December – Part Three – Why, hello 32! Birthday Part One

December 16, 2013.

Ah, my birthday.

The day I finally hiked Ob Hill.
The only day of the week that I was able to walk normally due to incredibly sore legs after said hike.

I started out my birthday at the fire house. At two minutes after midnight, I received what I would consider my first birthday present, a call to dispatch the guys on. Yes, I am a horribly wicked woman. I love waking up the kids in the middle of the night. Especially when I was getting out of work early.

Due to holidays, skipping meal breaks, and coming in on my off time, I was able to cut out of work and around 12:30. Once Cindy, a fellow dispatcher, came in from getting her mid-rats meal, I went home to change and grab my camera. I stopped off in the galley for a sandwich to take on my hike as well. My original plan was to be on top of Ob Hill at 04:02 AM. Why? 04:02 am is the actual time of my birth. Yes, I know I’m in a completely different time zone and that I was planning on being up there 18 hours before 04:02 am on the east coast, but c’est la vie.

So, after going to my room, changing and opening up my birthday gift from Rick and one of my gifts from Aunt Victoria, I had my bag loaded and was ready to tackle the hill.

I headed up the road and was shortly at the point I had reached before, but never went past.

I took a moment to look around at the town which was quietly sleeping, for the most part. The sky was a stunning shade of blue and a few wispy clouds swept their way across the azure.

I turned the opposite direction towards Castle Rock and Mt. Erebus and saw fog rolling in. The base of Castle Rock was obscured, as was part of our most active volcano.

Oh, I haven’t mentioned it before? We live pretty darn close to Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano in the world.

Right, next it was onward and upward.

My next stop was at the podium where the guest log book was SUPPOSED to be located, however, due to constant weather changes, the box it lives in was being replaced and there was no book on the podium. This means I’m going to have to climb the hill again so I can sign it.

As I got closer to the top, I kept staring at the cross and trying to figure out how much longer it would be to get there. It reminded me of being in New Zealand with Rick, hiking Mt. Sinclair and him reassuring me “it’s only 30 minutes before we get to the top” even though the summit looked DAYS away.

Remember, I’m from the flatlands, I don’t do up very often.

Then I reached a point in the path that divided. One trail went to the left, the other to the right. The problem I had was, I couldn’t see the cross any more. I wasn’t exactly sure which way to go. So I took the path to the left.

Then I discovered I chose poorly.

I was standing in front of a pretty steep incline with no more trail upwards. There was a part that lead around to the back side of the hill, but I know that I am a rather clumsy individual, and it would not be wise for me to attempt that trail. I backtracked to where the path divided, and headed up the other path.

Lo and behold, there was the cross, the summit and the view. And the wind.

The windchill kept me from staying at the summit until my goal time of 04:02, but it was still a glorious view!

After I got chilled, I started down the hill. My legs were all wobbly and at one point I slipped on a rock and landed on another rock. I knew at that point that I would have a bruise on my hind-end.

I finished the traverse down the hill, happily singing Happy Birthday to myself to help stay warm.

When I got back to the room, I was exhausted and sweaty. I called Rick to thank him for my gift and to chat for a bit before passing out.

I needed my beauty sleep. After all, my birthday soiree was later that evening.