Anyway, after praying about everything, and sleeping on the decision, we decided the best course of action to take would be to back track until we hit the fork in the road and then choose the correct path. Coming down the mountain was so much easier. Not just because it was down hill, but also because it was light outside. We could easily see the path we needed to take, and we could easily see how it was so confusing for while hiking in the dark. I also felt very humbled and watched over as we came down the path. There had to have been angels guiding us that night. Looking at some of the terrain that we crossed over, in the dark, without any accidents or injuries, was just crazy. Huge rocks, huge roots, rocks that I swear weren't there before, big deep holes just off the side of the trail. I mean seriously, I don't know how we would have made it up that in the day, let alone at night!
On our way back we happened to run into our cowboy friends. They asked if we had taken the wrong trail, and we had to sheepishly admit that we did. We asked them where water was, and how far away it was to get their. They said we could continue on in the right direction and about 2 hours away we would find some water to drink. We figured it was sixes either direction we took and one would propel us in the right direction, the other would make the path longer if we back tracked to the water that was just a tiny bit closer. So we chose to head forward. We said our goodbyes and kept walking down the trail. Just a few minutes later we got to the fork and made sure we were going in the right direction. That morning is hazy to me, probably because I was sleep deprived and dehydrated, but I remember doing some steep switch backs. My mom was hiking pretty slow because she was super tired and thirsty, so Lena, Tallus, and I stayed with her and helped push her along the trail. We sent everyone else ahead of us so they could get to the water and get what they needed. After hiking a bunch more switchbacks we hit a flat spot and heard water! A few minutes later we had hiked low enough to get to the water, and found that our group had found a small little camp site that was perfect for what we needed. We all pumped water, and made some breakfast. After breakfast all the priesthood holders got together and they gave Levi a blessing. It truly was so powerful to sit and witness. The spirit was so strong that almost all of us had tears in our eyes. The miracle was that almost immediately after the blessing Levi seemed just about normal. You could still tell that he wasn't 100% but he didn't look like he was going to keel over and die at any moment either. Soon after that Brytt and my Uncle Tim left to hike out early (they were crazy!!). We all pulled out towels, and tarps and took a nap in the shade.
We only slept for maybe an hour or so before we got up and moving again. As much as I wished I could have slept all day, I really didn't want to climb the saddle with the sun blazing down on me. We loaded up, had a snack and set off. From the time we left our nap spot to the time we hit the summit is pretty much a blur to me. I don't remember how long it took to get there. I do remember how steep those stinkin switch backs were. And I remember that we took a small shortcut that cut out 2 switch backs, but it also went like straight up the mountain! When we made it to the top, we stopped and rested for a bit, regrouped, and headed on. It was really hot outside, and we didn't have hardly any shade so we really didn't want to sit unprotected for too long. We hiked down and up a little and around the mountain and ended up on a second pass that we needed to go through. We stopped here and had lunch before setting off again.
Now, according to the map, we only had four miles to go until we hit a place to camp for the night. After our crazy long night, and our rough day, four miles sounded great. Long, but definitely doable. So we started down the mountain. But it just kept going... and going... and going... We had to stop and pump water because we were all getting low and we didn't know how much longer it would be. The map actually said 4 miles, but all we can figure is that it is four miles as the crow flies? We couldn't figure it out. It was probably 8 miles before we got to our camp spot for the night. Right before we stopped, we had to cross a river. This was the first river that I actually had to switch out my shoes for. My feet were so sore, and so tired that I didn't even bother to put my hiking boots back on. I figured that hiking in my sandals would be just as comfortable as my boots, as long as I didn't have to hike more than a mile or two. Luckily, we found a spot just a couple hundred yards from the river. Seriously, flat ground never looked so good! For as tired as we all were, we got our tents up pretty dang quick. I am pretty sure we all thought the same thing, the faster we get everything ready for bed, the faster we can actually go to bed. We all ate our dinner like zombies, except for Levi who went to bed right away without eating anything. We tried to be social and happy, but we were all so tired. On the bright side, the food we ate tasted literally amazing! One of my best meals for sure! Dinner went by quick, we got ready for bed quick, the bear bags went up quick, and we all went straight to bed. The sun wasn't even down, still had a couple of hours probably. I would wager to say we were all asleep by 7:30. I know I didn't have any issues falling asleep. I was so tired my head hit the pillow and I was out.
As crazy, and horrible as the experience was to have to hike, and get lost, and not have any sleep, I am pretty sure it is a story that we will all remember for a long time. And I think it will bring us closer together as a family for it. Just like our trials we face each day. Some of them are just down right dumb, and our fault, but still we can over come them and learn something from them. #tendermercies
Siesta time! I had a hard time falling asleep as you can tell. But man, Paul was asleep lickety split!
Mom getting a real good snooze in. With Levi just behind her, and Nayeli resting just behind him.
Our breakfast break! This actually happend right before we took our naps.
Another cute picture of Paul taking a nap. He just looks so serene!
Nena and Kess taking a nap. Lena wasn't too too happy with Kess because she was encroaching on her space. For some reason Kess thought it was cool to share Lena's blanket even though she said no! But Lena eventually got too tired to fight off Kess and ended up sharing her blanket.
The view from almost the top. You can see our little switchy back trail with no tree cover. If you look super close, you can also see my cute mom and dad on the trail. They look just like little dots, or baby trees or something.
This shot was zoomed in on the trail specifically. I wanted to get mom and dad, and I also wanted to get a picture of what we came up. You could either take a short cut and go almost straight up the mountain, (cutting out two sets of switch backs), or you could follow the real trail, (more switch backs less steep). We chose the steeper trail. My mom and dad chose the less steep trail.
This is how we were feeling while standing on the side of the mountain. Of course, Tallus is trying to give a "smolder" face like usual! Thankfully we did have a nice breeze most of our hike up, which helped a whole lot with us not getting too too hot.
Yay! We made it to the top for lunch!! Some of us are happy to be sitting in the shade. Most of us are just happy to be awake and alive.
Mom, dad, and Kess
Stopping to eat some lunch and show how we were really feeling about the day.
A fun little waterfall where we pumped water. If the campsite really had been four miles from the top we wouldn't have had to get water here, but its a good thing we did because we were hiking for another couple hours before we got to where we wanted to sleep for the night.
The end of day six, in our tent at 7pm at night, completely exhausted and ready for bed. One of the easiest times I have had falling asleep while it was still light outside.
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