Conquered

Today, after twenty three years of living in Utah County I finally did something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while; I hiked to the Y.

This is meant to signify the trail being conquered, not to warn against taking this hike.

Okay, so some of you may have been expecting something more grandiose and fancy, but for me this was a huge thing. I am no longer one of those people who have lived in a place and never taken advantage of the opportunities there. Like the people who live in New York State and have never been to New York City ( I saw tons of people like that on my mission), or people who live in San Francisco and have never taken the tour of Alcatraz. I don’t want to be one of those people. So, I decided to take the hike today.

Growing up in Pleasant Grove I have hiked to the G many times. It’s a nice hike with some steep parts and some flat parts for variety. It’s something I did often as a kid. But, all I’ve heard about the Y hike was that it was “intense” and a tough hike to go on. Nobody seems to really want to hike it. But on Monday I was with my sister Louise and we saw so many cars headed up to the Y trail head, and I suddenly resolved that I was going to hike that trail, and soon. So, this morning I woke up and said to myself, “Today is the day. I’m gonna do it.” I packed a lunch and invited my roommate (he declined) and set out for the trail.

For me, this hike was exactly what everyone said it’d be; intense. I am not in the best shape (unless you count round as a shape) and have been working on that. I knew this would be a challenge, but I was determined to do it.

Well, it turns out that it’s really a short trail to the top; it’s just steep the whole way up. When I say steep I really mean it. It’s almost like climbing stairs the whole way up. There are ten turns mapped out and marked on the trail. I stopped at every turn, rested, and then determined that I could at least make it to the next turn. I went this way for all ten of the turns.

This was taken at turn 8. I was so close, yet had more uphill to go.

Finally I reached the top. It was such an amazing view, and so worth it. I sat up there gazing out at the awesome view of Utah Valley. It was wonderful. I’m so glad I pushed myself and did it. It feels really great. 

This is what the Y looks like from the bottom. Not that impressive.

You can easily see the parking lot over my shoulder.

And here is the marvelous view from the Y. You can see the whole valley from here.