"Hiking, as Related to Life"

"There's always gonna be another mountain. I'm always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I'm gonna have to lose. It ain't about how fast I get there. It ain't about what's waitin' on the other side. It's the climb." -"The Climb" (Miley Cyrus)

Yes, it's foolish, but I did it. Everybody I asked to come with me was busy, and I've really become tired of wasting away in my apartment on the weekends. So... I filled up an old water-bottle Bryn gave me, donned a light jacket, and headed for the hills. Once there, I was a little intimidated (I was using the clear, starry sky as a flashlight,) but I girded up my loins and attacked the beginning of the "Y" trail.

About halfway up, I wanted to turn back. I'm no stranger to hiking steep inclines, but for some reason, this hike has given me as basket full o' troubles in the past.

I stuck with it after all, and was rewarded with this spectacular sight of Provo city at night:

(Photo taken from my cell phone. Sorry for the bad quality.)

There'd been an instance like this before, when I'd hiked Mount Timpanogos for the first time. It'd been with Bryn and his adventurous family, and I'd felt rather pathetic for constantly stumbling behind and dragging him away from his brothers n' sisters in the process. When we finally made it to "The Saddle", I threw myself down near a pile of rocks and cracked a smile, sweat beading down my face. I'd finally made it. And Bryn let me believe that I had... until after lunch.

"You've got to be joking." I couldn't believe it: there was still more. Bryn informed me we hadn't really reached "the top" yet, that there was still about an hour left of hiking to do. I shook my head and told him to go on without me. There was no way I was going any further. But some part of me wasn't satisfied with where I was; I itched to press on and reach new heights.

It was hard, and I fell alot. But Bryn was always behind me, pushing me on, stopping when I needed to breathe, and going in front of me to pull my ragged body up "the steep parts". When we finally made it to the top, I leaned against a massive rock and laughed a little deliriously: "We made it. We finally made it, Bryn." He just smiled up at me and gave my calves an all-too-welcome massage.

The last stretch was the hardest part, and my heart was only invested in it half the time. But with the help of a patient friend, and the determination to reach the real top (not the "counterfeit" one,) I made it; I reached the top.