It's over with. Bob the cat is sacked out on the couch, and Sadie the dog is doing the same, but on the floor. Sadie's pooped. And the Thoughtful Wanderer is happy. But let's go back a couple of hours and take it from there shall we?
I was awake very early this morning, and the crescent moon was hovering low in the east prior to the sunrise. The sky was perfectly clear, and this was the first day since arriving in Grand Forks back on February 25th, that this was the case. I took it as a good omen. You see, today was the day that I was scheduled to go back over to the house-sit on the Granby River, located about ten kilometers north of the town of Grand Forks. Bev and Brian, the owners, had decided to take a three day vacation to the States, and as their former housesitter was in town, it was a good opportunity for them to take a break, and for me, to go re-visit the place where just over a year ago, I fell and broke my leg.
Brian arrived early to collect me, and soon after, we arrived at their place, had a brief visit, before they headed out on their adventure, and me on mine. My adventure? Well, ever since I tumbled down the hill last year, I had wondered if I would get the opportunity to re-climb it and conquer my fears. Today that chance presented itself. Sadie was up for it, and I thought I was too.
That is, until we stood at the base of the hill and looked up. How long we stood there, I am not exactly sure, and I let fear take control of me many times while I thought about the ascent. Finally I asked Sadie if she was up to it, and because I didn't receive a negative response from her, I took my first tentative steps up.
We would climb a few feet, and stop, and the mistake I made early was to look back down the hill, and wonder if I would be able to go down once I got higher. What to do? Continue up, or call it a day right now and just head back to the safety and comfort of the house? Well, maybe just a few more feet up won't be that bad, so I continued to climb. Occasionally I would throw the ball back down the mountain so that Sadie could get some more exercise, and I could pause for a rest and try and decide if I should continue or not. It was a constant mental effort to concentrate on the task at hand, and try not to think back to last years' fall. At times I was winning this mental battle, and at other times, the thought of me climbing further made me weak at the knees. Still I continued on. Somehow, with Sadie there to talk to and be with, it seemed to make my journey somewhat less daunting.
About half way up now, and I managed to find a good rock to sit on for a few moments in the sun. Speaking of rocks, as I looked over the rocky landscape, I really couldn't help but wonder how on earth I managed to survive falling and only getting a broken leg last year. This was the first chance to have an up close and personal look at this hillside. Last year, it was just a blur as I bounced over this same rocky ground, to end up in a heap at the bottom. Feeling rested now, and seeing that we were now around half way up, it made sense to try going a few steps farther. Up and up Sadie and I climbed until we got to the section near the top where the angle changes dramatically and becomes significantly steeper. But now we were close to the top, and at this point I certainly wasn't going to stop.
The angle being so steep, I took extra care to make sure that each foot was planted firmly on the ground before going higher. A fall from here, would no doubt result in a few more broken bones, or worse. THAT WOULD BE BAD. My world at this point became very small and extremely focused. I was only concentrating on each hand hold and foot hold. A little bit higher now, and our goal is in sight.
Some loose rock underfoot reminded me that danger was always hovering in the background, and even though I could see the top, I must continue to just focus on each step. At this point, Sadie was already hanging out on the top, probably wondering what was taking me so long.
Finally around 11:30am on Saturday March 9, 2013 I sat down on the big flat rock that just over one year ago, I sat on just prior to my fall. So many memories both good and bad flooded into my mind, but the overall feeling was one of extreme happiness because I had faced this fear and managed to overcome it. Sadie was just sitting there wondering where her ball ended up.
Try as I might to re-construct the exact trajectory of my journey to the bottom last year, it was difficult to see just exactly how it all happened. I guess I will probably never know, but it doesn't really matter. However, just looking back down the mountain side at all the rocks, tree stumps and other nasty obstructions, I still find it hard to fathom how on earth I only broke my leg in five places.
So here we were, at the top, Sadie and I, and for a while we just sat there and enjoyed the view. And I really did enjoy the view but of course our job wasn't yet complete. Plenty of climbers have successfully climbed various peaks only to come to grief on the journey back down. I was certainly aware of this fact, and I knew that I had to remain extremely vigilant until we had made it safely back to the house.
I decided to down climb on the north side of the slope which I knew from last year was not as steep as what we had just climbed up. My one concern was the extent of the snow on that side, but it proved to be minimal and ever so slowly I picked my way back down to the safety of the house. Sadie was there waiting for me.
So as I stated at the beginning, it's over with now. Whether I ever get another chance to climb this hill again I don't know and I really don't care. What I set out to do has now been done, and life can move on for the Thoughtful Wanderer.
One final note. Of course the above journey could have all been made up in my head and typed out on the screen with no actual proof that it was ever accomplished. Thankfully my dear friend Mary, loaned me her ipod, so I have ample record in both still shots and video of this morning's journey. Now if I can figure out how to download some of these onto the blog, then it will be proof positive. Keep checking back to see if I have been successful with this endeavor.
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Next week, it's off to Victoria where four cats await my arrival, just in time for spring.
happy trails (and hill climbs)
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Well done on conquering that nasty hill after only 12 months!
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