finlayson but the weather was too cold and wet to get all the way to the top at nearly 2000 feet , so the climb turned to a walk , turned to a sit , turned to a watch , and there were squirrels and chipmunks and deer and raccoons and birds of all shapes and sizes and colours that fought for my attention as i sat at the bottom of the cold , wet , unclimbable hill , and they mocked me by ambling up it with ease .