Mt Nebo: All the Way

 Levi turned eight last month and will be baptized this Saturday.  He set a goal to climb to the top of Mt. Nebo before his baptism.  We gathered information throughout the summer, planned, and set a date.  Yesterday, we made our ascent.

 We hit the trailhead at dawn, just before sunrise.  Initially I had hoped our whole family would go, and thought I could pack Titus in a hiking backpack. Thankfully experienced hikers advised me otherwise.  As it was, we were a party of five: Jeff and I, Levi, Daisy, and our cousin Dawson.

 We were on our way by the time the sun peeked over the mountains behind us.

 Our destination: The North Summit, the highest peak pictured above, and at 11,939 the highest peak in the entire Wasatch Range.

 The first part of the trail was beautiful, shady, and mild.

 We were in no hurry and took breaks along the trail whenever we wanted.

 When we got to the first ridge, we could see the town of Mona.  We could also see the distant North Summit in the distance.  In talking with some other hikers, we guessed that the peak we could see must actually be the South Peak, because it appeared much to far away to be our destination.  We were wrong.  The distant peak in view was our goal, but it might have been a good thing that we assumed otherwise at that point.

 The hike from the ridge to Wolf Pass was freezing.  We kept gaining altitude and losing temperature.  The wind was chilling.  We finally crossed Wolf Pass and began the steep, rocky climb above the treeline.  It was even more difficult than it looked.  With the kids, it was pretty slow going.  There wasn't much of a trail to follow and the rocks were loose, shifting under your feet with each step.  Each hiker that we passed was complementary of the kids, impressed that they were attempting such a difficult hike.

 After the rocky arduous climb, we got to the false summit, and the North Summit came into view for the first time since the ridge.  Our little amateur hiking party was tempted to call it good at the false summit, but as close as it appeared, the North Summit beckoned us.  We had come so far, we had to reach the peak.

 So off we went, across more rocks, more ledges, through more wind, and scrambling up more places where there was no trail.

 And then, we made it.  We summitted the highest peak in the Wasatch Mountain Range.  We climbed Mt. Nebo.  In this picture of Levi you can see the false summit and the ridge we crossed to make it to the North Summit.

 I was so proud of these kids.  A family we talked to on the trail mentioned that they did a lot of hiking as a family.  The dad said, "We have three more, ages eight, 10 and 12, but we left them back home."  Dawson said, "Hey! We're eight, 10 and 12!"  We saw several other hikers on the trail, but we had the youngest group by far.

 At the top we laid on the warm rocks as if they were expensive mattresses.  We ate lunch and enjoyed the feeling of what we had just accomplished.

 It all started because of this guy.  I can't help but think that he is going to do some pretty amazing things in his life. 

 Next step: descent.  It was a killer.  We were all tired.  Our muscles were sore.  Climbing down the sliding rocks turned out to be harder than climbing up them.

 Me, my best friend, and the peak we conquered in the distance behind us.

 Our little Party of Five and the North Summit that we had just descended behind us.

 We did have a few minor mini meltdowns, but overall, everyone was in good spirits, laughing and joking and even singing along the trail. 

 That daunting distant peak you can see waaaaay back there?  Climbed it.

 We all loved this view of the false summit, and the ridge to the North Summit.  It was such a feeling of accomplishment to look back on what we had done.

I have lived in the shadow of Mt. Nebo for almost 13 years and I've never climbed it.  Actually, I've never climbed any mountain.  I loved this experience of doing it with my family.  I learned a lot of important things along the way.
Life is Like Climbing a Mountain:
1. It matters less if you get there, but who you help along the way.  I found myself becoming impatient with the slow progress and long, frequent breaks.  I also found great satisfaction watching my children reach the breaking point and then reach down deep inside themselves and find the strength to keep going.
2. Be Prepared.  We used nearly everything we brought with us, including our hoodies, toilet paper, wet wipes, bandaids, and all of our food and water.
3. Just put one foot in front of the other.  On the way out, Levi said that it wasn't as hard as he thought it was going to be.  We talked about standing at the bottom of the summit looking up and feeling intimidated.  We decided that all you had to do to make it to the top was put one foot in front of the other. 
4. There will be help along the way.  We relied on each other throughout the hike.  When we were looking for a way to get down from the summit, and there was no trail, and it was very steep, Levi would try backing down the boulders like he was climbing off a ladder.  If his way worked, we would follow.  When one person became discouraged, the others would cheer them on.  There is help along the way, both seen and unseen, as we climb the mountains of life.

There are several other lessons floating around in my exhausted head.  Hopefully they will come together as my cognition improves and my sunburn subsides.  This was my first trip up Mt. Nebo, but it will not be my last.