Recent onset of Insanity

Dripping sweat, sleep deprived, blistered feet, sand covered legs, strange funky sunburn and sore muscles from head to foot. This is what I get as a result from thinking it would be fun to climb to the top of Mount Timpanogos. Lately, I have had a strange fetish with doing athletic/physically enduring activities. I think my fetish has come to an end.

Saturday morning I woke up at 5am to the sound of my roaring alarm clock. I rolled out of bed, poured myself a bowl of cereal, braided my hair, loaded my little backpack with all the "healthy food" I could find, and then I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, I am completely insane and I am going back to bed. Just as the thought came into my head there was a knock at the door and I no longer had the option of backing down.

Before I knew it I was stumbling out of the car half asleep and hoping it wouldn't be as bad as I had heard. Unfortunately I decided to go on this hike with three guys. Being the only girl I felt I had to prove myself and all other people of my gender by handling this extreme outing with ease and never slowing down the males! Within a few minutes I was gasping for breath and trying to make small chit chat without letting them hear my wheezing between words. Just as I thought I could not make it another step without my lungs exploding we reached the first mile marker. A beautiful waterfall that made for a perfect picture and an even better resting place. (Thank goodness for photo opps. That was the only things that got me breaks along the way).

Things slowed up a little. Speedy Gonzales, also known as Roland, trekked on ahead while Ben, Kenny, and myself set a little more relaxed pace. After 4 hours and 30 minutes we reached the top and I thought the hike was very much worth every minute of torture we had just been through. I basked in my success and felt as though I was one of the most accomplished people in the world. I continued to enjoy my newest accomplishment until Kenny said something about heading back.

"Woah, hold up just one second. No one said anything to me about having to go back". My mental state collapsed and I swore I would rather become a hairy forest girl then walk all the way back to where we had started. However, once again my pride got the better of me and I realized I had to continue on my quest to prove myself to these men.

To make a very long and torturous story short, we made it back to the car an awful 8 1/2 hours after we had begun. My feet are still sore, my back still aches, and my sunburn feels like it will never end. But I definitely feel like a better person and I learned that I really am just as good as any guy. I never once asked those guys for a break and I have done something that everyone needs to do at least once in their life. So now that, that is said and done ... Remind me never to do it again.

-Brooke Jean