This is one of the proudest moments of my life. Top five, maybe top ten. The young men's group from my church went on a high adventure camp this past week, Wednesday through Saturday. I genuinely thought I was just there to drive and enjoy a mostly downhill, easy hike. I could not have been more wrong.
The Climb I Didn't See Coming
It turned out to be one of the hardest hikes in all of Zion National Park, the East Rim trail from Stave Springs to Observation Point. I will share more once I sort through the photos and process everything, but here is the short version. I came away with a better relationship with myself, with my three older boys, and with a deeper respect for the other men I was alongside. Backpacking eight miles with an elevation change of over two thousand feet, down and then back up, I felt like I made real contact with my Higher Power somewhere out on that rim.
It is no Everest, but for me it was a bucket list accomplishment I will be proud of forever. And unless you have done this kind of backpacking, it is hard to convey how difficult it really was. I am 265 pounds, 43 years old, have not trained seriously in years, and I carry an intense fear of heights. I did this hauling a fifty pound pack while helping oversee seven teenagers. There were stretches where I honestly was not sure I had it in me.
Say Yes to the Hard Climb
The best part, by far, was sharing it with my three oldest boys. They are true little warriors, and I am deeply thankful for the quality time we got, the kind you cannot schedule or fake. Something happens between a father and his sons on a hard trail that simply never happens on the couch.
Here is what I carried home from that rim. Sometimes the thing you assumed would be easy becomes the very thing that stretches you, bonds you to the people you love, and shows you what you are still capable of long after you assumed your best days of effort were behind you. So say yes to the hard climb. You rarely regret the one you were brave enough to finish.