Hiking Shaw Butte

My daughter Kathleen and I went to North Mountain Park and hiked the Shaw Butte trail. I’ve read different things as to how long the trail is and how high it goes – consensus seems to be that the trail is about five miles long and it is a climb of about 1000 feet to get to the top.

Whatever the exact measures are, it was enough to have my thighs aching on the upward portion. This is one of those occasions when it’s good to have a workout partner because, had I been alone, I probably would have quit halfway up. Kathleen’s presence shamed me into finishing, though she was in maybe worse shape than I was by the time we reached the top – her knees were hurting her badly.

There was a guy climbing just ahead of us, wearing a weight vest. We were agreed that he was insane.

It’s a challenging climb for someone not used to mountain trails, but I guess it would be no big deal for more experienced hikers (the rating is ‘moderate to difficult’). There were some very nice views over the Valley from the top.

Anyway, we made it all the way up and (just about as tough) down, in a little over two hours. I was really, really glad when the North Mountain Visitor Center was in view.

Since I'm planning to take lessons in mountain-climbing when I get to Ecuador, this was a real eye-opener as to how far I am from being ready to take on any serious mountain.