Two weeks ago, Karen and I hiked Tibbits Mountain, using the trail like sane people. Today we headed for Devil's Gulch, but were turned back by too much snow on the road. The other women wanted to hike nearby Tibbits Mountain instead. We agreed.

"Let's climb up to that peak," Karen suggested near the start of the trail. "We can come down on the trail." We five women stood looking up, assessing the steepness.

"I can climb a mile up anything," I said. "Then another mile, and another..." We laughed.

"Don't look down," Karen told me. Up we went without a trail, gaining over 1,000 feet in elevation per mile. Another peak reared up. It got steeper as we climbed. When we got to the top of the third hill, I was done ascending.

"Lunchtime," I announced. "Karen, I have no burning urge to bag the peak like you do." We found a place to eat out of the wind.

My feet were painfully spasming from the arduous climb. I had no drinking cup. So, I poured Emergen-C powder into my palm, licked it off and washed it down with water, using the bite-valve on my Camelbak water bag. The feet spasms quickly stopped.

Tense and Scared Descending

Descending was dangerous. We traversed across extremely steep hillsides, dropping downhill with each dicey step. With loose boot laces, my feet slid around inside the boots.

I felt tense and scared, fighting panic. I hate steep drop-offs. Give me a trail, please. None of this dangerous, off-trail nonsense. I was slower than everyone else.

"Are you okay?" Lisa asked. "I'm not having fun," I replied. "This is scary for me."

Five times where it was too steep to walk, I sat down and slid on my butt on dirt, rocks and snow. "Whee!" I yelled gleefully, shooting downhill fast. Much easier than walking.

"Instead of stepping gingerly, stomp your boots into the dirt," Lisa advised. Because I'm lightweight, I tend to slip and slide on steep terrain.

With an unerring sense of direction, Karen eventually led us down to the trail. It was a relief. I sat down and tightened my boot laces. The trail was steep, too.

Karen found a swallowtail butterfly struggling in the cold, muddy trail. She rescued it and set it on a tree out of the wind.

By the end, we hiked six miles with over 4,000 feet of elevation gain.

What I Learned

1. Tighten boot laces before descending.
2. Even if I'm scared, I can do it.
3. There's no shame in glissading if it's too steep to walk.

"Kathleen, you did it!" Karen said, "even though you were scared. I feel proud of you."

"Let's do it again soon," she when we got to the car. "With practice, you will get used to it. It will become no big deal."