King of the Mountain....

i recently got some new gear

so i went up the mountain, no fear. 

but on the way down,

while clowning around,

i ended up flat on my rear.

My friend Megan was in town this weekend for a wedding, so i capitalized on a willing volunteer and we trekked the 1.3 miles up Camelback Mountain.  It's the highest point in Phoenix, and provides stellar views.  

The hike was pretty great, my stubby little body had fun crawling all over the red rocks.  It gets kind of intense at some points, though and requires finesse to get up over the big ones.  I was really looking forward to a particular section on the way down where you have the chance to rappel backwards using a guardrail.  ugh, i didnt get the chance.  On our way down, we were about 100 feet from the summit when I got silly.  I started getting overexcited and leaping from rock to rock.  I landed on some slippery pebbles and twisted my ankle.  DANG IT.  We had such a long way to go.  I ended up taking just as long to descend as to climb, and had to gingerly step.....all the way down the mountain.  

Was still worth it, i'm already planning my next trip up there.  

Moral of the story: she who jumps rocks rides on her butt the rest of the way down (howling internally!).