Awakening, terrifying, challenging, test of strength & will, facing fears, heights, tears. Hot, cold, hot, cold; layers on, layers off; 3 sunny days, 26 awe-struck miles, inching closer & closer to the sky, balancing the weight of a beginner’s wonky pack across streams, up & down steep, narrow passages, brrrrrrr cold nights, staying warm over the dinner stove & then buried from toe to over-my-head in a sleeping bag.
And then, there I was at the base of the final 450 feet of granite that marked the pinnacle of our 4 day climb. I started to ascend, my shaking arms pulling the weight of my body up the steel cable pathway. I nearly gave up after only 50 feet.
I was absolutely, without a doubt, infused with a Greater source of strength and courage in THAT moment. The moment I told my guide to go on without me. I looked up watching him climb ahead, saw the sky & the clouds beyond, and wondered what it would look like, feel like, from the top. I kept climbing.
It was a shift from terrified to determined. For everything I’ve suffered, for everything I want to be, for everyone I love that needs the best of me, I needed to finish.
Stay present. One step at a time. Don't look down.
I made it. Nearly crawling across the summit, I heard the excitement of my hiking companions. "We did it!" The solidarity of a feat achieved.
The physical exhaustion & pain set free long held emotion. There I was with all my "stuff" laid out in a flood of tears, hyperventilating at the top of a granite mountain, in awe of what my eyes were resting upon. In awe of what I was capable of.
A moment I’ll never forget. Ever.
My body was like jello, my heart is still so full.
~ Sarah
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