Climbing a Mountain for My Cousin: Squaw Peak 7.5

I woke up at 5 AM and hit this trail with Sean at 6. It's a steep climb, almost 3,000 feet in just 3 miles.

During the climb, my thoughts were with my cousin whose 23-year-old son just passed away. What can you do to comfort someone who just lost their son? I am heart-broken over this. I decided I'd dedicate this morning's climb to my cousin and his family. I thought about the symbolism of mountains.  I love the mountains, but they can be treacherous, steep, and very difficult to climb. For me, the mountains are also the best places to receive inspiration and guidance. I do a lot of pondering and praying in the mountains.

Symbolically, we all have mountains to climb on our journey through this mortal existence.  When you feel like giving up, keep going.  You might need to slow the pace a bit, but don't stop.  You have something to look forward to at the top of the mountain.  We started the run in the dark, trusting the light of our headlamps.  The trail marker was down at the Squaw Peak turn-off, and I would have missed the turn-off had Sean not noticed.

When we reached the summit this morning, I looked out at the beautiful valley and the pink tint on the pre-dawn horizon.  It was good to be above the dirty air.  Again, my thoughts were with my cousin and his family.  I trust that one day they will rise above the smog of this life and have a beautiful vision opened up to them. It will be an enlightening experience and questions will be answered.  I also believe they will see their son again.  In the meantime, we'll keep climbing.





 Sean at the summit


Looking south at Mt. Nebo above the smog

Timp from Squaw Peak

Pano

Pink on the horizon

The sun hit Timp on our way down

Back where we began.  We beat the sun.  (That's Squaw Peak at the top left.)

Thanks to Sean for being a great companion on this morning's spiritually therapeutic climb.

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