Day 9

alright, so i wake up and its 6:00am here. i cant go back to sleep , as much as i would love to, so i go ahead and pick out what im gonna wear on the hike, grab some of it (i had many layers picked out) and hit the showers...........today is the day we climb a mountain, something i had ALWAYS wanted to do ever since i can remember just didnt really think i would get the chance, and after i dry my hair, i walk downstairs and Paul, our overnight guy, (and what i mean by that is he comes in around like 11pm and stays till at least 8am, and he just makes sure no one tries to pull anything crazy during the night) says i bet ur not going running this morning! i said well actually im not but why you say that? its snowing outside! and by the look on his face i was thinking alot of snow, i ran to the window after i got threw jumping up and down, to see nothing but a few snow flurries! ????? i said paul, it is not! he started laughing, i just wanted to see how ud react at the mention of snow being that ur from louisiana and all! (shit head) so dave, our instructor who is going to take us, gets there at 7, takes the ones who want to go to the gym up to the gym with him, and they are back by 8:15 or so. well dave said the hike is still on, and by this time i had convienced myself i was not going. i told him i wasnt going to go, and he said,yes u r! i know how excited u were to do this, and besides, it will get u out of the house, do u really wanna just sit here all day? he had a point. so i run upstairs to get my shoes and a jacket. i had on 2 long sleeve shirts, my saints jersey (thanks baby for sending it! i got a kick out of what some people said, dave said, ok, so isnt it bad enough that ur rubbing it in our faces with the jersey? but shockey?? he is a former giants player! ) lol! anyay, the only jacket i have is my pepto pink aeropostal jogging suit jacket. i walk downstairs and he said, well, u dont have to worry about those bears not seeing u! u dont have a warmer jacket? its freeszing way up there and the wind is a bitch! i said no, so he found me a coat, we loaded up with food and water and a few extra sweatshirts, and off we went, it takes an hour to get there. we were going to a town called Hadley, and we are climbing Hadley mountain up to the top where the fire tower is (which i climbed that too by the way). ok, wait, let me back up a hair, ok, our retreat house, well there are 3 of them, ours is twin rivers, one is mountain view, and the other is called the executive retreat. ok, let me tell u about the executive retreat for a second. this one only houses 5 people, u have ur own room, there is a spa, a pool, a massage girl,(and how i knew there was a massage girl is that one of them mentioned on the way up the mountain that he hopes the massage girl comes today) and lots of other really nice things, its also like 22,000. ok, well a few of them are going with us. they are meeting up here and r going to follow us. well i get in our big ole white van (its just so lovely), and after we leave i turn around and see this big black shiny escalade following us and i said who is that and they said thats the executive group. what the hell???? we are rolling in a big white van and they are rolling in a brand new escalade?? we got jipped! lol! anyways, so we are headed there and i got a big ole seat to myself! yay!! after i loose phone signal, which wasnt long, i lay down and nap. i woke up at the perfect time too, we were entering the most amazing views of these mountains with a lake in the middle!! amazing!! i had never seen anything like it! A few mins later we are there. by this time i had to pee, i figured there would be a bathroom of some sorts at the parking lot or beginning of the trail, but no...........well damn.......(at least i learned how to squat and pee in my drinking days !! lol! sorry if that was gross) so i go into the woods and pee, ok, now we are all ready. poppy, our driver, is leading the fast group and dave is gonna lead the slow group. ok. i knew this was going to be hard but OMG, i haven't done anything this hard in years ........and years!2 miles up, steep too, some places i had to use my legs and hands to get up these big rocks, poppy and his group which was all the guys except Sam, he has plates in his knees, were soon gone. (there was only like 6 guys and me) so we took our time going up and i bet we had to take 20 3 min breaks on the way up becouse i could barely feel my legs!!!! at one point i had a tear fall cause it was so hard but i sucked it up and did it! if it wasnt for dave pushing me to keep going i would not have made it, he would say i know ur cussing me but once u get there u will be amazed at what u see and u will feel so good that u accomplished something so hard! and he was right! i got to the top and everyone hollered yay new orleans! (haha) ( oh, by the way, i picked up the nickname new orleans heading up the mountain) man was it one of the most beautiful things i had ever seen!!!

so then i climbed the fire tower, and man.....the wind was stronger than id ever felt wind to be!! but i held on and made it up there, and THAT view was incredible!

we sat up there, ate, and took a few pictures and back down we go...........this was sooooo much easier. but it was slick and i had to be careful not to bust my ass, and i didnt! almost did but i didnt! when i was getting close to the bottom, it was starting to hurt my knees. but we made it without stopping. yay!! i was so excited that i did it!! i had no idea it was that hard! i was glad to get in the van tho! dave said, well kim, we go on a hike almost ever 2 weeks wanna go back and i said HELL NO! im so glad i did it, even tho it was torture but it was awsome as well! ahhh, back at the house. first thing i did was flop on the couch i think. omg im gonna be so soar in the morning i can garentee u i wont be able to walk down the stairs!! well, i think we got to the house around like 3:15 or something, supper was at 5,(who eats supper at 5 anyway?? i hate that) i wasnt really hungry so i just ate some broccoli and a meatball with spagetti sause on it. by then i was starting to shiver, i still had on my 2 long sleeve shirts, saints jersey and pink jacket. we had a mandatory movie that everyone had to watch at 6:15, so right after supper i went upstairs, grabbed my comfurter, and came downstairs, claimed the recliner so i could ball up in this blanket and be comfy. i was soooo cold still and i could feel the fever setting in.......i wanted to go upstairs and get some aleve but i new if i took my covers off it would be like taking a very cold bath and u were cold to begin with! i would have gotten someone else to go get it but it was in my lock box, and we cant have anyone knowing the combination. so FINALLY about halfway threw the movie i was warming up. i gathered up enough nerve to go get some aleve. well it kicked in fast. i started sweating like crazy!! i felt horrible! i said forget this movie, i dont care if the instructor wants to know why i wasnt in there, i feel horrible. i went upstairs and got in my bed. but this time i guess it was like 7:30, i talked to billy and natalie and fell asleep.