Mount Olympus: Check that one off the list
Sure guys, no big deal.
Next thing I know they have a date set and have wrapped my sister Staci into coming along too.
Ordinarily a tough hike such as this would not intimidate me. Hell, I backpacked through the Grand Canyon after all! But tackling Mount Olympus with my father and sister who, admittedly, had not been hiking all year, scared the living daylights out of me. My father has hiked Mount Olympus twice before. This may have made him feel reassured he could handle it, but as for me, knowing that the last time he hiked it was more than 15 years ago did little ease my growing fear that he would have a heart-attack halfway up the trail, die, and it would all be my fault.
I spent the weeks proceeding the hike going on evening hikes with Cute and doing butt busting cardio at the gym, while my father and sister continued to live their busy lives not feeling the urge to get physically prepared.
He quickly backed down and took the pack after Cute, Staci and I all teamed up and insisted otherwise.
We got a mildly early start on our hike which was supposed to take upwards of five hours.
It took us eight.
Mind you, this was eight hours in mid-August on a west facing trail with little shade from the scorching sun.
On the drive home my mother scolded me for “dragging” my father on such a difficult hike. Dragging! Ha! Does it look like anyone in this world could force my father to do anything?
Look at the smile on his face. It’s so perfectly clear that his love for the mountains, stubbornness, and often impractical sense of being able to do anything in the world is so deeply ingrained in me that I don’t even realize it!
To see more pictures of our hike check out my Flickr account.
Blogfully yours,
Summer