Goals and crap like that

So, I'm just finishing up Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. For those of you who haven't read it...you really should. But, basically, it's about a middle aged guy who decides to hike the Appalachian Trail. Despite the fact that he--and his companion--are not at all suited for such an excursion, it really is an inspiring book. The Green Turtle actually did thru-hike the trail after reading this book--and I'm sure that he left a trail of letterboxes from Georgia to Maine!

But it got me thinking...if Bill can do this, could I? I'm not saying that I'm going to, or even wanting to, but would it even be in the realm of possibility? I guess so. I mean I'm in fairly good shape...I've never been camping (yet) but I've done my share of hiking. And really, the mountains on the east coast are nothing compared to what we have out here.

Speaking of out here, we do have the Pacific Crest Trail. The Green Turtle is saying he is going to thru-hike it next year and the Gear Head talks about hiking it. The truth is I have hiked it. Well, part of it. Sort of. Okay, not really.

There is a small section of the trail on Mt. Hood called Paradise Peak and, last year, I went with a group to give it a try. It starts at Timberline Lodge and goes around a glacier to some wonderful viewpoint and then you come back the way you came. Sounds easy enough, right?

Wrong! This was the first hike I was unable to finish. It was hell! I only made it half way before having to turn back and going back was just as hard, if not harder, than going out. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that at the end was Timberline lodge and the promise of overpriced alcohol. Then, to add insult to injury, someone who left the trailhead when I did and hiked the whole trail still made it back to the Lodge before I did.

Well, the shame was more than I could take. So, I vowed that the next year on the same weekend I would do this trail again and do the whole thing. That weekend was last weekend and I spent the weekend far away from the hiking trails. So much for that.

But now, reading Bryson, I feel guilty. Really, I shouldn't let something like a measly 2,650 mile hiking tail get the best of me--especially when I only plan to hike 6 miles of it. So, now--publicly to the dozen or so of you who read this--I vow that I will successfully hike the Paradise Peak portion of the Pacific Crest Trail next year during the first weekend of August.

Of course, there are some extenuating circumstances that would keep me off the trail:
1) Injury. Yes, something hurts, I won't go. I learned the hard way to take care of injuries! Last week I dropped a shampoo bottle on my foot while in the shower. I had a bruise, but ignored it and continued to wear 3 inch heels around. As a results, I was limited to flats for the past 3 days. Oh, the tragedy!
2) Bad weather, which means anything too hot, too cold or too wet.
3) Something better happening that weekend.

But, if none of those 3 things occur, I promise to be on the mountain in 51 weeks trying to make it to Paradise Peak!