A Journey to the Top

On the outside, my legs feel like marshmallows that have been poked on a stick and held over a campfire. On the inside, there’s a sense of having conquered, of elation, wonder and thankfulness after my 3 hour hike up the mountain.

On the outside, it feels like I climbed Mount Everest. I’m not sure which of my leg muscles are which. They feel like one big tangled mess. My arms are also on the shaky side from using the walking pole. They’re like marshmallows too – mushy but still intact.

On the inside there’s nothing shaky or mushy – there’s a sense of having conquered. Once I reached the top, not only did I feel like I was on top of the world, I was! And when I looked around, I was rewarded with the magnificence of nature through a panoramic view of both sides of the mountains I was on and the lakes below.

Never before did I get a world class view of all the lakes together in the same sweep of the eye across the landscape. From up there I could see Duck Lake, Woods Lake, Kal Lake and Lake Okanagan, all at the same time. I’ve been to all the lakes in the area before, but the beauty of seeing all the lakes together at the same time at the foot of the mountains shimmering in the afternoon sun, just took my breath away.

There were moments, on the steeper inclines where I asked myself, “What am I doing, what am I thinking?” But even though I felt like a mountain goat on the climb up there and coming down was certainly no small feat either, the journey itself and the end result was well worth the effort and the time. Come to think of it. It isn’t much different than the journey inward many of us take when we start asking, “Who am I?” Both journeys filled with challenges but certainly full of rewards.

A lot to be thankful for on this beautiful Thanksgiving Day.