Climb to Conquer Cancer

Warning:  Picture heavy!  :)

So my friend and I did this really neat thing on Saturday, August 18th.  It was called "Climb to Conquer Cancer" and it's literally a 'climb' up Snowbowl Road in Flagstaff.  She picked me up at 5:30 a.m. to be there at the start by 6:30.  I was quite surprised at how many people had already started the climb when we got there.  They completely shut down the road to 'outside' traffic.  Everyone walks on the left so that the right lane is left open for the buses that bring you back down *or emergency personnel*.  You can see that here in the first picture.  This was early on.  *I just love photo documenting some of my walks.*

It is indeed a steep climb, but we kept a pretty steady pace.  We even passed a few people.

The views were amazing.  The light green area...that's where we parked the car...waaaay down there!

The sun was coming through these aspens juuuust right.  Heaven!

These were flags in memory or in honor of those who have battled cancer.



Amazing!

Yes!  We did it!

The puffy arch was the actual finish line!

These two guys took off running right here at the end.  I just happened to catch them! :)

Sweaty, but we made it!  Such a great victory!

One last look at the mountain.  This was just before we left.

It was 7 miles up.  It was worth every step.  Would I do it again?  Absolutely!  Especially if it means we can be just two steps closer to finding a cure for cancers of every kind.  Would I have been able to do it last year?  Maybe.  But, I certainly am in much better shape this year than last.

Sometimes walking has a purpose other than being healthy.  Sometimes it's doing a 'climb' to remember.