Grand Backpacking Adventure- Mom's Rejuvination Pt 4

Saturday August 20^th Roaring Winds Camp to Observation Peak- 3 miles

"Dwelling place, make my home in love"



Friday night we were able to savor this amazing camp at 6500 feet. I gave my feet a nice snow break in one of the unusable campsites. The sunset was breathtaking. I did not even know which way to turn as the beauty was so amazing in every direction.




After 9.6 miles of uphill climbing, I was not able to stay awake for any star gazing. My hiking partner Sarah said that I was asleep within minutes of entering my tent.




Waking up in the morning, I was speechless again at the beauty everywhere. I did not do a lot of reflection this morning, just tried to stay in the moment on the ridge during our short hike back to the car.




We saw Grand Lake from day one and a breathtaking final view down into the Badger Valley surrounded by mountains.





I reflected a little about being at home in the realm of love, just being and enjoying the beauty. My heart felt full and satisfied. I also thought about how my soul longs and waits for moments like these and how to cultivate more of a sense of peace and God's presence in my life. I thought about being swept by and living in the shadow of eagles' wings. Sarah and I had one last communion of fudge and mountain bars while taking in the view.




It was a great moment to get back to Observation Point, savoring all the views and reflections from the week. I felt like it had been enough time away and that I was ready to see my family again after the very long drive home.




We had some adventures on our way back to civilization again. On the Obstruction Point road we saw a marmot feeding her baby. The baby ran away, so we only captured mom in the picture, but it was an amazing moment. It was also scary driving my little Geo Metro back up the road on a Sat with traffic. We did have to share the road with some larger vehicles going down but were glad to be on the inside! When we got to the top the car in front had to stop. We could not make the hill and had to back up, then full speed ahead. Fortunately, the bikers and another car let us make the sharp right turn to continue down the paved road to the ranger station. We had a nice tamale lunch by the water at the Port Angeles Farmer's Market and a nice man let us borrow a cell phone to call our families since ours were both dead.




What an incredible adventure. I am so grateful for Sarah K for agreeing to join me, for my family for giving me five days away in the wilderness, for the incredible spring like weather every day of the trip, and for God for walking with me every step of the way! I came back to my family and took a shower first. Even Amy agreed that I stank! It was fun to show them the pictures and now she can recite the whole story! I felt like I was able to carry family, friends, the people I work with, and my faith community with me on this journey and hope my reflections and growth from this time will spill over to everyone in my life!