Member-only story

Camelback Mountain Kicked My Ass

And I’m glad

Lisa Alexander
Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age
5 min readDec 6, 2022

--

Author’s view from near the top- author photo

I climbed Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, this past weekend with two of my coworkers. One of them, Julie, had already bailed, but Abby and I kept going. Julie had nothing to prove and knew her limitations. She said she would just chill and wait for Abby and me.

We had just passed the helicopter landing pad. Approximately 200 hikers need to be rescued from Camelback and surrounding trails each year.

My legs were shaky and I felt dizzy. I had taken a Xanax on the plane earlier that day, and I could still feel the effects.

“Shit. Abby, I need to stop for a second.”

About a half-hour earlier, Abby and I had encountered a local, who was booking it up the trail. He looked about 10 years older than me, and super fit.

“How far to the top?”

He looked at us with a scowl.

“That depends. 15 minutes?”

He seemed bothered that we had asked him the question and scurried away.

After the landing pad, the trail had become extremely treacherous. There was about a six-foot-wide climbing area and a major drop-off on either side. That 15 minutes turned into 30, and we weren't even at the top yet.

--

--

Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age
Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age

Published in Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” (Frank Lloyd Wright) Non-fiction pieces, personal essays and occasional poems that explore how we feel about how we age and offer tips for getting the most out of life.

Lisa Alexander
Lisa Alexander

Written by Lisa Alexander

Former English professor, full-time yoga teacher, failed Greek Orthodox. Searching for wisdom, clarity, and a fresh bag of circus peanuts.

Responses (5)