Hiking the M...it wasn't pretty, but I did it!

This is the view that I saw on a Saturday morning, not too long ago, as I stood at the bottom of Mt. Sentinel in Missoula.  For those of you that might not know, Mt. Sentinel is the mountain that borders the University of Montana and is also home of the big "M" that can be seen for miles around.  The "M" is 620 feet up from where I took this picture.  In my six years living in Missoula, I never once climbed to the "M".

There were a couple different reasons for that.  First of all, I was pretty much terrified when I first arrived at college...and by "first arrived" I mean my whole entire first year.  I don't remember specifically what my reasoning was, but I am sure that it had something to do about how it was unsafe.  Then after a few years, it was just something I would have admitted to not doing.  I mean, who had not been up to the "M" by their junior year?

By my junior year, I had been lucky enough to have spent two summers at back home in Shelby, where it was pointed out in a constant reminder how much weight I had gained.  For the record, it was hardly anything...the typical freshman 15.  But by the time I started my junior year of college (which was when I met some of my dearest friends and my husband) I was convinced that I was huge and fat and there wasn't any physical way I would actually make it up to the "M" without going into cardiac arrest before the first switchback.  From there, I stopped even considering it and when Joe and I left Missoula in the fall of 2000, I left without having climbed the "M".  So, when I was making my list I decided that enough was enough.  I was going to climb that damn mountain.

In my trip preparations, I had talked to my friend Chris about my must-do's when in Missoula.  Unlike the last time I was there when my list of must-do's was nothing but a long list of restaurants I wanted to go to, this time I only had two things: weigh-in and hike the "M".  Chris, being the awesome person he is, offered to go with me.  So, the day before Joe, Taelin and I were supposed to fly back to Oregon, I left Taelin and Joe sleeping soundly, put on my tennis shoes, climbed in Chris' car and stood at the bottom of this mountain.

Let me just say that I made it up there.  Let me also say that it was hard for me....really hard.  Some of the switchbacks were so steep that I had to stop often because my legs were burning or my heart was pounding or I was out of breath...okay, in reality, most of the time when I stopped it was because of ALL of those things at the same time.  Nevertheless, I made it.  It was a good thing that Chris was there.  I don't think I would have kept going if it weren't for him.  And he might not know this (if I had to bet I would bet he does) but there were a couple times that after stopping, resting and starting again there were a few tears on my part because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it.  But I did...and here is the proof.

And, other than being able to say that I had done it and checking it off the list...here was my reward....