Ascending Mt. Mckinley, AKA Denali…AKA Grindstone

Preamble:

It was June 13, 1913, that Harry Karstens led a team to summit Mt.Mckinley for the first time in history.  The tallest peak in North America.  So 13 was supposed to be our lucky number today.  Also the elevation is 20,310 feet.  Another lucky number.

Excited to see our Head Nantan Speedo in attendance…and wait…is that Zohan?!  Awesome.  Hey an FNG!!    Damn I better do this disclaimer right!!  Hit the 5 core principals and we were on our way.

Warm-O-Rama:

Mosey to the far corner of the large lot and did some WP, WMH, Hillbillys, mountain climbers, moroccan nightclubs.  We then planked while YHC explained the story behind the lucky numbers.

The Thang:

Thang 1:  Stayed right there in the corner of the lot. YHC had put two rows in the lot with cones.
Run to the first row, then Bear crawl 20 yards (20), do 3 burpees (3) and lunge walk 10 yards to the end of the lot (10).    20,310    see what I did there?  Run back to the start and R and R.
The goal was to do this 13 times to summit the mountain.  Got through 7 or 8 and YHC called it so we could go attempt Mt. Mckinley somewhere else.

Thang 2:  Mosey downhill next to the bball courts to the bottom by the tennis courts.  Everyone grab a coupon.
Instead of 11’s, we would do 14’s, because it takes 13 trips up the hill to hit the summit.
Wide Merkins at the bottom, mountain climbers at the top.  Carrying the coupon (backpack) up the hill to the top each time.  I think 1 pax (spitValve) hit the summit.  Many got close but we had to call it for time and run back to the flag.  Kudos to Zohan for going back and grabbing a heavier coupon!
We had time for 3 burpees before the clock hit 6:15
I claimed failure because we didn’t really hit the summit on either thang, but we got a great workout!

COT:

Keep in mind the Grow Ruck in September, and sign up for the challenge.

Our FNG was a 10 year veteran of the army as a Medic.  So what better name than Klinger!

Two recent stories shared by PAX involving suicides. a Mother of 3 who had just had a baby, and a teenager locally.  We hear way too many of these stories, and we need to do everything we can to foster communication with friends, family, neighbors, everyone we can touch to try and make a difference.  The real epidemic out there is mental illness.  We all need to be aware of those around us.  Talk to people. Ask questions. Show love and support. Be there.

Naked-Man Moleskin:

Love to lead this group.  And we had 13 PAX in attendance – lucky 13!!

The stories of suicides really hit hard this morning. A mother of 3 with a new baby….just plain awful.  Let’s do everything we can.