Excuse Me While I Gush

 In my last post I mentioned we were going to attempt to climb a mountain the next day.....Well we did it! We climbed the MOUNTAIN!!! This hike is leveled intermediate in difficulty. It is 9.5 kilometers round trip and is supposed to be about a four hour hike. The high point is 6929 feet which is pretty high. WE felt on top of the world anyway.

  We got out of the house at about 8am and drove over an hour. The road to get up to the starting point was full of cross ditches and could not be accessed with just any vehicle. We crawled pretty slowly trying to take the deep cross ditches without scraping the truck. As we got further up into the mountains my wonder began to grow as I realized the higher we climbed the more green and lush everything was. The trees got progressively smaller but the flowers and streams and grass were so breathtaking.

  We started out with my husband wearing a pack that the three year old could be carried in on his back. He also carried water bottles and some food and our first aid kit. My husband wore steel toed shoes! My twelve year old carried food, water bottles and extra clothes. I carried more food and things for the baby. My ten year old carried a pack with two water bottles and everything he needed for the day and our six year old had a tiny pack with very little in it. As we journied however she filled it with rocks!! She loves collecting rocks.

  The first part of the journey was just so beautiful. We meandered over rippling creeks and through lush fields and the sky was so blue. We passed a sweet little spoon shaped lake. We all started out walking the three year old included. He walked and walked. As we started to gain elevation he got scared and wanted to go home. We encouraged him on and he made it almost half way before he was hoisted into the pack. I have to say that the two middle children shocked me. They had zero complaints, endless energy and nothing slowed them down. They really just effortlessly floated up the mountain. I, on the other hand, kept thinking that we must be ALMOST there and we were not. As we got higher and higher and I was looking down, and then looking up, I really realized what we had undertook. This mountain can be seen from our house clearly. It is beautiful and breathtaking and so high and we were trying to climb it!

  There was a point where I told my husband I just couldn't make it. I was shaking and so tired. We rested for a while and then kept on and we ALL made it to the top. It took us over three hours mostly because of the three year old.

  Up there it was windy and cool. There were many hikers that day. So many of them had encouraging things to say to us as we were the first ones up with a family of young children. On our way down we encountered more families on their way up but there were many hikers before us that were adults and they said such sweet things to the children. It was very heart warming. There was a little rock enclosure built up top and a bench to sit on. There were some clouds but the view was magnificent. We were up top for about an hour resting, feeding little chipmunks nuts out of our hands, and just in awe of what had just happened. When it was time to go back down we all started jauntily enough but soon reality hit. My baby toes felt like they were ripping off, my oldest daughter's shoes were really too small, my husband's steel toed shoes were not being so gentle but the three youngest had a spring in their step and chatted endlessly. The three year old once again walked more than half way down. He was amazing.

  We hiked down to the lake and the children jumped in to cool off. As we climbed down I kept looking back up seeing the tiny people way waaaay up high looking like ants. It kept just ringing so clearly in my mind that we had just been up there!!! IT took us just under three hours to get back to our vehicle. We had packed extra water that stayed in the truck while we were gone. That was a blessing!

  This hike felt like a metaphore for me in regards to us as a family. We have so often been down in valleys and they have been dry and colorless and often dark. However never ever have we stayed there. We are always laboring our way up the mountain ~ working our way to the top. Sometimes we are weighed down by burdens and we are overcome with weariness. Other times we are just dancing our way up so confident and full of energy. Being up on top of the mountain was so glorious. The light, the air, the colors were just stunning. We couldn't stay up there for long but we just soaked in and enjoyed every single second.

  I am so thankful we made it. I have been literally recovering every day since. I came home with sun stroke and then got sick as a result of it. I have been struggling through the week. However I have not, for a second, regretted going. It was amazing and I hope we can do something similar again soon. I will post pictures of this hike another day.

~ This weekend for our family is the fall fair. All three older children have entered something in it. They are so excited for the parade, rides, sights and also to see how they did in all they entered. The three year old cried himself to sleep last night because he was so disappointed to have to wait another full day for the fair!!I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Love Tansy