I have always had a loving relationship with rocks.   I thought I knew what I was getting into when I said yes to a hiking adventure, but I was wrong!    The exhilaration of climb was followed by a daunting decent from 6200 feet.

The views were breath taking, the air was clean and crisp, so refreshing.   It was like nothing I have experienced.    My biggest issue was quieting my mind.  The more my mind ran a-mock, the more my body was unsteady, tense, angry and terrified of falling off the face of these mountains.    This was true raw beauty in nature.   It is an experience I will never forget and truly grateful that the weather cooperated, the winds were calm and the sun shined brightly in the sky.

As we ventured forward on the exposed ridge line, the sun was bright and it felt like your could touch the sky.   You could see for miles and miles.   But one wrong step or not focused I could have easily rolled down the mountain.   My feet wore the hiking boot to support my ankles and I didn’t realize how much they made a difference.   The rocks and boulders moved underneath me as I learned this was glacier rock, which means they give and go and move without much warning.    I needed to be agile and light on my feet and my brain kept saying was protect your knees, OMG the toes hurt, don’t fall off this mountain.    The decent was long and painful.   When I got out of my head and stopped driving my poles into the rocks with death grip hands, I was able to embrace the beauty of the surroundings.

I can see why people get so addicted to the outdoors, most of my life I have played it safe.   Never truly challenging and stepping outside into gods country.   And yes, this is gods country.    The sharp contrast of colors and the richness of its palette was more than I ever experienced or maybe this time I was able to embrace my surroundings.   I am up and excited to step into more fun adventures.   Who wants to come with me?

I did it!   I conquered the ridge.   I embraced life ~ worth every minute and every ache and pain.