Climbing a Mountain

This last weekend we went to Little Rock, Arkansas to visit family. We arrived Sunday evening at my brother's house where we celebrated my nephew's 16th birthday. My sis-in-law made some of her fabulous lasagna. Yummy!! Yes, I dipped heavily into my weekly points but it was well worth it.

We were also in town to celebrate my dad's 71st birthday and my parent's 46th anniversary. More of that later.

Before we left for Little Rock I had suggested to my hubby that we take the boys to Pinnacle Mountain. We planned on going in the morning but Chris, my hubby, walked outside to a flat tire on our van. It took the rest of the morning to get the tire fixed. We decided to go after lunch.

First I must say.....it has been a looonnnggg time since I have climbed Pinnacle Mountain. And second....I really don't consider Pinnacle a mountain but a very large hill. I've seen the Rocky Mountains!

My husband brought an extra shirt to put on for afterward, because of sweating. It was a cool day...who's going to sweat??

We started our trek up the "mountain" and by the time we were at marker 1, I was huffing and puffing. By marker 2 I was having to stop to catch my breath. Not sure why I was having so much difficulty breathing...I mean I have been doing deep water aerobics for 3 months...I shouldn't be having so much trouble breathing so soon. My hubby though is a sweetie and he would stop when I stopped.

By the time we got to marker 5 I decided I was NOT going any further up the "hill", especially since Chris told me it only got harder. I was gasping for air and my shirt was drenched with sweat. I figured I'd let the guys continue upwards and after I rested I would head back down.

So I sat on the only bench on the trail. The scenery was very peaceful and the breeze felt wonderful. I played around with my camera taking pictures and I watched a few people pass by. Pretty soon I was breathing normal.

But instead of going back down........I decided to keep going up. At my own pace. It wasn't too much further going up when I see my husband and one of my son's resting. They had not gone to the top but had decided to head back since I had. Except I hadn't.

I told them to go ahead on up and I was going to follow at my own pace. Of course my son was thrilled and he raced on ahead to find his older brother.

Anyways, upwards I trudged. One rock at a time. Try climbing stairs of uneven heights for 30 minutes and you'll start to get the idea of what I was doing.

I have no idea when my climb went from something "fun" to something "personal". Maybe when I was smack dab in the middle of the rock staircase and everywhere I looked all I saw was rocks.


[The top picture is looking upwards....see my hubby?]
[This bottom picture is my view looking downwards]


In the midst of these rocks, I started to think how my battle with losing weight was similar to this climb. In the past I would start out on my weight loss journey but I never could make it "to the top". Somewhere along the climb I would stop and instead of completing the climb I would start back to the beginning.

This climb came to represent my own personal journey. And now I HAD to make it to the top, no matter how long it took. No matter how many "baby steps" I had to take. And believe me I didn't progress at a fast rate. I'd climb 5 or 6 rocks and then I'd rest and catch my breath. Then I'd look up and pick a spot to aim for and start climbing again. Once I made it to my spot I'd rest up till the next goal.

And that's how I am tackling losing over 100 pounds. One small goal at a time.

I finally reached the top! Sweet Victory!! If I had the energy and coordination I would have jogged in a circle with my hands over my head like Rocky did when he made it to the top of the stairs. But I had a lot further to fall then he so I just asked my husband to take a picture. Here I am with two of my boys...do you notice that I am the only one who is sweating!!!



Of course now I was at the top and all I could think of is...how was I going to get all the way back down? My legs were already feeling like jell-o. But I made it down the same way I made it up...one step at a time.

By the time I reached the bottom my legs were quivering and I was soaked with sweat. In one way I was feeling pretty nasty but in another way I was feeling pretty GOOD...pretty darn good!! [you may not notice that from the picture but inside I was jumping up and down..LOL!!]

And I want to point out what the sign says...

West Summit Trail
Length 1 1/2 miles roundtrip.
Please allow two hours to complete.
Trail is steep and rugged and requires strenuous walking.