Tonights 60 Minutes story of handicapped veterans climbing mountain peaks reminded me of my own climb of 94 hundred foot Mount McLoughlin in the Cascade Range of Southern Oregon. It was Labor Day of 1975 and rather than participate in the Jerry Lewis Telethon at the Radio/TV station we worked at, a co-worker and I decided to tackle the steep-sided lava cone peak on top of a dormant volcano, named after Hudsons Bay Company employee, John McLoughlin, in 1838. After scrambling up and over huge boulders above the tree line we could see the forest service fire lookout and as we came around the corner, encountered about 20 boys scouts running around the top. While I watched my heart beating through my shirt, we rested a few minutes and started the trek down to our vehicle. It was quite a feeling however, to be on top of that mountain, an experience Ive never forgotten and one I can share, to some degree, with the veterans showcased on TV. Its also the closest Ive come to walking any portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 04:39:30 +0000
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