McClellan Butte - Worth it!

After one of the busiest weeks in recent memory, I decided to get out into the mountains yesterday after probably the longest stay away from them in over 15 years. This past winter I didn't ski after early January because of the convergence of bad snow and a very busy schedule. So yesterday, needing to prepare for an upcoming climb in June, I went out for the morning, breaking in the legs once again on McClellan Butte. The third gully was crossable only at a snow bridge which was pretty weak. So, being a father of three and all that, I elected to turn back at the snow bridge, promising myself to continue trying the Butte every time I can until I conquer it. It's a great workout, and much less crowded than the other training, Mt. Si.

Times alone in the mountains are good for prayer on the way up, and for listening to music on the way down. It's amazing how powerful the memory trigger is when it comes to music. A certain Dave Matthews song takes me to the Gorge with my kids. Rich Mullins takes me back to the days living in the mountains, and I'm suddenly outside on my deck looking at a million stars while I listen to him sing of peace. Simon and Garfunkel take me back further and I'm in Fresno, listening to them just as I was beginning to wonder what it was all about, in the late sixties when Woodstock and Vietnam were shouting questions so loudly that even the protective walls of my church sub-culture couldn't shut them out (thank God). Every song triggers a memory, but never more powerfully than when I'm hiking alone, downhill, in the mountains.