The Climb What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say volcano? Maybe dangerous, explosive and lava. But with me I think of teamwork, effort, perseverance. I was in a group from church called Young Mens. We work on serving others, bettering ourselves and even doing a little Boy Scouts. But every summer we take a week and let out. It was called the high adventure and this time we were going to climb Mount Saint Helens. After the two hour drive from our campground we arrived at the bottom of the mountain. As I heard our leaders talking they didn’t think the youngest boys, who were twelve or thirteen years old, including my brother were going to make it all the way. One of the rangers at the bottom told us that we had arrived late and that we should have come earlier so that we could make it up and down before the end of the day. She also told us that it usually took people nine to twelve hours to make it to the summit and back. We suspected that she was just exaggerating the numbers so we kept going. …show more content…
But once we had gotten out of the forest it was as if it was cut off so we could see barren rocks and small undergrowth. Slowly as I kept walking I drank from my camel pack but just that was something special as the smooth water rolled down my throat. Keeping me from collapsing to the ground. As we got higher we saw glaciers surrounding us with frigid water trickling underneath it. We stopped to fill our camel packs from the fresh water glaciers. As we went up we went through boulders and fine sand. As we kept looking up we told each other, “You can see the top, just up ahead”. As we continued on we found that we still had quite a ways to
It was simply amazing hiking out there, the mountains covered in tall trees that dug into the rocky soil, the beautiful sky, when visible. Even in the midst of strenuous exercise I still en...
I thought we were close to getting out but them I climbed up a tree and saw that I was wrong. We need to go north. I saw a little rustic old cabin up that way. And that was the closest point of exit. Which at that point was the best way to go. But up north the forest look even thicker which was not good. There was fruit and meat that would be a good kill so we could eat. So off we went. The only way now to tell days was the sun but even at some points we couldn 't see it.
Located in the popular Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in California. Every year, mother nature’s breathtaking beauty attracts millions of people from around the world. People hike for three long and fatiguing hours in anticipation of witnessing forceful water rushing down the steep mountain from 2,425 feet above. Last summer, my family and I backpacked through the Yosemite Falls Trail and I came to learn what a truly exhausting experience it is.
A familiar sound, yet somehow different. Blinding rays of sun pound on any bare skin that it can find. Out of breath, yet every time a breath is taken it tastes somehow more fresh than those that were taken just hours ago. Water has never tasted as good as it does now. Not a single tree blocks my sight of the vast landscape surrounding. As far as the human eye can register are planes and smaller mountains that seem like nothing compared to Humphrey’s peak; appearing almost as if they could be devoured in a single bite if wanting a light snack. The mountains dissipate into the far land; the decreased visibility makes the far land around me seem like a ghostly
The water was calm, like the morning; both were starting to get ready for the day ahead. The silent water signals that although rough times occurred previously, the new day was a new start for the world. As I went closer to the water, I heard the subtle lapping of the water against the small rocks on the shore. Every sign of nature signals a change in life; no matter how slight, a change is significant. We can learn a lot from nature: whatever happens in the natural world, change comes and starts a new occurrence. I gazed over the water to where the sky met the sea. The body of water seemed to be endless under the clear blue sky. The scope of nature shows endless possibilities. Nature impresses us with the brilliant colors of the sky, the leaves, the water. She keeps us all in our places and warns us when we are careless with her. After all the leaves have fallen from the trees, she will offer us the first snows of the year to coat the earth with a tranquil covering. That will only be after we have recognized the lessons of autumn, the gradual change from warm to cold, rain to snow, summer to winter.
admired in awe the huge steep hills that we had traveled, that we had conquered. The
“First time?” shouted a worker at the loading dock about two feet away from me. I nodded my frosty white head yes. “Well good luck kid, this one's tough, but I bet you can make it.” He said pointing at the mountain.
The air was fresh and chilly. The trail came out of the forest and we joined a logging road and continued our climb. We re-entered the forest and continued to climb...yes we were gaining altitude quickly and soon our hearts were thumping! This was no longer a gentle climb.
The view was beautiful from up there. You overlooked the snow covered floor of the canyon. You looked over to see reddish brown rock and the trees that looked to be about two feet tall.
My last trip to the summit was a journey filled with danger and hardships. The group of people that I was to lead up Everest included Doug Hansen, Sandy Pittman, Jon Krakauer, and Beck Weathers. Doug Hansen had attempted the summit on a guided expedition by me a year earlier, but we had to turn back. All and all the beginning of this trip was similar to many of my other commercial expeditions. We started at Kathmandu and worked our way to Phakding, where I picked up my crew of Sherpas. The Sherpas are very important to our expedition, so I told the team to appreciate their hard work. We then continued to climb until we stopped at Lobuje. This overcrowded village was disgusting and caused many of my clients to become ill....
After three weeks of waiting for the grass to grow, it finally sprouted up and we started our journey for Oregon. After the first towns in the beginning, The people guiding me began to throw materials out of the back of the wagon. That's when I noticed that their was all sorts of stuff scattering the trail. That night, my guiders unloaded a pile of assorted materials. In the morning, not to my surprise the wagon was lighter and easier to move. The journy was very dry for the next few weeks it was very dry, except when we hit these little towns. We would stop for no more than a day to stock up on energy, then keep on walking.
Once there, we dismounted from our iron maiden, unloaded our gear, and marched our way down a one foot wide dirt path, overgrown by branches. As I marched down the path, with a seventeen foot long aluminum canoe laying upon my shoulders, I was keeping a keen eye out for rocks and roots on the thin pass that laid before me in order to keep my footing. As I continued walking down the trail and closer to the water, with my eyes aiming towards the ground, the overgrown branches caught the canoe several times, yanking my shoulders to the side each time. Once we reached the water’s edge our crew got the first glimpse of the Canadian wilderness that has been so highly remarked; as we looked over the large, glistening, body of water that laid before us, a crystal-clear lake unlike anything I have seen before. Surrounding the lake were colossal, green evergreen pines and maple trees with no civilization to be seen.
We took off down a path covered softly with moss and tiny pink flowers. Off to the side of the path were endless green trees and pants all nestled together to make one beautiful piece of art. After a while, we reached a sparkling, clear brook. It was about twelve feet deep and nearly three feet deep. The path wound right along side the water. Down the brook a ways, we came to a deep water hole where the fish danced in the swirling current. I noticed the brook was beginning to flow a little faster now, and I could hear the steady, rushing noise of the water falling over the cliffs that lied ahead. We walked to the cliff's edge to look over at the crystal clear lagoon that lay below us. The falls dropped about thirty feet down before it met the pool of water below. To the sides of the waterfall were moss-covered rocks, ferns and other green plants, growing from the crevices of the cliffs.
I would attend the school pep rallies, football games, join the school powerlifting club, and school dances like Homecoming and Prom. Although these annual school events were fun and memorable, volunteering for community service hours holds a special relationship with me. It helped me realize my passion for helping people in a socially and physical way. This passion accompanied with my hobby of exercising led me to pursue the career of a physical therapist. In general, the experiences and lessons that I’ve adopted in American Canyon High School was truly life changing, and I’m grateful for it everyday.
The falls were rushing down layer after layer making a massive pool at the bottom. The water was ice cold with the ground feeling as slick as a freshly cut piece of countertop. After we had cooled off by swimming in the water, we started our four miles hike back down the mountain. However, this time I did not use my phone once, I just took in the magnificence with my eyes rather than looking through a lense.