Setting Forth

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." ~John Muir

As many of you know, I decided this last Fall that I would climb Mt. Hood this year. I have never done an alpine climb before and the only mountains I have 'sumitted' in my lifetime were done courtesy of a gondola dropping me off.

I have been asked quite a few times on why would I want to do this. The answer to this is several fold. First, if you have grown up in Portland, you live under this majestic mountain in your view everyday...okay, on the days it is not cloudy. As a child, I used to dream of climbing it. In my teens, "Wy'east" became my playground of skiing and sledding. I moved away from Oregon after college and haven't lived in Portland in some time now, but visit family often. I think any Oregon native feels the same way, that seeing Hood always gives you the feeling of coming home.

Secondly, this last Fall, Natalie and I experienced the loss of our baby girl, Abby, while we were in Portland. There are no words to describe this experience or how I felt during those days. The best way is to say that you physically just do the motions of life to get through your day, yet your mind is elsewhere. If one asked me to recall a specific event during those days immediately after, I could not. I have glimpses of things going around me, but the content of those glimpses are empty. There was a moment though where reality jumped back. I was driving alone, having just left the funeral home with Abby's cremated remains, when I turned the corner on to Powell Road. There was Hood, standing as she always has, staring at me. Immediately I knew that I was set to climb her.

My partner in this adventure is a co-worker of mine, Brian. Brian spends his time doing outdoor type activities including kayaking, rafting, hiking, rock-climbing, and camping. If I remember correctly, I sent him a picture of Hood in an email with a comment of 'Wanna climb this?' I believe he replied back within a few seconds with 'Yeah, I'm down. When?" Good guy.

Our projected ascent date is 30 days from today, May 21st. Quite a bit of preparation to do over the next few weeks.

-Jacobson