The Hike

Two summers ago Adam deployed. Obviously, I went to Hawaii.
I have sweet friends who let me come stay and visit. I had a wonderful time and really want to visit them again soon. And not just because they live in Hawaii. Because I really miss them. (Yes, Val. Your recently emptied house again reminds me of when you lived there and I stopped by pretty much twice a day. And it will always be YOUR house. Until this summer. When they tear it down. We'll save that for another post.)

On my first full day there, Emily and Dorothy took me on a hike. I had been looking forward to it ever since we left the beautiful mountains of Southern California and moved to flat Eastern North Carolina. I powered through my jet lag, woke up, packed some water, and we left around 8 am. The mountain they took me to was Olomana:



Yes, the peak is hidden by the clouds.

Now remember, I had lived in flat NC for about two years. And my efforts to go to the gym are feable at best. I mostly enjoy nice strolls through the neighborhood. Or the mall. So as I faced this mountain whose top I could not even see, I figured "This will be easy, right?". If this chicken can do it, so can I.




Apparently, chickens and wild boars are common sights on these hikes.

 We walked up the road and to the start of the trail. There was mud and red dust that apparently is from dried lava. It was cloudy and drizzly. A hurricane was coming through, although, except for the clouds and drizzle, it didn't have any bite. As we made our way to the summit I stopped to take pictures every once in a while. We soon came to this point:


Gorgeous. Beautiful. I'd never seen anything like it. I was anxious to move along and get to the top. I was having a great time.

Of course, then things started to catch up with me. The hike became steeper. The trail was narrow. The elevation continued to climb. Remember how I mentioned I had been living in flat North Carolina? Remember that I do not like the gym? Remember that jet lag? There were quite a few times I needed to stop and catch my breath, sit down, and drink some water. I'm pretty sure Dorothy and Emily were going to get sick of the breaks. I thought maybe I should send them up without me and I'd meet them on the way back down. The hike didn't get any easier either. At parts of the trail there were ropes. Yes, actual ropes tied to trees. These were to help hikers climb the ROCKS. Steep rocks. Yes, in more than one location.

Ok, so jet lag, out of shape, recent inexperience hiking, oncoming elevation sickness......But I had to do it. 1. I knew it was going to be worth it. I knew the view at the top would be extraordinary. I so needed a picture of it! 2. I really, really, desperately needed to pretend that I was not out of shape and that I could, in fact, keep up with my jogging, moutain climbing, living in Hawaii friends.

So I kept on.

And I made it!



Now, I'll make a small confession. This is only the second summit. The third was at the top of another HUGE rock to climb STRAIGHT up with a loose rope. I made it halfway up and remembered that I'd never been rock climbing before in my life. Luckily, Dorothy was too scared to climb the rock too. We let Emily climb up and look around.

The hike back down was obviously easier, but still a bit tricky manuevering down the rocks we had climbed. My reward at the end of the day was this delicious Hawaiian dinner prepared by Emily:

And this quote from The Hiker's Guide to Oahu which labeled this hike "intermediate to expert" with "danger: high":

 "Olomana is the craggy, commanding mountain windward of Nu'uanu Pali. The steep, narrow climb to its three peaks demands concentration, sure feet, and little fear of heights. From the summit is a panorama unsurpassed in Oahu."

I recalled this hike a few days ago in a conversation with a friend. She was talking about how maybe God had given me vision for the future and I'm just climbing the mountain to get there right now. And though I'd really rather take a leisurely stroll to get there, I can't deny that it will be worth it when I make it to the top.

I also recall listening to a wise, life-experienced woman talk about the mountains in Colorado. She mentioned a mountain range she had wanted to see the other side of. A friend had taken her in a small plane, I believe, over the mountain range to see the other side. And do you know what was there? More mountains! She was reminded that in life we always want to make it over the mountain we're on, but when we get to the other side, there will just be another mountain to climb.

Though life seems to be one more mountain to climb after another, I have hope that each mountain we climb is worth it. So I guess I'll keep on climbing.