Sunday, April 10, 2011

The mountains...a metaphor for life!


"To those who have struggled with them, the mountains reveal beauties they will not disclose to those who make no effort. That is the reward the mountains give to effort and it is because they have so much to give and give it so lavishly to those who will wrestle with them that men love the mountains and go back to them... again and again.
The mountains reserve their choice gifts for those who stand on their summits".
Sir Francis Younghusband

This awesome guy
has made me soar to heights I never thought I would!! We have always enjoyed being in the great outdoors and Tracy has been a backpacking enthusiast since he was a young boy.
Eleven years ago, Tracy's fascination with lightweight backpacking rekindled a hobby that had gone dormant through his college years. This rekindling set us on a course that we are both passionate about and we can never seem to get enough of...
backpacking and hiking in the rugged, pristine, mountains
not far from our home in Southeast Idaho.






When I think about the mountains,
I am reminded that I often have my struggles with them.
There have been times, the high altitude made it where it felt like a monumental effort just to get enough oxygen into my lungs and my hiking shoes began to feel like lead weights, as I traversed the steep and rugged terrain.

Many times it felt like I might never make it to the top.
I have even contemplated stopping and turning around.

However, I am always amazed that with hard work, determination and just putting one foot in front of the other, I always do eventually make it to the top.

When I'm standing on the summit of a mountain or at the crest of a high mountain pass and overlooking where I've came from and the view down the other side, I see and experience beauty beyond measure and breath-taking scenery, that I would never get to see and experience if I didn't keep trying until I made it to the top!

As an aside,
here is one of my favorite blog posts about perseverance, not giving up and how the top of the mountain brings the most amazing view ever...definitely a must read
(click here)

The determination and persistence
from climbing mountains
has carried over into my everyday life.
It is has given me the courage to try new things and to have a
"yes I can attitude" even more than I ever had!

And, standing on the top of a mountain peak with my family by my side, especially, my young kids that stuck with it until we made it to the top...
well that my friends is just plain awesome!

To have my kids be learning at such a young age the power of persistence and the joy that comes from doing something hard and having the most amazing reward to enjoy at the end of a long hard hike uphill.

The mountains
are teaching me and my kids SO much about life!

I love this photo,
because here it is August 8, 2010
and yet we found all of this snow.
One of the many treasures you find
when you keep on climbing!

I can't wait to get back there...
hiking weather is not too far away.

If I had my wish, I would be out enjoying and climbing these rugged mountains every day of my life,
enjoying the precious gifts that the mountains offer as
I stand on top of their summits!

5 comments:

Ann Marie said...

What a beautiful post Kimmie!

When I see pictures of you and your family in the mountains.. I always think of the Hymn " For the Beauty of the Earth" while I see them. -- Your family sure does appreciate nature and all it has to offer. I LOVE your enthusiasm.

I also LOVE that Tracy's hobby has now created spark of love for backpacking and nature within you and your boys. -- I know his calling as Scout Master is hard sometimes because it's so demanding with time... but I can't think of anyone more perfect to be teaching the scouts all about surviving in the outdoors in any type of weather.

I complain way more than I should about Chad being gone much.. but he truly LOVES to be with the scouts and outdoors as well. It's quite a blessing to have a leader that isn't complaining about "roughing it."

Nature is for sure a wonderous playground.. and we don't utilize it NEAR what we should as a family.

~ Also... thank you for the Analogy today with the mountains.
-- Just like General Conference.. it's almost like you were writing it just for me.

Love you much...

Lesa said...

Beautiful photos! What a great adventure to enjoy the mountains as a family!

Brittany H said...

Thank you so much for that post Kimmie. I really appreciated it!

Holy cow all your pictures are seriously breathtaking. Everything is more beautiful when you persevere through pain and trial isn't it?

I can't wait for hiking season!!!!

Unknown said...

I'm delighted to discover your blog - esp. given how unlikely it seems that this body will ever be transported to the himalayas. This way I get to coattail on your blessings :)

One point (since I see no ‘contact’ process on Blogger: I discovered you site because of Sir Francis Younghusband's Asian explorations. In the interest of accuracy (and since your Blogger blog is high on Google search results for Sir Francis), you might want to correct the spelling of his name where you quote him (you have him as “Sir Frances Youngblood.” [ Sorry about the nit-pick, but with a weird name like ‘Pinneau,’ I get vigilant about misspelled names. ]
Continued glorious explorations for your life! —Richard

Kimmie said...

Hi Ricardo....so nice of you to stop by my blog and I appreciate you letting me know that "Francis" was spelled incorrectly! I have changed it. Good Luck to you in your explorations and adventures in your life!