A month with my cousin

Day Two: We Climb Mountains

I woke to birds chirping outside the window. The sun was already up, and already hot. It would be a great day to climb! The rain yesterday hardly lasted two hours so the ground was plenty dry, but it would keep the rocks cool enough to not burn our hands.

I walked down stairs, Maddie was wearing some black capris leggings with a teal stripe down the legs, and a tight pink tank top. I could see the outline of her sports bra through it. We apparently had the same idea for the day.

She turned to look at me and smiled. "Ready to climb?"

"Always!" I agreed. "But I need help getting clothes again."

She tiled her head. "You don't want to climb in Stitch pajamas? They're so cute!"

I glanced down at the oversized shirt that hang loosely of my shoulders, and the shockingly form fitting shorts that barely covered my butt. They both had small images of Stitch on them. "Not exactly climbing gear," I said.

She giggled and put her bowl of cereal on the counter. "Go on, Erin. We'll find you something more suitable." She pushed my upper back and gently guided me to her room.

Her room was painted a calming purple, and had some nice oak furniture in it. She went to the large dresser with a mirror over it and opened a drawer. She pulled out a pink pair of leggings, tossing them to the bed, which was not made. She opened another drawer and pulled out a black t-shirt, again tossing it to the bed. Lastly, she pulled a pair of white cotton panties out of yet another drawer and added them to the pile.

"That should work, I'll go get my mom's climb gear."

"No bra." I noticed.

Maddie thought it was a question, "I didn't want you climbing in one since you're not really used to the feeling. Safety first, especially when hundreds of feet off the ground on a sheer cliff. The leggings are similar to the compression shorts you usually wear and that T-shirt is from the men's department that I wear while climbing when in the fall. I'd give you a tank like mine, but without a bra it wouldn't look right."

I nodded, following her logic.

"Don't worry, though," she added. "I'll get you a really cute one with flowers on it once we're back and we can go try this new burger place!"

"Thought I'd get away without one today," I said to myself as she left the room.

I got dressed quickly. The panties were roomier than the ones I've wore so far, I suppose that was the point, mobility and all that. She was right about the leggings, they were capris like hers so they were a little longer than what I would usually wear, very similar. The shirt was just a shirt, so nothing new there, it just smelled like her laundry soap, flowery.

We got to the base of the cliff we were going to summit. It's not the biggest we've ever climbed, but it is the most secluded. One of our favorites, it's nestled in the woods about a mile off a trailhead in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Close to an abandoned mine that had collapsed years ago so no one comes around. There's a single tree at the top that casts great shade and is an excellent spot for lunch and a marvelous view. I was excited to see it again!

We got harnessed up and checked our equipment for quality. The anchors were new, and so was the rope but we still inspected it all. There was no base anchor at this climb so we decided to do a lead climb. Maddie would go up first and set the anchors and hook the rope in. I would follow behind and secure it all.

We tied ourselves together, hooked our carabiners, and began the accent.

Half way up the cliff we stopped for a breather. We're moving slower than we used to because my body isn't acclimated to this altitude anymore, but we both needed water anyway. I unclipped my water from my harness and took a long swig. The bottle slapped against my leg after I clipped it my harness again.