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Wednesday

New Respect


Last weekend I attempted to hike Mount Timpanogos with a girlfriend. I've climbed that mountain three times before. Twice with my parents as a teenager & once with my husband, long before my son was born. It's a great hike. There are beautiful wildflowers, a tremendous view from the top & you get to slide down some snow on the back side. Climbing up a mountain is much more rewarding when you get to slide down it! I grew up hiking, white water rafting, & camping with my family. I feel very comfortable in that type of element. I feel like I'm in control & know what I'm doing. I'm always well prepared for the worst possible scenario. I love to be prepared. When someone forgets something, important or unimportant, I love to be able to help out by sharing. Anyway, this past weekend was the first time I had done something big and a little daring in the great outdoors without being accompanied by a man. It was incredibly liberating to feel completely in control. We didn't have a man who was trying to race to the top. We could go at our own speed & set our own pace. It was so much fun! I do like having my husband along for these types of adventures, but there was something different about just going with another girl. It made the hike completely new & exciting again. It was similar to the feeling I had when I first got my drivers license. I felt that the world was at my feet. So we hiked along enjoying our conversation. We saw two moose & a whole herd of deer. We saw colorful fields of wild flowers filled with some very happy humming birds.

As we were nearing the basin you cross before you make your final ascent some storm clouds rolled in. I've never seen clouds move that fast. They covered us in an instant. What was an average overcast day had suddenly turned very dark. It started to hail. We took protection in a small grouping of pine trees. And then the lightening started. I don't mind lightening too much when I'm at home, but being up on the side of the mountain in the middle of a cloud isn't really the best place to be if you'd like to avoid being struck! I was very nervous. Some other hikers were also taking cover in our little group of trees. I knew the only thing that would make me feel better would be to say a prayer. I was a little nervous because I didn't know the other hikers & my friend isn't LDS. But I knew we all needed God's protection. So I told everyone I was going to say a prayer. We bowed our heads & I prayed for our protection. I was so scared! After our prayer the lightening settled down. The hail stopped. While we were waiting for the storm to settle down we started talking with our fellow hikers. One of them was a brother from my ward! This was his third time up Timpanogos this year, & last year he hiked to the caves 130 times! He was very experienced. I immediatley felt better knowing that there was someone I knew nearby. We didn't dare continue on our trek up the mountain as the clouds still looked very ominous. As soon as the storm stopped we turned around and headed home. It was a wet & soggy trek back down the mountain. It rained & snowed the whole time. We were cold, wet, & muddy. My friend got a blister & actually ended up walking the last mile in just her socks! But we were grateful we had made it safely off the mountain. I know that God watches over us & protects us. I know that he hears our prayers. Sometimes he starts answering them before we even say them! And next time I attempt to hike Mount Timpanogos, I'll listen a little more carefully to the weather man!



3 comments:

Raquel said...

Good for you!!

Alicia said...

Oh my heck that sounds like such an ordeal! I'm glad you are okay! I would have bawled. I hate that kind of thing. I'm not outdoorzy and it's hard anyway, let alone feeling like I'll get struck by lightning. But I am trying to get more adventurous and get outdoors more because Brandon really likes that kind of thing. I did the suspension bridge thing in Canada when Holly was here. It was good for me.

GeNee said...

That was quite an experience. I an glad you made it off the moutain safely.