Climbing Mt Adams

I got to spend some wonderful time with 2 of my favorite girls climbing Mt Adams the past few days. Christa proved to me once again that she is a beautiful person and I am blessed to be with her. Each step took her further and further away from her comfort zone, yet she continued on with an adventurous spirit.
The weather was great and made for some fantastic views.
We planed to hike half way on day one and spend the night. Then we would climb to the summit on day 2 and hike all of the way out on that same day. However, the second day's hike went slower than expected and after a difficult assessment of our energy level, the conditions and the time, we turned away from the summit after hiking within 500 vertical feet of it. By the time we got back to our mid-mountain camp a small storm was brewing and we decided to spend another night there. We hiked out on day 3 with frequent rain-showers hastening our pace to the car where we had dry clothes waiting.
We got home today with sore muscles, some sunburn and a determination to go back another day. I certainly don't feel like the trip was a failure, my intention was to spend some time with Christa and have an experience with her that was unique to the 2 of us. That goal was definitely achieved. (Now if only I had remembered to re-apply sunscreen every couple of hours, I wouldn't be in so much pain now-ouch.)