...By Nature

How can you tell when you might be crappy for relationships and perhaps meant for a lifetime of solitude? When you’re a loner by nature. How can you tell if you’re a loner by nature? When being around people too much can drive you batshit crazy. When you absolutely need constant alone time. At some point, I get really crabby.

Random person: Hi, Champagne. You hair looks great!

Me: Why can’t you just fall off a cliff and die already!!?

See. Crabby. Oh come on, I only say that out loud maybe half the time. So, yeah, being in a relationship can be bad, how do you explain the need for so much time alone? Thing is, I am at least aware of this problem I have…whenever I get cranky at others for no good apparent reason, I try to go do something by myself.

Another thing that can really drive a loner nuts: the idea that you might be afraid to go somewhere alone. Like I actually enjoy clubbing and going to nice restaurants (this one is really important to a food junkie like me) alone. One thing I’ve been afraid of, trying to hike Mailbox Peak again…so that’s what I did today for my solo trip.

The day started out typical Seattle rainy. I was a bit worried that Mailbox would be impossible to hike due to the steepness and possible mudslide. It ended up being one of my favorite hikes. I sometimes forget how much I love being by myself. I guess I was always a bit scared of hiking solo in general because a little gal all alone in the woods might not be the best idea. Still, being the only person in the woods was so wonderful. You only hear the sounds of rain, random birds and creaky old trees. I could feel my people weariness draining from me as I hiked along. I think I might have been the first person on the trail due to my early start because from start to the peak, I didn’t see anyone. I did see a few coming back down, but up was nice and quiet.

At some point, I somehow managed to get myself lost because I saw, on one side, a pile of snow, the other side, big boulder field…everything shrouded in heavy rain and fog. I chose the boulder field because I really wanted to avoid the snow at all cost since I’m still sporting a bruise from my hike in the Bandera snow. It happens. Hike along on snow, bam, and your feet falls through onto a pile of boulders.

Boulder field sucks and it’s my new thing to avoid at all cost because you have 500 different flavors of scary that go with it. To name a few, you have the “Loose Rocks Scary”, “Sharp Rocks Scary”, “Wet Rocks = Slippery Scary”, and “There Is No Fucking Trail Here Scary”.
<--(So happy to be off the boulder field, I took a picture of the first flower I saw.)

I realize as I’m climbing along, that this might not have been the exact same route I took last time, but I figured if I keep climbing up, I’m bound to be closer to the peak that I was previously. After a scrambling around on a place I belatedly realize I should not be, I somehow found the trail…off the to side.

<---(I now have to tiptoe to pose next to that same box. Squinty eyes because of the wind...because I'm racist, and Chinese.) When I got to the top, I noticed ALL the snow had melted up there and a second mailbox that was previously buried along with a newspaper bin was exposed. The view was pretty much worthless, rain clouds everywhere. I really didn’t mind though since I did get the lovely view last time, and this time it was really for the hike.

View of nothingness. How zen. And suck. -->
I sat down, had some sammich and hot chai! If you’ve never had hot chai at the top of some chilly mountain peak, I recommend you go do that now! It’s the best thing EVER! The first time I hiked with Daniel, while we were shivering at the top of Mt. Si, he randomly broke out with the Jetboil and made chai, now I’ve never been a chai fan, but I have been ever since. It’s just really nice to sit around with a cup of warm drink when it’s freezing ass cold out.

Happiness is a cup of hot chai at the right moment.

Althogether now! --->