My Mountain

I went on a rare date with my husband yesterday.  He worked last Saturday, so he got yesterday off.  He doesn't always use these comp days when he receives them, so I was pleasantly surprised to have him home.  It was also the first time in our married lives that we have had a full day alone together while the kids were at school, since the youngest is now a first-grader.  So, we decided to make a date of it and go for a hike.  It was a beautiful morning.  It had rained the night before, so everything was shiny and new and green.  I was so excited!  We packed a backpack with a few necessities, picked up some water at the store and went on our way up the canyon.  We decided to hike to White Pine from Tony Grove - a long, but not terribly difficult hike, from which we should return right around the same time the last bunch of kids came home from school.

We arrived at Tony Grove and parked alongside a couple of other hikers' cars, and began our hike.

There is a short hike from the parking lot to this sign, and I was already feeling the effects of too much computer time, and not enough outdoor time.  We still had 3.8 miles to go to reach the turn-around point!  I was a little nervous, but determined to make it to this beautiful lake.  David had been there before and assured me it was definitely worth 3.8 more miles of hiking.  Thankfully, just up through that tree line on the right, the terrain became nearly flat, and my hesitations about continuing on disappeared.  It was gorgeous!  We went through open fields, full of wildflowers and interesting rocks.

One of my favorite rocks was this heart-shaped one.  It just seemed so appropriate for our fun little date.  We walked along at a moderate pace, talking about things (amazingly, things other than just the kids) as we went.  It was very pleasant.  We stopped along the way to listen to a pack (is that what they're called?) of coyotes howling and yipping from a far off ridge.  It was a little creepy, but I took comfort in the realization that they were pretty far away.  My husband playfully tried to convince me that they could get to us in a matter of three minutes, if they really wanted to.  It was so fun talking and laughing and just being together.  Even the tiny raindrops that we felt every once in awhile didn't discourage us.  There were a few clouds overhead, but nothing too terribly ominous.

We passed a tiny stream, with some very exotic looking flowers:

After a few miles, we passed some hikers on their way back down the mountain.  We knew that we were getting close, and I was eagerly anticipating seeing this gorgeous lake.  Whereas our hike so far had been on relatively flat ground (or so it felt), the descent into the lake area was quite a bit steeper.  It was starting to sprinkle, just a little bit, and all I could think about as we were heading down was that we would have to eventually turn around and go back up.  I was not too excited about that thought.

The descent felt like forever.  I felt like one of the kids every time I would ask David how much further we had to go.  The rain was starting to turn into tiny little snowflakes by the time we ran into this sign.  Ok.  150 more feet - we couldn't turn back now!  Let me just say, that whoever made that sign wasn't exactly lying.  It was at least 150 feet away, but they also could've added at least one more zero.  It was still pretty far.  We ended up being able to see the lake, but we didn't make it all the way down to the shoreline.  The snowflakes were getting larger and larger, and all I could think of was that the descent was going to turn into quite the upward hike when we turned back.  Within a matter of minutes, the scattered snowflakes had turned into a full-blown blizzard.

I was so grateful when we came upon this campsite.  We could sit for a minute, out of the driving snow.  I kept looking at that firepit, and wishing that I had made that impulse purchase of a lighter as I was paying for the water.  I was so wet and cold!  My husband, being the smart guy he is, reminded me that the longer we sat, the colder we would get, so we needed to head back.  I can say, without hesitation, that had he not been there, I would've given up.  I wanted to sit there forever.  I figured someone would come for us sooner or later, right?  I knew that I didn't have the stamina to make it back up that steep trail.  I was soaked.  My hands were numb, my feet were sloshing around in my wet tennis shoes, and I was tired.

We found the trail, thanks to my husband.  I had started out the wrong way.  I did learn from this experience, by the way, that I'd better never hike alone.  I get turned around way too easily, and like I said, I would've given up already.  So we trudged on.  I could only make it a few yards without stopping.  I knew that a lot of my exhaustion was mental, because I'm not in horrible shape.  I'm not in great shape, but I knew that on a normal day, I would probably be able to climb right up that mountain without much trouble.  I just kept telling my husband "I can't do this", to which he would reply "Of course, you can.  Now come on".  I was really scared.  I really didn't think I could make it.

All I could think of was to pray.  "Please, Heavenly Father, help me to be able to do this.  I don't think I can.  I'm cold, I'm wet, I'm tired.  I need your help.  Please help the snow to slow down and the sun to come out so that our clothes can dry.  Please help us."  Almost instantaneously, the snowflakes became smaller and much lighter.  As we sloshed up the mountain, and past that dumb "150 yards" sign, the snow had all but stopped.  I could do it!  We got to the top, finally, and beheld the most beautiful sight.

Blue sky! The sun was coming out.  With the worst of our trek behind us, we could now appreciate the beauty of the new fallen snow.  It was so quiet and peaceful. We could barely recognize the scenery around us, since it looked so different with its new blanket.  We could hear the little animals scurrying around in the brush.  It was breathtaking.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally made it back to the car. We were completely exhausted, but thrilled to have had the experience.  We both vowed to make the trip again - on a day where there is zero chance of precipitation across the entire state of Utah.  I would love to see the lake without looking through a curtain of snow.

Sometimes, as I'm reading in the mornings, I have a tough time deciding what I will write about.  Not today.  My answer was in the first verse:

Look unto God with a firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions...(Jacob 3:1)

How grateful I am for a Father who watches over me.  Who hears my simple prayers and consoles me in my afflictions.  I know that I couldn't have finished that hike without Him.  I know that no matter what the affliction is, and whether I feel that it's something important enough to take to Him or not, He is listening.  He will help me climb my mountains - whether they be literal mountains, like yesterday, or figurative mountains...trials in my life that I don't think I can make it through.  He is there.  Always.

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