The aroma of wild garlic was in the air as I approached the summit. I stopped and looked around. It took a few minutes for me to see the garlic plants. It looks a bit like a small green onion. I plucked a stalk from the ground, cleaned the root and bit in. The white tuber was cool on my tongue. The taste was mild, but still it was garlic. I looked around and found my dogs. They were patiently waiting just below the top of the hill. I smiled and called to them. In just a couple of minutes we were all standing together at the highest point, looking out over the Great Salt Lake.

Just 90 minutes earlier I began my walk. It was the usual Saturday morning adventure with the boys. Most of the time I walk to the Lake Bonneville trail, about 700 vertical feet above my home. The nearest access for me is a mile away. Once on the trail we walk north about a mile or so. Most days we see anywhere from one to a dozen deer. I've seen fox, skunk, squirrels and birds of prey at one time or another. And occasionally I will get close to a grouse or sage hen without noticing. Then they will fly up in a flurry and scare the #!&*% out of me. It's a fun walk and I'm home after an hour and a half, two at the most. It's a good workout for the boys and for me.

Today I started thinking about when I would finally get the top of my favorite peak. It is about 2200 vertical feet from home. I tried several times during the winter and early spring to get there. Each time I was turned back by deep drifts of snow. It had been over a year since I last stood on my little summit.

Just short of the Lake Bonneville trail I started doing some calculating. I was just short of 700 feet. At 660 feet of rise I was 30% of the way to the top. How long would it take me to get to 880 feet? I decided to find out. That part of the trail is very steep. I was out of breath and tired as I got to the ridge and followed up the line until I was certain to be above 880 feet. I checked my watch. Eight minutes. Then I wondered if I could pound out another 10% of the climb in another eight minutes. So I tried. Another nine minutes later I was at 1100, half way to the top.

I was also getting very tired, had no water and wondered if the boys were having any problems. So I waited for a couple of minutes. Then I wondered. How many minutes would it take to get to 1320 feet (60%). I started up the ridge again. Nine minutes later I was just below 1320 feet and feeling pretty good. The only problem there was that I am a bit superstitious. I couldn't turn back from 1300 feet. I had to go above 1400. And as long as I was at 1400, what would it take to get to 1540 and 70% of the way to the summit.

That's how my mind works. I love to manipulate the numbers, analyze what it will take to get the next 10%, and the next. Before long I was so close that, even though I was very tired, I was determined to push on to the top. As I approached 1600 feet it was 9:50 AM. I thought that, if all things went well, I could reach my goal by 10:20, rest for a few minutes and get home by 11:30. So I pushed on. Finding the garlic was just one more distraction that helped me forget about my fatigue, the time and other worries and propelled me to the top.

The boys and I stood there, out of breath, hot, tired and glad to be together. I'm sure they had no sense of accomplishment. Their satisfaction was found in being with me. They are my faithful companions. We looked around and I think it was Champ that first noticed a snow bank. He ran to it and started gulping down big chunks of snow. Bomsa and I followed. I sat down on the drift. It's old snow and covered with dust and dirt. I used my buck knife to dig down and clear away the bad snow. Pretty soon we were down to the good stuff. I scooped chunks of snow and both dogs chomped it down. My hands were frozen and I had to stop and warm them.

I laughed out loud. There we were. Tired. Hot. Sitting on a snow bank. Eating snow. Frozen hands. An unexpected treat and a strange adventure. Once refreshed we were all ready for our walk home. It was slow going. My legs felt rubbery and unsure. I took small steps and tried to make sure the footing was stable. I didn't need to fall.

On the return trip we heard birds singing, saw butterflies, felt the cool breeze of an unsettled spring day and enjoyed the experience. It was unexpected. Perhaps that's way it was so much fun and will remain a good memory for a long time to come............
10:15:27 PM    comment []