The Ins and Outs of an Ordinary Life

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

On the Edge, or Ledge


On Sunday, I went hiking with my brother in Harriman State Park. We try to do this a few times a year, and neither of us had gone hiking all summer. It was a perfect day. We picked a hike that was described as "strenuous," featuring 5 climbs including Pingyp Mt. Pingyp is one of the steepest climbs in the park and a good part of it involves scrambling/climbing over a granite ledge that seemed almost vertical. OK, it wasn't El Capitan, but it was a little scary (I think my big brother was actually a little bit freaked out, more than he would admit). We didn't know this beforehand and once we started the ascent, there was no turning around. So up we went. Now pulling yourself over huge granite rocks when you are only 5 ft tall is hard work. My little legs just can't reach as far as the average person! But I never felt like I couldn't do it, I just knew I had to work harder and I wasn't too proud to crawl. So we made it, over Pingyp Mt. and 4 other climbs over 7 miles. Yay for me and big brother! but neither one of us brought a camera to document our feat. We both have digital cameras but neither one of us wanted to carry it. We both decided that in this day and age, this is truly ridiculous and that we both need to purchase smaller cameras. I didn't waste anytime, the next day I bought a Canon 850 Elph. There will be no more hikes without adequate photodocumentation (not that I would have had the nerve to reach for a camera while climbing this ledge). Here are some more pictures I found of some other hearty hikers on their way up Pingyp Mt. It gives you a little bit of the idea.
Pingyp1
Pingyp2
(are those dogs or mountain goats?)

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