June 13. Day 165. Climb every mountain

Asking for help is actually a sign of strength not weakness, especially if you have given it a red hot go by yourself. It's just a recognition that no man (or woman, or dog) is an island and a friend in need is not a pain in the arse but an opportunity to lend a hand. Well that's both my philosophy and my excuse. All of which brings me to today's walk up Mount Cooth-tha as part of operation Global Corporate Challenge. It's yet another opportunity for me to clock up steps and Winkle to show that size doesn't matter. She's quite determined to keep up with the bigger boys in this case Rumple and my sister's dog Shadow. She's good. Very good but she has one fault which was exposed today (and which rather reminds me of me). Being the fearless little Miss, she charged after Rumple across the falls and up the other side. Shadow recognised his fears and didn't attempt it. Winkle managed it with ease but then couldn't work out how to make the return journey. She let out a few barks of distress to let us know she was stuck. It brought back strong memories of me climbing trees. I was awesome at getting up but pretty bloody useless at getting back down. So many times my father, who was not at all good at heights, had to coach me down. It's what families do. So with Winkle stuck on a bank across the falls there was nothing for it but to launch a rescue party. Rumple and I set off. Fortunately there is no vision of me climbing across slippery rocks. Seeing me approaching calmed her and then Rumple took over. He charged across, met her and she followed him back to safety. And then she was off as though nothing had happened. Because some times you just need to know there's a safety net to give you the confidence to have a red hot go.
Today's steps: 15, 278