We didn't really freeze, but that was carved into the bench at the top of Saddle Mountain.
We were planning a youth trip up to the top tomorrow, but because of lack of camping and hot weather and the church van was in use we decided to postpone the trip. However, Kaitlin, Ian and I wanted to check it out and see if Ian and I could do it. Jackie wanted to go as well because she's leaving for Colorado soon to see her dad. So we all got together Sunday night and spent the night at our place to head up at 3 in the morning.
I can never sleep before a trip, so I got 1 hour of sleep that night, from 1 - 2 a.m., and then a little in the car ride over. So we stopped and picked up Jackie's...erm..."friend" along the way. He's a quiet kid named Noah who seemed pretty nice, and more than a little intimidated by some noisy 20 & 30 somethings.
So we got to the base of the mountain and we decided to use the restrooms down there before we went. UGH. The toilets didn't flush and people had been using them anyway. SO disgusting. So I decided I could hold it until later (and had no problems doing so every time I thought about using that restroom!). So off we went up the mountain, the first 1/4 mile was pretty steep, and I was starting to think I wasn't going to make it! The kids were already way ahead. Luckily after the 1/4 mile mark it leveled out quite a bit.
At about 1/2 mile Ian started feeling sick. We hadn't eaten breakfast (I had 1/2 a bagel before we left) and Ian had drank a bunch of coffee on the way there, plus the exertion that we weren't used to...and he started throwing up. Of course that brought to my head the song that Wayne Rowe taught us last year at camp "I think I'm gonna throw up, I think I'm gonna throw up, I think I'm gonna throw up my hands and praise the Lord!" So I started singing it, and I don't think Ian appreciated it, because I didn't get very far into the chorus before he glared at me. Oops! Hey he felt better afterwards and we were able to keep going, so that's all that matters, right?
We got up to 1 mile and I was feeling pretty proud of myself, and exhausted at the same time. I knew I was 1/2 way so it wasn't hard to convince myself to keep going. I just kept my eyes up, and kept thinking, "1 mile, 1 mile, I can do 1 mile!" We were making good time too...1/2 hour, which Kaitlin said was right where she expected us to be at this point.
After that mile it started getting steeper again though. Breaks were much more frequent, and I had to stop drinking so much water because it was making me feel a little sick to my stomach too. I was SO tired too, my head was swimming with thoughts of sleep, and it didn't help that we were now above the clouds and it looked like one massive comfy cottony bed. I just wanted to fall into the clouds and sleep. Somehow my common sense prevented me from doing so.
Did I fail to mention that the Saddle Mountain hike actually includes hiking up 2 mountains? Yeah Kaitlin failed to mention that too. See Saddle Mountain is shaped like a saddle (funny that, huh?) and you hike up the back of the saddle, down a valley to the "seat" and then up to the horn. Fun huh? Not so much. We got to the top of the back side of the saddle and looked at what we had left. I think I said something like, "oh crud," Ian laughed nervously, and Kaitlin was raring to go! I hated Kaitlin by this time in the hike.
I can do it. I know I can do it. We started downhill. All I could think of was how we had to go back up this hill when we were done, but it went quickly (as downhill normally does) and we started up the last part of the journey, the 1/2 mile left to the top. We could see the kids way ahead of us. I hated them by this time in the hike.
I hate the last 1/2 mile up Saddle Mountain. It's HARD. Why is it so hard? Why don't they have a bridge that you can walk across from the back of the saddle to the horn? I mean really...people should think of these things! However I kept going, taking a break when I needed to, telling the others to go on without me.
About 1/8 mile from the top I sat down on a little ledge and gave up. My body said "NO, NO, NO." My head said, "You can't do this." A little voice inside me said, "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." I wanted to tell the little voice to be quiet, because I was growing VERY weary and I felt like I could very well faint right then and there. I wasn't able to do it!
I decided to take 1 step.
I did.
I decided to take another step.
I did.
That's how I made it the rest of the way up the mountain. Literally one step at a time. My body was screaming at me, my mind was racing, then I heard Jackie say "JULIE!! You're ALMOST here!!!" And I looked up and there was one little corner, a small bit of stairs and the top!
What came into my head right then?
"She'll be comin' around the mountain when she comes..."
Yeah, seriously, if I hadn't been too tired to speak and completely out of breath, I probably would have sang it. So I giggled in my head (too tired to giggle out loud), and kept trucking up the steps to the top! We had also decided that we would go to Pig N' Pancake for breakfast afterwards, so the thought of strawberry pancakes helped me out a bit too!
A-MAY-ZING (yeah I know it's spelled wrong, but say it that way in your head, ok?). Totally worth every step. Totally worth my thighs feeling like they were on fire and my calves feeling like they were going to fall off.
I did it.
I couldn't believe it, but I did it!
We hung out at the top and took several pictures and ate some pretzels and drank a LOT of water, then sadly decided that it was time to head back DOWN the mountain. 2 hours up, 1/2 hour at the top, 1 1/2 hours back down. It probably would have only taken us an hour back down, but we stopped for 2 phone calls and lots of pictures! I stopped hating Kaitlin by the time we started down the mountain.
The trip up wasn't too bad on my feet, but the trip down I was getting sore toes from my feet pushing on my shoes. My right foot was especially hurting, I couldn't wait to get to the car and put on my flip-flops....OH NO! I forgot to bring my flip flops!
So we piled in the car and headed to Cannon Beach. YES Strawberry pancakes! I checked my still socked 
foot for blood and didn't see any, so I put my shoes back on (OUCH) and ate my strawberry pancakes.
Afterwards we went looking for flip flops, but couldn't find any for less than $12 and the cheapskate I am couldn't pay that much for flip flops! So we went to the beach and I took off my shoes and to my horror it looked like there were 6 toes on my right foot! There was a blister that puffed my pinky toe up to 2x the size it normally is.....OUCH!!!! So I soaked it in ocean water for a while (aaaahhhh) and then had to put my shoes back on when we left! Ian was feeling more acid-stomache ache so we went to a merchantile there in town and YAY they had flip flops! Everyone was grossed out by my huge blister, but I was feeling sooooo better! Sorry I didn't get a picture!
Kaitlin met up with a friend of hers that was going into the Peace Corp. for 2 years in Africa and this was her last opportunity to see her. So while they all talked on the beach Ian and I sat and talked and didn't move a muscle for a long time. It was nice.
Then it was time to take Noah back to Seaside (where his parents would pick him up) and then back home. YAY!!!
We ended up getting home at like 7:15 and Ian and I were asleep on the couch by 8...where we stayed all night long.
Yep, I'm sore today! Very sore! But I'm glad that I went, and I feel so proud of myself for going!! I think I even like Kaitlin again!
