A trip to Mount Si

It was a partially overcast pacific northwest summer day. The temperature was in the mid 70s. I had hardly a six-hour window to drive to the trail-head and be back for an appointment. I decided to go ahead anyway - a fact that I regretted later.

The four mile hike to the bottom of the haystack (the clump of rocks that you can see from far away) demands relentless climbing through switch backed trails except for a short stretch that is also a point of special interest. It is a 350 year old Douglas tree that survived the great fire in the 19th century. I completed the climbing in an hour and fifty minutes, which according to my colleague who is a veteran climber, was a bit too fast. I too realized it when a 20 minutes break was not enough to explore haystack any further. I would have needed another 20 minutes of rest before climbing to the top to see the North Bend town below. Since I was short on time, I decided that I would need to come back another day to do it.

On a side note, I met this girl on my way up, who was there walking the trail searching her soul, after her boyfriend had asked her to move out of her parent's home. We talked as we walked together for a few minutes. She is a college student aspiring for a teaching career and working for it carrying with her several grands of student loan. She is currently living with her parents so she does not have to pay rent. She is a devoted Christian too, who has vowed in an early age to practice abstinence before marriage and is now apprehensive of the fact that if she moved out, at some point her boyfriend would want to move in with her. The dilemma between her principles, finance and maintaining a relationship was all too evident. I moved on after suggesting she might find happiness by following what might make most sense from the point of view of her avowed principle as well as financial stability.

Back to the hiking - I returned with the conclusion that I must return with a companion, which will make the tedious four mile hike feel easier, and allowing sufficient time to climb the haystack all the way to the top.