Climbing Bear and Bull (Mountains)

In my Fantasy lululemon post, I mentioned one of my year's health goals: climb four local moutains. Since last weekend, I've climbed three.

Last week, I climbed Mount Taurus. Yesterday, I climbed West Mountain and Timpe-Torne, both with the Appalacian Mountain Club. This incredibly annoying woman was on both trips. Unkindly, I called her the Public Urinator because, instead of going behind a tree or rock to indicate privacy, this woman peed right by the trail. Of course, I couldn't not watch. Squatting by the path, she applied Carmax to her chapped mouth. Then she chugged water as a complete illustration to taking in what you give out.

Being a solo kind of girl, I considered the group dynamic model and tried to apply it to the menagerie of mental uniqueness. (On last week's trip, one of the hikers just decided to run down the mountain, poles and all. We never saw him again.)

Here is the model, best illustrated by the movie Breakfast Club:

• Phase 1: Do I really want to go in there?
• Phase 2: Don't slip. Get out of my way
• Phase 3: It's not so bad in here. You're okay too.
• Phase 4: I can still be me and still belong
• Phase 5: Am I ready to leave? Do I really care?

I'm not quite sure how he model applies to my experience. I'll blog about it when I get the idea.

I do want to mention my favorite part of both hikes. Yesterday, we finished the hike by going through Doodletown, an abandoned village now marked by crumbling garages and overgrown gardens. I thought it was a powerful testament to how humans live and build societies that may ultimately crumble.

Here is a photo of a Doodledown farm house. All that reman are the steps front steps: