mountain climbing and porch swing sitting

just sitting here, watching the tour, looking at the alps and the pounding of the pedals it takes to get to the top of each beuond category climb... it makes me out of breath. whether they are full of synthetic goodies or not, those men have to be stupendously fit to get up and over those hills in the time it takes them. i wonder whether their lungs burn, whether they cough at the terminus of each day. their legs must burn, but they have massages waiting at the close of each leg of the race. perhaps that is what i need, a massage. i'm pretty sure i still have some synthetic crap floating around my circulatory system.


this weekend i climbed a mountain, along with homero el bombero and wendel. i have to admit to a few things. first of all, there were a couple of small, fleeting moments when i genuinely thought i just wouldn't make it up. i was a little worried about my heart and/or my lungs actually exploding inside my chest. at least it would make for a less complicated carry-out. second, i am pretty damn amazed i made the 13 mile hike in the shape i did. once i got over the fear of not making it, i was so thrilled to get on top of the fire tower atop mt. carrigan, i almost started crying. i almost cried on a couple of occassions, out of happiness. lastly, i know i never could have done it by myself. homero and wendel set a good pace, waiting for me at times, urging me on with the promise of snacks and vague allusions to ice cream some time in the future. the views off the top were spectacular, we could see pretty much the entire range of mountains lining the kancamangus highway, all the way to mt. layfayette. there were also the presidentials, all the way up to the rock pile. we could also see the route back to glen and beyond along the highway, past attitash and into town. we could even spot jackson's own double head and the famous black mountain (poach, what?!). the air was clear and cool at the top and there were big popcorn clouds floating happily along. we spent a little while on top and then headed down the "steep" two mile or so descent along desolation trail (the gudebook doesn't lie) and eventually meandered back, slightly downhill with a bit of up for good measure back over the notch and down to the car. it was prime time for ice cream, and we helped ourselves to gigantic servings in waffle cones, utilizing the cones not for tastiness but because they held so much more ice cream. mmm...




the rest of the weekend was passed in mainly relaxing form. there was a nightly beer/beverage break - i enjoyed a foamie new england tour, including a pint of tuckerman's, a bottle of long trail, and a pint of one of the moat's wheat beers. que delicioso. there were tasty late dinners, featuring lettuce from the spruce garden, spiders (oh, i guess that was just a dinner guest) and fresh fish. there was the mandatory wah-mbulence call for homero, of course it happened when we finally ventured to the big city and we had to turn around just as we arrived at the grocery store. we also visited the farm to say hello to folks there. i was particularly happy to enjoy an oatmeal cookie and some strawberries and blueberries up there. we laughed and laughed. i am constantly amazed by my friends; they are incredible people and i really must admit to loving them all so much. i'm glad we're sticking together as we grow older and continue to play a role in each other's lives. if nothing else we know how to make fun of each other so well we can probably do it in our sleep. i really enjoyed my time up in the hamster this weekend. i'm lucky. i can't wait to go back. especially because the next time i head back, it'll probably be skiing time.


now, back to those men climbing the hills. they look like how i felt climbing the little hills of chester county this evening. very few little hills. someday...