Climbing Mount Defiance: Shaun, Seamus, and I put on our smirking faces
after reaching the views of Mount Hood at the top
Trying to beat 2012’s spectacular birthday weekend (I'll post more on our skydiving adventure next week!) would be futile. Why
even try? Skydiving, hiking, rock wall
climbing, go carts, dancing, live music, celebrating with friends and fam… the
bar was set a bit high last year!
Truth be told, I was planning to just skip my birthday this
year. Life’s been crazy since we got
home from our
Mexico mission trip a weekend ago (
link), and I haven't even started posting our Mexico blog posts yet. Last week was spent furiously catching up on
emails, messages, chores, assignments, and sermon prep. Plus, I worked at Delta all last
week, including on my birthday night.
My friends and family were sadly informed that I wouldn’t have time to
celebrate my birthday this year. But they wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.
PDX Airport: Kathy, Lena, and my parents treated me to a birthday dinner at Beaches on my Delta dinner break
My workweek was made a little
more birthday-ish by the 100+ messages,
calls, visits, and gifts from friends and family. It was more than I had planned, which was
nothing, and much more than I deserved.
**********
To squeeze in some off the clock fun for my birthday week, I reconnected with my long lost
hiking buddy Shaun for a climb up the brutal Mount Defiance on Saturday.
Shaun's dog Seamus hopped in the back of my Jeep for the warm air cruise.
Mount Defiance was always Shaun’s and my favorite
climb, and it’s a doozy. The steep 12.1
mile loop boasts nearly 5,000 of elevation gain to reach the highest point in
the Columbia River Gorge.
Climbing up one side...
The ascent to the summit of Mount Defiance isn’t so
bad. But it doesn’t take a
mountaineering expert to guess that the steep, slippery descent back down to the
trailhead is the most painful part. And
it’s also the most fun, assuming you don’t conform to the whole “control your
speed” mantra.
... And running back down the other side
Our trail run/plummet back down to the trailhead inevitably
hit a speed bump, in the form of one of the most spectacular near-wipeouts of
my life.
Miraculously, I narrowly avoided a rock implant in my skull
with a maneuver that only smashed up a couple of toes. The quick of my toenails were bruised,
from top to bottom. Who does that? Speechless, Shaun and I later conceded that I
must have broken at least a couple of physics laws just to land on my feet!
It goes without saying that Shaun’s and my previous Mount
Defiance speed records remain unchallenged. For now.
 |
| Saturday night fun in Hood River |
Against all odds, even a full work schedule couldn’t ruin my birthday week. God
is good. Now that I’ve finally
experienced a mellow birthday, I may have to hop back on board the crazy train
for next year's August 12!
We’ll see.
Coming next week on Garth’s Blog…
Last year’s birthday skydiving!
But first...
Our baby's gender is revealed!!
