And on and on and on.....

Hiking, isn't it wonderful? Especially in the dark, when you want to be sleeping, when you feel sick. These were the thoughts that were running through my mind as we began our hike up to the top of Timpanogos mountain last Wednesday (as you can see, I am playing the catch up game.) I kind of weaseled my way into going (sorry Jess) and then invited my bff, Kelly. I had been feeling ill all night but told Nathan I didn't want to miss going. I left home about 11:30 or so, picked up Kell & then we drove to the mouth of the canyon. On the way up there I had planned to stop at a gas station to pick up some much needed water and goodies but it was sadly closed. Kelly only had water & I felt so bad about it. Lucky for me, I found a water bottle I keep in my car for emergencies & was able to take that. We started up the trail & soon had straggled far behind the rest of our group. I told Kell it was no big deal, we would catch up eventually. I had already done this hike once before but it was a couple of years ago & I had run up the whole thing with a bunch of running fanatics. This time it felt like forever getting up. I hated the top last time & this time was no exception. I like heights if I feel like I'm safe but the last 4o minutes or so after the 'saddle' is shale & a major drop off. I was sure we wouldn't make it before the sun came up but we made it (at last) with about 30 minutes to spare. There were kids up there only in shorts & t-shirts & I had a wonderful time envisioning my first trip up. This time I was much more prepared with pants, hoodie, blanket, & (thank goodness) my inhaler (last time I had an asthma attack) Needless to say, this time was more enjoyable, if only I had remembered food & didn't feel sick. The sunrise was breathtaking. After it came up Jess yelled over to me (we had gotten separated in the dark.) They had been on the other side of the shed the whole time! When it was time to go we decided to return the other way. Had I known that I would have to free climb a 15-20 foot drop & slide down a gigantic glacier (receiving many stinging cuts along the way) I probably would have opted to go back the other way. I am really glad we didn't because, now that it is over, the glacier was sweet. I wish my pictures could do it justice! Kelly & I went down together (still don't know if that made it better or worse?) I think I cussed the whole way down. At the bottom of the glacier was Emerald Lake, so named for it's amazing sparkling water, the same color as the deepest shade of blue emerald. If it had a fountain blazing out of the center I would have called it the fountain of life, it looked that good. As we got down to the bottom of the glacier Kelly yelled, "Look at all the goats!" There, standing a bit above the lake, was a big heard of mountain goats. For those of you that know I am an animal lover (if not read another post below) this was the best part of the hike for me. I took more pictures of the goats than double everything else put together. I wanted to take one of the kids home. The only thing that stopped me was: I can't carry it down the whole trail, it's mom would probably kill me, Nathan would kill me & I would go to jail. I wanted to stay forever but, Kelly had to go into work that morning & we were running late. As soon as we found the rest of the real trail, she and I booked it down to the bottom. We ran into a guy that was a local taking pictures of some of the small waterfalls. When he asked us if we had gone to the top we said yes & slid the glacier on the way back down. He said he was glad we didn't get hurt, he frequently sees people getting Lifelited off. Good thing we found that out afterward. We finally got down & I quickly drove Kell home. She was still almost an hour late but said she had fun any how. I am sure I will do it again, just in about another 4 years.