45 degrees steep
Random Observation/Comment #89: Conversations tend to die off when you barely have energy to stay awake, let alone climb down a mountain. “So… what’s up?” “What’s up? What’s up!?! Shut the hell up! I’m going to rip your head off and crap down your neck! – Oh, Sorry! I’m really not a morning person…”
I urged my followers to begin our next journey down the mountain mostly because I would have needed a Phoenix Down if they didn’t move in the next minute. I knew that my Sun God would help warm me with its love and clemency. Continuous movement is essential during the ascent and descent to maintain blood circulation. If you stop for too long, you just fall asleep and won’t move for a really long time. You’d probably start hitting people who try to convince you to continue, but think otherwise because it would require exerting an amount of energy that just didn’t exist.
At one point, the mountain angered me. I wanted to jump up and down to stomp it and then verbally abuse it with “your mom” insults. It really didn’t help anything except for my insanity case. It was so cold and I was so tired that I just didn’t want to be there anymore. I wanted to sit down and fall asleep on the side of the mountain. The sandy, gravel made my socks brownish red and every hair on my body felt starchy – covered with a mixture of frozen sweat and random debris.
The descent had a completely different terrain and method of walking. I was used to slowly conquering one step at a time, but here, you should do this really weird horse trot to efficiently use your energy. Walking slowly down the 45 degree slant in wavy beach sand will quickly tire the back of your legs and take you forever. However, if you pretend like you’re skiing down the gravel with a few skips and small jumps, you’ll get down the mountain much more quickly. Be sure to walk in a zig zag path to get the most surface area on your shoes and to prevent rolling down the mountain from the momentum. Don’t be embarrassed if you collapse. You will definitely be exhausted and the new style of walking will take a little time to get used to. Luckily for you, there is plenty of time to practice before you reach the bottom. The layers of clothes were very important at this point because my clothes were completely drenched. I remembered advice about sunscreen, but I was too lazy to do anything of that sort. The main thing to keep in the back of your mind about the hike down is the lack of stations. Rest a little more often because you won’t be able to just rush to the next station to rest.
I felt terrible, but every time I looked up and outward around me, I was overwhelmed with the beauty in front of me. I couldn’t stay angry at the mountain when it gives me those puppy eyes. As I stumbled down the mountain like the undead, I looked to my left to see the path of our ascent. It was scary how much we climbed that night, and I was surprised that we made it that far.
We eventually made it back to the fifth station by 10AM. It’s actually quite a good feeling to see your accomplishments, but when you finish, you’ll be thinking “I’m never doing that again.” After thinking about it for an overly extended period of time, I feel exactly the same way. Let’s just keep it as a check off of the to-do list.
~See Lemons Wish for flat ground
the mountain is red?
the view
