slipped and it was a reminder of how treacherous going down the mountain could be. Well, we all started laughing, but deep inside, we were concerned.
Aftermath
What I learned from this experience? Wear sunblock. Bring a walking stick. Find friends who will carry you up the mountain XD .
Page 1 of 1 pages
Permalink