really see

Adventure is, by its nature, a thing that comes to us.  It is a thing that chooses us, not a thing that we choose.
~Chesterton

Today adventure came to me.  And I really do love adventure.  I drove this afternoon to hike up "Little Squaw" mountain.  It's a favorite of mine... beautiful, a shorter climb, and the only mountain that I have ever done by myself.  I have many good memories on that mountain.  The only problem was that I couldn't find it!  I drove up and down that dirt road and just could not find the trail head.  It was the strangest thing... and I found myself yelling in my car, "how do you LOSE a mountain??"  I'm smiling as I remember it.

So I ended up on "Big Squaw" mountain instead.  That trail head, I found!  I've gone up Big Squaw a few times before with my dad but never by myself.  But I think I have a determined streak in me that just does not give up easily... so up I went, up Big Squaw.

And it is BIG.  And it was HARD.  I got over a bad cold just yesterday and I underestimated how colds can linger... so there I was, wheezing my way up Big Squaw.  I felt like I stopped just as much as I walked.  I remember one moment in particular-- I was more than halfway up the mountain, and the rocks were getting higher and steeper.  I was having a hard time breathing, and I seriously began to wonder if I had gone far enough and if it was time for me to go back down.

I turned around to make that decision and I stopped dead in my tracks... because I did not realize how high I had come. I looked out and I could see... lakes, rivers, mountains, trees.  The sight was magnificent.  I was filled with new strength and I forged ahead to the top.

And on the top, I could really see...

It made me grateful for the moments when you turn around and have the chance to see how far you've come... and are filled with new strength and excitement for what is ahead.