Happy First Day of Fall

Hello! It's officially Fall and--heh. Been a while, yeah?
What can I say, tumblr is addictive?
Well I've given it up for a few months (several reasons, two of which are spoilers and it was eating my life so prolonged absence to teach myself that I don't need it). And I was going to have more posts, but things happened and stuff.

So let's write about summer, shall we?
Summer activities, or one in particular:

Leigh Lake.

Bit hard to tell from my pictures (beg pardon, but in my defense you can't take pictures that show what you see when you're there) but this is looking past the edge of the lake. That bright green grass/bushes area there on the left, just past that the trail heads steeply down. It's like...the lake is really really cool. It's like a bowl set up in the top of the mountain and filled with gorgeous, stunning blue water.

This is looking the other way. See, snow. In August. (or July? ...oh land, when was this...) July. end of July. But either way, it's gorgeous.

Also very high up.

Brutal trail.

(only) a couple miles, possibly one and a half, but still. Steep trail.

And for Miss Hi-I-Sit-Around-All-Day-And-Never-Exercise, it was incredibly hard. Eye opening, to be sure. I am woefully out of shape, and this trail...
couldn't have gone more than a quarter mile and I was almost ready to quit. In fact, if it hadn't been for the friends I went with, I would have. Forget the nagging voice in your head saying "You know you'll regret it if you quit, come on you love the outdoors, just imagine how pretty it is up there--"

(this was maybe a mile and a quarter up the trail, at this beautiful little waterfall from the lake, but see how you're eye level with those mountains across the way? those are the mountains you squint at from the valley floor and think 'wow, that's a long way up') I didn't get many pictures of the trail because I was busy breathing (honestly--it helps. Big breaths. don't talk. Etc etc.).

But I was about ready to head back down and wait in the van for the rest of the girls. I had a book, I would be fine...but my friends helped me. A lot. (thank you, friends. Due to Internet paranoia I name no names but you know who you are) We focused on one end of a switchback and rested there for ten seconds and repeated.

And I got to thinking about spiritual journeys and things. This trail was a lot like life. You know, you know it's going to be good once you get up there, but--do you really have to? Is it mandatory that you climb this mountain? Can't you just stay where you are? There's pictures, isn't there? I felt like either my inner motivational voice (cousin of the Inner Editor? Hm...) or God (difficult to tell sometimes, you know?) was saying, "Come on. Just a bit further. Look, stop by this stump here. Rest a bit. Drink water. You won't make it without your water. Breathe. Good. Come on. It's beautiful up here, I promise. There you go. Just a bit further."

Bit like life, I think. Spiritual, Christian life. You won't get far without water (God's Word), it's very hard to make it without breathing (God Himself), and you need friends to help you along the way.

And it was worth it.
That lake, being up that high, oh, it was beautiful.
Certainly worth training myself so as to make the next time easier.