I never thought I'd be here, I thought looking up at the daunting summit. I had always enjoyed the outdoors and being athletic, but I had never saw myself who climbs up big scary rocks for fun. And now I had to climb the Tooth of Time mountain at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico (is this a shameless plug for the largest and coolest camp in America? Absolutely). I bought the hiking boots, I slathered on the 70+ SPF, I packed extra Nalgenes full of water, so in theory, I was all kinds of prepared. But I had no idea what to expect, and I am a tiny little human with anemia and very prone to altitude sickness, so either this would be an exhilarating hike or I would die.

Here I go.

My first few steps up the mountain took me by surprise. Admittedly, the base of the mountain is a little misleading: it's not so steep quite yet, and you are in awe of the beauty around you. These mountains are one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen in my entire life. It's surprisingly much more green here than everyone imagines it to be. The smell of the fallen pines, the impressive boulder formations, this land is laden with a little magic. I felt so at peace, even with a 10lb pack on my back. Especially going up with a great group of people, it's like Tinkerbell flew over and dropped a mad pouch of fairy dust on you.

But then the heat and real climbing begins.

The trails are clear, peaceful and suddenly decide "nope, I'm sick of being suppressed. I don't wanna be a trail anymore. I'm gonna disappear and turn into a crazy few miles of rock and steep terrain." Needless to say, hiking these mountains are not for the faint of heart.
At this point, I'm climbing up on all fours, getting all kinds of sweat, and yelling inappropriate words to express how much I don't wanna deal with the heat. But this is where the natural beauty I experience earlier and the bonding with my trailmates intensified. I wanted to get to the summit already, but the negotiation of my body with the wilderness around me was struggling. But I pushed, and we pushed each other, cheering and clapping for one another.

After a few hours, I slapped my hand at the official marker of the very top. And it was one of the most amazing views I had ever seen (Albeit mostly I was excited that I didn't die from altitude sickness). As those Mountain Feels were getting me, I stretched my hands up to the sky, thanking God for helping me do this crazy thing I thought I'd never do.

And I can't wait for my next hike.

(ya see that crazy peak? That big stone thing jutting out into the heavens? I climbed that sucker.)