We had some incredible hikes. If you saw my photos on Facebook, you know Bryce and Zion are among the most beautiful places on earth.
The hikes are very challenging. They design the trails not straight up the rock or mountain, but with series of switchbacks carved into the rock. It's fascinating history how these trails were made.
When I am climbing them, it's relentless. You walk up a steep incline, get to the turn, and there's another one. Again and again and again.
Life can feel like that. I work, I climb, I get to what I think is the top. But when I turn, I see yet another incline. It can be very discouraging. There were times on our last hike in Bryce where we thought we must be lost, the climb was never ending and we weren't getting anywhere.
That's how it feels at times. Why aren't we getting anywhere?!
Oh but we were. In every step we took, we were getting somewhere. We just couldn't tell at the time. We couldn't see the horizon. We couldn't see our elevation. We couldn't see how close we were.
Then, at the end of a simple switchback that was like all the others, we turned around. No wonder our legs were tired and our feet hurt. We'd been hiking and climbing for six hours! Looking directly at the step in front of us, we couldn't see it. Even looking ahead, we couldn't see it. But stopping at the switchback turn and looking back, we could see how far we'd come.
I know fitness and life can feel like a relentless climb, and it's difficult to see the top. But it's there. Follow the path already laid out before you. Trust your shoes. Take one step at a time. And every now and then, stop to see how far you've come.
Hike on, friends!