Chilly Wichita Falls Ides Of August Mountain Climbing

My photo taking skills do not do it justice, but in the picture I am on the summit of Mount Wichita, looking down one of the steep trails which leads to the summit, watching a young lady run, at high speed, up the mountain.

This was on Sunday, yesterday, the busiest I have ever seen the Mount Wichita area of Lake Wichita Park. Lots of mountain climbers.

Upon arrival at the Mount Wichita parking lot I saw a person running at high speed almost at the summit of the mountain.

Turns out it was the same lady you see in the photo. When she reached the summit I asked her what was wrong with her.

Nothing said she, I am just winded.

No, said I, I meant what is wrong with you that you are able to run up this steep mountain so fast, non-stop.

To which she told me the run I witnessed was her third of the day, with three more to come.

I then realized it was she I saw near the summit upon arrival.

She told me the run I witnessed was her fastest yet. 42 seconds. A smart phone was used to time the run.

I tried running up Mount Wichita the first time I climbed the mountain. I tried this because upon arrival that day I saw a guy running up the mountain, with that guy making it look easy.

It took me about 5 seconds of trying to run up the mountain to realize this was not possible in my sadly lacking state of fitness.

Yesterday I mountain climbed because I thought the newly arrived cool temperature would be conducive to easier mountain climbing. It wasn't.

Today is even cooler, at 77 degrees. Brrrrrr. But no wind. Yesterday was breezy.

I went swimming this morning soon after the sun's arrival. The pool lost a lot of its heat overnight. Not to the point of being cold, but much cooler.

A harbinger of the coming Fall.

And Winter.....