Climbing High

Today was a very nice southern California day, very pleasant weather, so I figured I would go biking an hour or two before the sun went down. There are a lot of hills around here which would make for good biking. I kind of miss bike riding. Biking in Memphis is none existent. There are a few trails at a park or on the river, but that's no fun. And I don't have the nads to ride a bike on the Memphis streets, its combat driving a car, no way I am gonna try it on a bike.

Well, I examined my old mountain bike, which somebody decided to leave outside for a while so it could get rained on and consequently get a tad bit rusty and decided riding was gonna have to wait.

I was marinating out loud when Pops heard me say, maybe I could walk the mountain behind the house. His ears perked up, "we can go to the top, check out the runway of the small airport near the house." To myself I am like, I don't know about the top, but I guess it would be a good walk. Pops is Mr.Fitness I have to admit, he stays active and fit working out three times a week and walking area mountain trails on the weekends.

I break out the boots and start walking towards the mountain. All week I have been peering at it out of the back yard. It's not all that tall or whatever, I have walked up bigger ones, but it might be capable of making me turn around before getting to the top.

There's a nice little trail on the mountain, which made the walk pretty easygoing. Had to hop over a few cactus and rocks but it was not big deal, it probably took us about 15 minutes to get to the top. It was a pretty nice view from up top. I don't know how high it was, but we were a little higher than some of the airplanes approaching the airport to land.

Well, I guess it time to turn around and head back down the trail before the sun goes down. Wrong. Mr. Adventure tells me to follow him this way, there is another trail down to the bottom. At first, I am like kool, lets go. But he starts walking in the high grass and shrubbery. I'm like ok, maybe I gotta cross over a little of this to get to the path. So we get to some huge boulders and he starts climbing them, I'm looking at him, like, aight, when I get over these damn rocks, there had better be a path....First of all, I have a thing for snakes, I don't like snakes, first of all their azzes is camouflaged so you can't see them, second we are walking in high shrubbery, third, we in their turf, fourth, they are camouflaged, fifth, they are camouflaged. I do watch the animal channel, I know how they can creep up on you and pimp you. The only thing going for me was the fact that is was the end of the day, and they are not likely to be out sunbathing, but still we in their turf. Plus, I remember one of the neighbors saying he has seen a few rattlers in the area. Anyway, so I get over the boulder and scan the area, I dont see no damn path anywhere around, yet he still walking through the shrubs. I'm thinking, Pops done set me up for the okeydoke, I knew it. His adventurous tail, gotta buck the system. At first thought, I was gonna turn around and head back, but then I was like, that's gonna be a punk move, aint gonna give him the joy of punking me. So I push on, over rocks, through shrubs, through high grass. I am looking at every things that moves. Meanwhile, he is jumping, and sliding down the side of the mountain having a grand time, until he comes to a little drop on the hill. I can see him marinating on his next move, part of me is like ha ha thats what you get trying to leave the path, the other part of me is like damn, now I gotta go back up that way, the snakes gonna really be waiting for me to come back up.

So I decide, to go on and jump, what's the worst that could happen, right? But before I did, I was like you knew it was no darn path down here, u just making this ish up as you go, if I get bit, its gonna be on you. God was watching after us, cause we made it on down, I did not see any snakes thank god, just one little jack rabbit. See if I walk with Pops anytime soon.