So the week before we go to Hawaii my brother Joe calls me up and asks me if I wanted to try Mt. Humphries again. My first response was, "No!" Not because I didn't want to do the hike, but in my mind I felt I didn't have the time. I hadn't packed or even begun to think about what I needed to take to Hawaii, and preparing for other things that week, like Activity Days, was making me feel busy. When I told Ben that Joe wanted to go he asked me why I wasn't. I told him I had too much going on, and when he asked me to tell him what, I couldn't really think of anything I had to get done on Saturday. Packing for myself takes less than an hour, and in reality Activity Days was already planned out. So I called my brother up and told him we were on! Aubrie decided to stay home this time, when I realized the hike was 4 hours up and 3 and 1/2 down. We did leave much later this time...about 7:00 am!
We finally picked a perfect day. No moisture and great temperatures. The hike was grueling in some spots, but overall it was very enjoyable. We made it to the saddle in about 2 hours. There we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the view, resting up for the hardest part of the hike. The last hour of the trail was through rocky tundra. There was a lot more climbing than just walking a trail. There were 3 false peaks before you got to the final one. During the last hour we passed a boyscout troop. We had gotten a good distance ahead of them, and it then became my goal to not take so many rests that it would allow for them to pass us. It's not that I cared to beat them, it just was how I paced myself. The last few hundred feet they started to close in on us, and I could hear Joe behind me saying, "They are on our heals!" I wanted to stop so bad, but I pushed up the last slope to the very top. I had to stop and catch my breath for a few minutes before I could take in this view!
We sat up top for awhile and talked to other hikers and ate some snacks. At that point I wouldn't have minded hand gliding to the bottom, or being picked up by helicopter. Ha! Knowing I had a 3 1/2 hour hike back down wasn't so appealing. We finally started our descent and it actually was quite nice. I ran the parts that had a smooth trail. Surprisingly my energy levels were high. It was all going great, until about an hour from the bottom I twisted my ankle when I stepped on a large root on the trail. It hurt so bad and I instantly wondered how in the world I was going to get down from the mountain. Then I thought, "GREAT! I was worried something like this would happen right before our Hawaii trip and it did!" I sat there wondering what to do. I knew I didn't want to be rescued! After resting for a bit, I started hobbling down the mountain. After about 15 minutes, I stopped to sit on a log and rest it. Two guys passed by and asked if I wanted them to call for help. I told them I would be alright. Joe told me we should sit there for awhile. Instantly I had the feeling that I needed to get up and keep moving. I didn't hesitate. Just a minute down the trail I passed those same guys and one of them offered me their hiking poles. Using them helped so much, and allowed me to get down much faster. I know I was prompted to get up just so I could get those.
What a great feeling it was to finally get back to the car. We stopped at the nearest gas station where we got some ice, and I iced it on and off all the way home. Despite the twisted ankle (which stopped hurting after a few days, and started hurting again after Hawaii), I was so glad to finally accomplish that hike. One more check on my bucket list! LOL
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