The 4th Year Hike

     For the past few months I have been planning a small backpacking trip that I would take the 15 year old young women on for part of their girls camp certification. I found a trail that I thought would be great. The trail is in Pine Valley, and the few times that I had been there I thought that it would be just what the girls needed. Little did I realize, it truly would be just what some of those girls needed.

     We met for our hike Friday morning at 7:00 AM. Here we had breakfast and did a run down of
what we were going to do. After everyone had eaten, we loaded up and headed to the trail head. We got there at about 10:00 and Started the trek at about 10:30. The first few miles were pretty easy. Not too much up hill, but just enough to let your muscles know that they were working. Paul lead the pack, I was in the middle, and the Melling family brought up the rear. When we hit our first water crossing, a girl that had previously been sick was feeling a little bit sicker, so Corri Melling volunteered to take her home. Leaving her husband Mark to continue to bring up the rear. A few miles in we decided we needed to pump water. Some of the girls didn't have water bladders, so their small bottles were empty sooner than we had planned on. We pumped, had a break, then continued on our way again.
     By this point in the hike the uphill really started to kick in. The group became separated because Paul had a quick pace and a few girls kept up with him. Several girls were completely exhausted already, and another girl was having trouble with her knees. We were only 1/4 of the way to our goal and already having problems. This worried me a little bit. But I said a prayer and felt confident that everything would work out. We pumped water one more time, and told the girls that the next 5 miles we would not be able to pump water so they needed to drink, but conserve what they could for the more difficult parts of our hike.
      We continued up the ups, and down the downs until well after noon. I was hungry, I am sure the girls we hungry, and we were a ways from where I had wanted to have lunch. I thought we were closer than we were. We would take a turn, and I would think we were "almost there" but really, we weren't. The long stretch of hike was wearing these girls down. One strong young women began to cry a little bit. This was so hard for me. I wanted to help her, but there wasn't a whole lot that I could do. I tried comfort and strengthen her, but I don't think that helped very much. From that point until lunch, we had to take it little by little. We would go on for a few steps, then stop and break. Then go on for a few more steps, then stop again. Finally we reached the meadow where everyone was having lunch. I could feel the sense of relief not only in my countenance, but also this young women's as well.
     We stopped and ate, and some of us were smart and took a nap. When everyone was refreshed, or close enough to it,  we continued on our way. We hadn't gotten too far when another young women broke into tears. She was blessed to come on the hike with the worst cramps she says she has had. It was getting to the point where the pressure from her pack on her abdomen made it impossible for her to move. We had her take off her pack. Several girls volunteered to help carry it for awhile. We took turns carrying her pack to relieve her of what pain we could. The spirit at this moment in time was incredible. I couldn't help but stand in awe how all those young women worked together, and rose to the occasion. We weren't hiking the easiest of terrain, but they found the strength within themselves to go above and beyond so everyone could reach our goal. This cute girl kept continually apologizing, but I finally told her not to apologize, and I thanked her for giving all of us the opportunity to love one another, serve, and grow spiritually. While she may have felt guilty for not being able to carry her pack, I was truly blessed by that experience.
     We hit a fork in the trail which meant only 3 miles to camp. The downside is that 2 of them are basically switchbacks up the side of the mountain in the sun. We were already low on water, but to hike up steep terrain with limited water frightened me a little bit. I continued to pray in my heart that we would have the strength and means to get every one of these girls up to the top of the summit. It was a very slow and tedious process. Another girl got to the point where she also could no longer carry her pack. We were blessed to have the priesthood with us to help us to help carry this girl's pack. Slowly we made it up the side of the mountain. Breaks were a constant occurrence. For some, I think that is what gave them the strength to keep going.
     We reached the first overlook of the hike. This view gave you a glimpse of Snow Canyon, and the lands beyond. It was breath taking. But the girls say the next view was even more impressive. We continued to work our way up and up. I thought it was only 3 more switch backs, it was actually 6 more, but after 6 more switchbacks we were at the summit. It overlooked all of Southern Utah. You could see Zions, Sand Hollow, St. George, Snow Canyon, and for miles and miles around. We even found the  temple! Looking over at everything appeared to give the girls strength and confidence to continue our hike.
     Thankfully we had reached the summit and all we had to do was go downhill. Well, there were a few up hills, but mostly they were down. At this point several girls were out of water, and many others were getting close. We shared what we had and even filled up some bottles with snow just in case we ran completely out. We hiked down and through the forest. Last time I was here, the trail was completely covered with snow. This time the snow was melted and the trip wasn't long at all. Our spirits were high as we walked downhill, in the shade. We soon hiked out of the trees and into a beautiful meadow. I was helping out at the back of the pack. Most of the girls were already in camp and setting up tents by the time I got there, but it was amazing to reach the meadow just the same.
     Dinner consisted of mountain house lasagna and pasta. It was divine. All the girls brought their own food, and basically everyone shared bites of what they had with everyone else. It was kind of fun. Mark Melling brought up a lovely dessert of pudding with chocolate chips. The pudding tasted fantastic after our hours and hours of trekking through the wilderness. I thought that the girls would crash and sleep after dinner, but to my surprise, they actually started to wake up and get excited about everything.
     We had a mini devotional around the fire. We had each of the girls share their personal experience about the hike. It was really spiritual to hear what they had to say, and how they were strengthened through the hike. Paul ended with his testimony, and we all sort of calmed down after that and went to sleep. Pretty sure I slept like a rock. I did toss and turn a little bit, but part way into the night, I slept and didn't wake up. It was wonderful!

      Paul got up seriously at the crack of dawn. I tried to sleep in, but he got all the girls riled up and excited for the new day. They fetched the bear bags (our bags of food we hung from the trees), and got a fire started. I continued to "sleep". Finally after all the girls were up and eating, Lisa, and I rolled out of bed and started to get ready for the day. Thankfully, I wasn't sore like I thought I would be. We ate and packed up our bags and got ready for the trek out of the canyon.
     The trip back wasn't nearly as daunting as coming to the campsite. We were mostly going down hill all day. There was a section of switch backs up the side of a mountain, but everyone did great on those. Everyone was able to carry their packs and no one had trouble today. The switch backs down were the killer part. Girls started to get blisters, ankles were hurting, and I was definitely feeling it in my knees and quads! We made it to our lunch spot, had lunch, then kept trudging down the mountain. We made really good time. We started our trip at 10:20 and every one of us was to the truck at the bottom by about 2:30 ish.
       As I reflect on the whole trip, I truly am grateful for the opportunity I had to be a part of this wonderful adventure. I spend only two short days with those girls, but I know each of their names, and I was able to see their personalities come out a little bit. We have some amazing young women in our stake and I am truly honored to have spent so much time with them. They are amazing, strong, and exactly what I hope my future children will be like.