Something Hard

(Photo: Big Cotton Wood Canyon, cell phone quality)

Well friends, in less than 2 months I will be hiking the Grand Canyon from the North rim to the South rim with my husband and my father in-law, who do this hike every fall. The hike is roughly 25 miles. Did I mention that they do this in one stretch? What I mean is that all 25 miles will be hiked in one day...and the last 5-6 miles are the steepest incline. I am SO excited, but also so nervous that thinking about it sometimes makes me want to barf.

I've been going to the gym trying to prep for the cardio/endurance and lifting some weights. Matt and I have also done a bit of hiking this summer...but not nearly enough. Our weekends fill up with obligatory things, and then on those rare free Saturdays it's hard finding someone who can babysit for hours and hours. But I know if I don't kick things into high gear I'm going to be hating life come October. So my plan right now is to increase my work outs to 5 nights a week for the next 8 weeks (minus the 3 days I will be a girls camp). I'll continue running and walking at an incline as well as lifting weights, and I think I will start alternating running one night and biking the next. We're going to try and get at least two more hikes in before the big one, and hopefully that will be enough prep to get me out of the canyon without a helicopter!

I know some of you may be wondering why I would do such a thing. I know my mom thinks I'm crazy, and sometimes I have to wonder what I've gotten myself into, but there are a lot of reasons that I want to do this. Because it is a challenge, because it will be a great accomplishment, because it will be something I will never forget, etc. But I think the main reason I want to do this is because it will be hard. Throughout my life I think I have shied away from things that seem to be too hard because I just lack the self confidence to try. For whatever reason, I've gotten in the habit of taking the easy way out. That doesn't mean that I haven't done hard things in my life, because I certainly have. But more often than not fear keeps me from trying new things and stretching myself.

When I was making the decision as to whether or not I would attempt the hike this fall, I really thought about Aubrey. My little Aubrey who has been having physical therapy since she was five months old. My little Aubrey, who is just learning to walk at 2 and a half years old. It has not been a easy road for that little girl. It has been very hard for her. We ask so much of her, and we expect so much from her. And despite her low muscle tone, she learned to sit unassisted when she was 1, she learned to crawl when she was 17 months old, she learned how to bare weight on her legs, cruise along furniture, balance, and eventually walk. She did it, and she is still doing it, and it has NEVER been easy for her. She inspires me to do hard things. She teaches me to keep trying, and she has taught me not to be afraid. I am doing this because of her.