One of the lessons we try to teach our kids is to "Try Hard Things". I know the world is full of people who don't live up to this mantra, and truthfully, there are plenty of times in my own life that I have avoided something because it sounded too hard. When the opportunity arose yesterday to hike Mt. Olympus with the scouts I knew I had to go back and do it again.
I hiked Mt. Olympus 5 or 6 years ago for a similar purpose. I was working with the Young Men and several of the Priests wanted to scale the peak. It was a hard hike, I actually cramped several times on the way due to a lack of water and training. But I made it. Yesterday I wanted to prove to myself that I could make it again.
I know there are several of you out there for whom hiking Mt. Olympus is a breeze. A fun little climb to see the valley. I wish I was part of your world, but for me, Olympus is a beast. The 4000 foot ascent to the top brought fire to my lungs and made me realize how out of shape I am. The last 1000 feet to the saddle I was truly gutting it out. I just kept saying - "One more step. Just go to that tree." The climb isn't straight up, but it is pretty vertical.
Just when you get to the saddle and you think you've had enough - then it's time for the rock climb up to the summit. I have to imagine they have been plenty of people who've stopped at the saddle, a feat in and of itself just to get that far. The challenge is, once you've climbed to 8300 feet, don't you have to go the extra 1000 feet to meet the goal? I know that's how I was yesterday. To get that far and not summit, wasn't an option. So I cowboyed up and made it to the top. It was awesome! There is something special about challenging yourself and rising to meet the bar.
For most the journey to the top is probably the hardest part of any climb. I don't think that is the case with Olympus. Going down is just as hard! Imagine dropping the same 4000 feet in 3 miles. Your feet are crammed into the toes of your shoes and the decline puts tremendous pressure on your feet. It didn't help our cause that our journey down was slowed by injury. It took us a little longer than expected to get back to the parking lot, but it was a welcome sight!
My highlight of the day was having two of my scouts go on the hike. Daniel and Anthony didn't really want to go yesterday. They were tired from getting up at 4:30 am to do baptisms for the dead and the thought of spending the day hiking a mountain was pretty rough. Still, they went. Daniel actually summited the mountain and I think he learned a lot about himself. If I thought the hike was hard, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him. But he perserved, and he proved to himself that he can do hard things. What a great lesson for a 12 year old! BTW - Anthony was a big time stud as well, but I didn't hike with him as he went down with the first group so he could get down for a party.
I'm glad I went back to Olympus. It tested my endurance and will. It showed my that I can do hard things. It was fun to go with several of my neighbors and awesome to challenge my scouts. I know I'll certainly feel the hike tomorrow, but for now, I can only bask in the glow of accomplishment. I'll take it!
