I Feel Good

 

(spring blooms on a prickly pear atop A Mountain)

On March 13, 2022, I began the A Mountain Challenge. The goal is to reach Mount Everest (equivalent to 40 laps) by April 30. I reached the summit and completed the challenge on April 8!

A Mountain is a short, but steep climb. (1,495 ft elevation) Not going to lie... by the end I was done with it. I was tired of the climb, tired of picking up trash, tired of the tourist in their flip flops... But I never tire of the spectacular views seen from the top! The sprawling ASU campus and Tempe Town Lake appear calm from my perch in the sky. 

I love a good challenge and I LOVE feeling good! It was a good experience and although I complained about the tourists, I did meet some nice people. One man in particular was doing the challenge for the second year in a row. He was 67. During COVID he said he "drank too much and got fat" and needed to make some changes. He lost a lot of weight when he did it last year and decided he had more to lose. He was out there every day. I was there on the day he completed his 40th lap. He had begun at 6:30 that morning. (It was after 1:30 when I saw him). We stopped to say hi and he said, "this is it.. My 40th lap!" It was also his 12th for the day!!!! (The most I did in a day was 6). 

Kind, friendly, and inspiring. The world needs more of that!