Almost on top of the world again

5 years and 3 months since my last visit, and 4 years 2 months since I have been unable, I finally reached the summit of Mt. Si once again. If you look back in my blog to 2005, this hike was a dream to achieve once again (along with my way out there aspirations of climbing to the summits of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Kilamanjaro and diving with great white sharks....no joke!).

It has been a long haul and I am not back to what normal was before radiosurgery. Yet accomplishing the endurance and balance to be able to hike the terrain to this 4, 167 foot summit is a HUGE hurdle I have overcome. It is something I have been working toward for the past 4 years and I am stoked, elated, overjoyed, satisfied, and in disbelief. There was a time after waiting for my balance to improve only to watch it slip further away, I was sad that I would never be able to venture to the top of this mountain again.

It is a challenging hike in the area. They say hiking up and down it 3 times is the equivalent of climbing Mt. Rainier and many climbers utilize it for training. The round trip hike is 8 miles of a gradual climb to the top.

My endurance is good n0w and I did not feel physically exhausted or tired. Nor was I as sore as I have been in the past hiking it. However, I did have the challenges of double vision and imbalance to contend with. 15 minutes into the hike the double vision set in again causing me to not be so certain about my footing. Within 20-30 minutes I had to start using my hiking poles to provide stability. Short breaks to shoot some photos, take a drink, and peel off layers of clothes, helped to allieviate the double vision episodes.

The most difficult part was traversing the very top where the terrain became rugged and rocky. To reach the best view, I had to scramble a field of large boulders. LOL I had no idea how I was going to get down. I counted on figuring that out later. I could not help myelf from going further up however I managed to get there (sticking my poles in my pack, scrambling and minor rock climbing). But the view is so incredible! Wouldn't you want to go all the way too?

I will be getting back into scuba diving. So maybe there is hope for those great white sharks, eh?