All the way to the summit!

I hurt so much! I can barely make it from the couch to the kitchen for more water. Today I hiked South Sisters with two friends. And I made it all the way to the summit! Now, that might not sound too amazing, but it is for me! Besides, it is a tough hike. Tomorrow I went hiking with Jennifer...and it was bad! We tried Mt Bachelor, but my legs cramped very badly, and my asthma was worse than it's been for a loooong time! So we went back down, crossed the street and tried Tumalo Mt. I made it up that...but it's only 1.75 miles one way! It is about 2,000 feet elevation gain, but still! Sheesh. I literally was only able to take about 10 steps then had to stop!

So that night I was freakin out! How can I go to Peru when I can't even hike Tumalo Mt?!?!?!? And I knew I was supposed to hike South Sisters with Melanie and Laura S. on Sunday. With how bad Saturday's hikes had gone, I was really worried. I figured there was NO way I was going to make it up South Sisters. The South Sisters trail that we did was about 12 miles round trip with 4,900 feet elevation gain. Yikes! April did make me feel better about Machu Piccu, because as she pointed out, we won't have days of almost 5,000 feet elevation gain! Most days are about 2,000 or 3,000. Granted, it's at about 13,000 feet...but still, we won't have that intensity of climbing and descending.

This morning I warned Mel and Laura that I might not be able to make it. I took a book with me in case I had to turn back and wait for them at Moraine lake, or down at the Green Lakes trailhead. I think I would have done a lot better today if I hadn't hiked yesterday...or if I'd had water after about 2 miles! Hiking about 10 miles with that kind of elevation gain without water ... is NOT a good idea. I must have put my pack down sitting on the nozzle on my hydration pack and it all drained out. I had one water bottle with electrolytes, and that's it!

But I summited!!!! :) :) :) I'm so proud of myself. Mel and Laura went on ahead and I was much slower, but I made it! I just kept setting goals...the treeline, that next hump... until I was at the top! Hooray! The hike down was, for me, almost as difficult as up. My poor little knees and hips are so sore! And my feet...! Ugh. I'll have pics tomorrow when I can download them.

Off to drink another liter of water...and crawl upstairs to bed! :) 11 days to go...