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It was a nice light breezy day in the Black Hills of South Dakota that the WhiteDutchess and her queenly mother hiked up the tallest mountain in the area of the world. The peak was elevated at well over 7,ooo ft above sea level. They had packed a backpack full of water and snacks and started up the winding trail on that sunny hot afternoon. before the first quarter mile they had to stop several times to catch their breath, they were not used to the thin air compared to where they lived near sea level. Mother had made this trek before four years ago and in that short time she remarked how fewer trees there were due to an asian beetle eating the trees, causing little shade while they walked. The WhiteDutchess had started out wearing regular jeans but in the first mile she changed into denim cut off shorts and had already started to get a blister on the back of her right heel. the path at some points made it impossible to decide which way was the actual pathway, but yet they never made a wrong turn. Along the way Mother told stories about how a few days ago a hiker went missing on this very trail and the body was found in a lake nearby. Then she went into how if a bear or mountain lion attacked she would die defending her baby, though the chances werent likely, it was still possible. farther up near the tree line, they came upon what appeared to be horse droppings, the WhiteDutchess being her paranoid self assumed it was from a beat or mountain lion. later up the way they ran into a trio of mules, thus curing a portion of her paranoia. about a mile and a forth into the trip up, they came to a valley that had the view of the peak. it seemed more then a two miles away to the dutchess. The peak seemed as if it would never come, the path came very narrow in some cases, any wrong footing and she would plummet off the side of the mountain, and the terrain was rocky and tough, and in some places slippery. chipmunks scurried in the underbrush of the trees making noises the sounded of a cat sneaking up on prey, bunnies and birds created sounds of trees crashing due to a bear. by the time they reached the top, the dutchess did not want to go back down, she didnt want to rewalk all the miles or deal with what lived in the forrest. The view from the tower on the top was magnificient. you could see up to five surrounding states and the beautiful view of the great plains. The edge in some places was just a sheer drop off, so when she looked down her heart raced and her mind went slighty dizzy. eventually they started back down after eating a bit. the trail downward was in the sense easier, but after their blisters formed and their feet had taken all the shock waves they could handle, it was a painful assend down, each foot throbbing in pain, their necks kissed red by the sun. When they came down to the bottom where a lake was, they decided to go wait for their ride by the main building. there was a path around the lake and they figured it was the same distance both ways from the end of the path. so they go the way they havent gone before which turned out to be another mile upon their six and a half mile trip up and down the mountain. By the time they got down and around they expected their ride to be there, but he wasnt anywhere to be seen. they had no cell service but back at the tip top of the peak, so they could not call for him. after a frustrated hour of waiting he finally came around and picked them up. the dutchess says she might climb the mountain again, the mother says she never will.
 Lavigne_Lover · Sun Jun 17, 2012 @ 08:27am · 0 Comments |
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