Jill's Journal: Somehow I must have forgotten what a hard-core hiker Kristi is…and, more importantly, I forgot that former hiking companions have labeled her the “hiking Nazi.” (That alone should have tipped me off to something. How conveniently we forget.) So, when Kristi told me Madonna Mountain made a nice hike and that her quickest time for this particular hike was around 45 minutes to go up and back, I naively thought it would be a good outing for the girls. Even more naively, I thought it would be gentle terrain since she used to run it.
Yesterday morning we arrived at Madonna (named for the big ranching family from this area and not the pop icon) with the mountain looming boldly in front of us. I vaguely remember thinking it seemed awfully big for such a quick hike. Still, I blindly (and still naively) followed my sister and Meisje with three little girls in tow.
The Madonna’s official name is Cerro San Luis and it’s one of the “seven sisters,” seven peaks all in a row of extinct volcanoes that end with Morro Rock at the ocean. We had a ball going up …and up …and up some more. Somewhere along the line I learned, to my astonishment, the hike to the top and back down was 5.2 miles, more than two miles farther than the girls had ever done before, and we’re not talking a gentle, flat walk. But by that time we were committed and soldiered on. All three girls did utterly fantastic all the way to the top and I was so proud! We thought we were home free. If the kids did so great on the way up, the way down should be a piece of cake, right? Oh, how wrong we were. Somewhere on the way down, the girls decided we had them on a death march. We slipped and slid and all three girls (plus me!) fell at least once. That took all the fun away and they were D-O-N-E.
Erika was christened “Kid Hiker of the Day” because she kept going and going with no complaints. Yay, Erika! About halfway down the mountain, Madelyn decided she was furious with both me and Kristi for “picking this hike,” but thankfully kept going. It was all Kristi and I could do to stifle our laughter at her enraged little face and body language. And poor little Victoria’s legs just quit, causing me to surrender my usual policy of not carrying her on hikes.
Despite the two little girls fizzling out on the way back down, it was an awesome way to spend a morning, complete with beautiful views stretching all the way to the ocean. I believe it took us around three hours total, which actually, isn’t bad with little ones. How Kristi has managed to run up and down that mountain in less than 45 minutes boggles my mind. She is so hard core, clearly a fitness guru, and most definitely not someone to be trifled with! I want to be her when I grow up. :)
Jill's Journal: Somehow I must have forgotten what a hard-core hiker Kristi is…and, more importantly, I forgot that former hiking companions have labeled her the “hiking Nazi.” (That alone should have tipped me off to something. How conveniently we forget.) So, when Kristi told me Madonna Mountain made a nice hike and that her quickest time for this particular hike was around 45 minutes to go up and back, I naively thought it would be a good outing for the girls. Even more naively, I thought it would be gentle terrain since she used to run it. 
Yesterday morning we arrived at Madonna (named for the big ranching family from this area and not the pop icon) with the mountain looming boldly in front of us. I vaguely remember thinking it seemed awfully big for such a quick hike. Still, I blindly (and still naively) followed my sister and Meisje with three little girls in tow. 
The Madonna’s official name is Cerro San Luis and it’s one of the “seven sisters,” seven peaks all in a row of extinct volcanoes that end with Morro Rock at the ocean. We had a ball going up …and up …and up some more. Somewhere along the line I learned, to my astonishment, the hike to the top and back down was 5.2 miles, more than two miles farther than the girls had ever done before, and we’re not talking a gentle, flat walk. But by that time we were committed and soldiered on. All three girls did utterly fantastic all the way to the top and I was so proud! We thought we were home free. If the kids did so great on the way up, the way down should be a piece of cake, right? Oh, how wrong we were. Somewhere on the way down, the girls decided we had them on a death march. We slipped and slid and all three girls (plus me!) fell at least once. That took all the fun away and they were D-O-N-E.
Erika was christened “Kid Hiker of the Day” because she kept going and going with no complaints. Yay, Erika! About halfway down the mountain, Madelyn decided she was furious with both me and Kristi for “picking this hike,” but thankfully kept going. It was all Kristi and I could do to stifle our laughter at her enraged little face and body language. And poor little Victoria’s legs just quit, causing me to surrender my usual policy of not carrying her on hikes. 
Despite the two little girls fizzling out on the way back down, it was an awesome way to spend a morning, complete with beautiful views stretching all the way to the ocean. I believe it took us around three hours total, which actually, isn’t bad with little ones. How Kristi has managed to run up and down that mountain in less than 45 minutes boggles my mind. She is so hard core, clearly a fitness guru, and most definitely not someone to be trifled with! I want to be her when I grow up. :) 
1 comment:
Madonna is actually easier than Bishop's Peak, its closest sister just across the road, and we've made that hike twice with our valiant hikers. OOhhhhh, how you've made us all miss that little adventure available at any time. We were so blessed to live there. In fact, you could have seen our home in SLO, from your hike as we were right at the base of Madonna Mtn. and could see it every time we walked up our street.
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