Grouse Grind successfully finished! I suppose just getting to the top is an accomplishment in itself. No air ambulance needed to be summoned, although I did think about calling them a couple of times. I do have to admit that the only thing that kept me going throughout the climb was not my desire to accomplish something that an untrained, fatty like me could do or for some "inner" feeling of sorts. No. What kept me climbing up that damn mountain was two fold: first, you can't go down. Down apparently is "prohibited". Seriously. I am not making that up. Second, was that fact that there was a woman on the trail with (and I am sooo not making this up either) jeans, a blouse (yes, a blouse), a purse AND Croc type shoes climbing the mountain at the same time! When I saw her I was astonished that someone would even attempt to climb the Grind in jeans (can you say chafing?) and all be damned if someone in Crocs was going to beat me up the mountain! Not bloody likely. So I suppose I should thank her for giving me the wherewithal to get my sorry ass moving (that and I was receiving a constant stream of texts from the money suckers who practically ran up the trail ahead of me and were hungry. I am so going to leave that alone for right now!) Anyway, I started out the adventure with gusto and determination. In no less than 15 minutes I was considering getting my mental health checked by a professional. Here is my Grind in a picture nutshell:
Here we go! At the bottom pumped up and ready to go.
I did repeat one select word over and over and over in my head. I will leave you with your imagination on that one!
I would have darn well cried if there were not so many people around.
And to conclude:
