Stinson Mountain

Submitted by Pat

Stats
Mountain: Stinson Mountain (2,900)
Date: September 4, 2016
Miles: 3.6
Elevation Gain: 1,200
Trail: Stinson Mountain Trail

  • two hikers at the trailhead
Pat and NancyIn July of 2016 a small lump was found in my right breast after my yearly mammogram. A biopsy and a meeting with the surgeon was scheduled for August 12. At 8:00 am on August 16, the surgeon called and told me the tumor is malignant and I have Phase 1 breast cancer. From then on my life was a whirlwind of doctor’s appointments, surgery (lumpectomy), finding out the cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes and that the surgeon had gotten all of it. This hike is the first hike I have been on since the diagnosis and I am still pretty sore, but it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Great hike today. Although the trail is easy, I find myself breathing hard the whole way up. This is the first time I have seen Nancy since the cancer diagnosis and I talk to her about my experiences all the way up. I enjoy retelling my story despite the many twists and turns I take in the telling. The view at the top is not spectacular and there are way too many people. I look forward to more hiking and hope the radiation treatment scheduled for October will not slam me.

As I sit here I don’t feel that fullness of wanting to write, of having the words to express, of sitting on a bubble of ideas aching to explode out of me. I feel empty.