Each day is such a gift. So cliche’, but is it? Yesterday was a glorious day! My family woke to new possibilities. My earthly father was whistling like he had all the breath that God has blessed him with. Just a couple of days ago, he could barely breath! But our wonderful and miraculous Heavenly Father granted him another day. No cliche’ in my mind!
As we went through our day, we received blessing upon blessing. The Doctor from the Pain Management Clinic called and was willing to stay through his lunch break to evaluate my Mother. We have been on a waitlist for the past month, and were not scheduled to see the “sought after doc” until mid-March. Now we have a lunch date with him tomorrow.
Mom and I celebrated by sitting on the patio and soaking up some much needed Vitamin D. The birds were chirping, eating little worms from the ground, the flowers were glistening from the early morning mist and life was as sweet as pie from Blooming Farm Bakery. (Hence the picture above.) Sometimes all you need to walk with God is a step outside your door. Indeed, that’s as far as this dynamic duo made it. That is all God required us to do to experience his countless blessings.
As the evening rolled around, Mom started having her seizures again. These have been off and on since the beginning of last year and after all the hospitalizations, pokes and prods, there hasn’t been much determined. More tests, EEG’s and CT scans but still no answers. We watched our nightly Hallmark movie and retired early to bed.
This morning was going to be the trip to Doctor Pain Management. Yet Mom was not having it. After yesterday’s beautiful, most wonderful day, today was nothing of the same. Wanda, my sweet Mom, continues to endure small seizures this morning and needless to say, we are hunkering down. These are the days when I wonder how strong I really am? Can I get through this with faith alone? And then God reminds me that each day is truly a blessing, an incredible unwrapped gift! As my prayers are heard, God remains true. I need to trust even in the darkness, because I know there is miraculous light just around the next corner. Surely Jesus will show His mercies in the early morning glimmer.
I fix my eyes on things unseen, on days ahead and must believe that better hikes, walks with God, are around the bend. At times it seems like a cliche’ but today it is, truly a gift! And who knows, who will be holding who’s’ hand on that walk? I can only pray that I will be there with my Godly Father, hand in hand, every step of the way. Many prayers for my family as we continue our journey, one step at a time, one continuous walk in faith.
Park City is known for the 2002 Salt Lake City’s Winter Olympics. There are bobsled and luge courses, ski jumps and ski race courses that are still reminisces of the games. But it wasn’t the city I could find myself living in. 
We traveled north to Idaho and visited our most favorite people. The Millers are in Nampa, a nice superb of Boise. It’s surrounded by farmlands and has many golf courses that would keep George happy. Then we headed to Northrop which is minutes from Coeur D’Alene. Another beautiful forested area with large pastures filled with livestock, horses, mules and donkeys. My dear friend Muriel left California for Idaho a couple of years ago and says she will never return. She has made herself a new life filled with love and passion for her mules and new friends. Life is what we bring to it, our beliefs, our God, our attitude and the community we belong to! 
George and I traveled west over the cascades and to the coastline. We loved the area just east of the cascades called Cle Elum. It is at the base of the Cascade Mountains, near Mount Rainier and has many lakes and rivers. It is remote but close to Seattle, which can be a double-edge sword, yet far enough to feel like you are out of the city. It has most the modern conveniences yet has the feeling that you are in a remote mountain area. Both George and I agreed that this could be a great option for a new beginning. 
We continued west and spent the last few days on the coast, Astoria, Newport, Golds Beach and Brookings, Coos Bay and Fort Bragg. The Oregon Coastline is breathtaking with long sandy beaches and foamy waves crashing on the shores. We both loved this area of Oregon with less traffic, clean beaches and the lack of crowds. It’s a bit far away from everyone we know and once again, we were scratching our head as to where is Utopia?
We walked the beaches, loved the minus tides with all the marine life, tide pools and sea urchins that were exposed. We met others with their clam digging boots on, obviously more prepared than we were. But what a lovely place to visit. Still not sure if I could live at the beach as there are no true mountains and the four-seasons are non-existent! 
George drove over 4000 miles in a bit over two weeks. That’s a lot of towns, cities and states to drive through. We finally arrived home a couple of days ago and all I wanted to do was to take a long, long bath and collapse in my bed. After all those miles, and all the weeks on the trail, honestly the only place I want to be is home! Home is my utopia. It is where I feel grounded, where my God follows me, and where I am truly at peace. My home is in a small unincorporated area near a lake, where the four seasons are only a short drive away, where hiking trails are outside my front door and where God is always one prayer away!
My faithful dog Zoey accompanied me on my first hike to the lake. She was thrilled to walk to Folsom Lake with me, never turns me down and has the excitement of, well, a dog! She is the best partner ever for hiking. She will accompany me anytime of the day or night, and never ever turned me down. She is much like our God, always ready to talk, to listen, and to accompany me through all of life’s ups and downs! 
So where is your utopia? I hope it is right where you are.
My wonderful husband George picked me up from the trail and we have been relaxing and checking out the sights of Park City, Utah. There are ski mountains that surround this town, beautiful rugged peaks that rise up around such a gorgeous place. It just so happens that my 60th birthday and 25th anniversary fall on the same day, August 19th. George asked me how I feel now that I’m 60 years young? Honestly, I feel absolutely blessed. God has provided me this incredible body that is His temple, a shell that allows me to climb mountains, hike trails and enjoy our Lords creation that only a few experience. Life is good but God is better! He is the one and only reason that I am who I am. He created me, ordained my days and put these passions of my heart. All I need to do is take care of myself the best I know how, ask for wisdom to make the right decisions and to live the life that He has given me.
As I look back on the trail, I long to be back out there. It is a selfish desire I have to want to be so close to God, to hear His voice, to feel His breeze upon my face, to know His desires for my steps. I understand that He also wants me in relationship with others, my husband and family, my friends and foes, and my community of believers, and ones who He wants me to share His word with. Hiking is a passion of mine that will never cease, but there must be a balance. Until I hike again, I will love my Lord right where I am. Sitting in my yard, I can hear Gods quiet voice. I can feel His breeze on my face and truly know His love for me. He never leaves me whether I am in the mountains or tilling the soil in my backyard! That is His promise to all of us. Wherever you are, I am with you! 
Never hold onto to anything tighter than you are holding onto God…
I woke up this morning feeling the best I have in a week. My lovely husband had already arrived in Durango so I sprung on an idea to Triple-Z. Lets see if we can wrap up this trail today?!?! That’s a lot of miles but I’m up for a challenge. We had a mostly downhill slide. The trail was shaded for the first bit with cedar and pine trees. It had some shale areas that are always tough for me, keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground. We kept running into our tramily, trail family, and mostly everyone had the same goal, finishing up the trail today.
The flowers were bigger the lower in elevation we went. Today was all about putting in big miles and pushing ourself one last time. As I’m headed down, I had no idea that’s Triple-Z was timing me. She was counting off the miles and told me I was hiking three miles per hour. Keep this up and you’ll see George by 5:30pm! That was all the motivation I needed. During the past few days, I was lucky to get 1-1/2 to 2 miles per hour. I was moving at a turtle pace, just one foot in front of the other.
We stopped for lunch and water and I saw these dried dead bones. Some animal had lost its life next to this beautiful river and source of life. I could only dream that my last breath would be in Gods creation, surrounded by mountains and fresh springs of water! 
As we came close to the end of our journey, we nodded farewell to one of our friends who we hiked with. He had planned to spend one more night in the wilderness hoping to savor the time before returning to the city. There is such a fine line between life inside and being outdoors. We can always wander outside, but to truly become one with nature, takes a special bond and commitment. 
Triple-Z and I met many people on the trail but honestly only a small percentage actually make it to completion. There are many reasons that take us off trail, family, injuries, on this trail giardia, but the few that see it to the end, have a change. Some more dramatic than others but you can not walk off this trail without humility. It humbles you from day one with the heat. Then you hit the monsoons with thunder and lightning scaring the daylights out of you. As you start the incredible climbs, the altitude and the daily ups and downs, sends many home. But once you get into a rhythm you find the glory, you get into step, and if you are fortunate enough, you have someone to share it with! Triple-Z and I started this trail together and we ended it together. We had our moments, our exchanges of ideas but we had each other, and that was a gift. 
We are two different people, we believe in two different philosophies yet God brought us together to share this experience! It was a grand and insightful time we had, filled with grace and humility and we accomplished what we set our hearts on. Spend time outdoors with our higher being, mine being God and hers being the universe. In the end, we grew to understand each other better and most of all, to be accepting of one another right where we are.
I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. 
This morning as we left the ridge that we had camped out, I was in tears. This will most likely be the last time that I’ll walk through these majestic mountains! As Triple-Z and I turned the corner, it was all together different. The fir trees took over the landscape and the San Juan’s and all the other 14er’s were behind us. Some people are beach lovers while others like valleys and deserts, I am a mountain girl at heart. It is my commune with the Lord. It is where I hear His voice the loudest. I believe He designed it that way, just to get my undivided attention.
We had a wonderful sunrise, then crested over Engineer Pass and dropped into this meadow. If I was a dog, this would be the best Dog Park ever! There were all sorts of critters to chase and things to smell! Triple-Z brought out her mountain finder app and we located Cross Mountain. It looks as though it has a steeple on top. So appropriate for this paradise that we are traversing. 
The morning was simply easy walking. The trail was manicured, no crazy roots to grab hold of your shoe laces, no menacing boulders or rocks, just absolute perfection. I would love to meet the volunteers who work year after year clearing, maintaining and caring for these trails. They are the true hero’s out here! 
We are leaving the San Juan’s and entering more forested territory. There are still huge majestic mountains but they are different. As we were walking just below the ridge line, I kept looking to my left and about tripped again. This is a regular occurrence of my flawed hiking step. I finally stopped and went up the ridge line to see this red rock beauty! It’s so interesting because you’ll be walking on grey ashen soil and all of a sudden, it turns to red clay. I can’t get over the diversity of this place!
We are getting down to the wire. We hit mile marker 445 so only 40 miles to go. We have a twenty mile water carry as a gentle reminder that water is so precious, even here! We filled up three plus liters and climbed our last hill for the day. I was in charge of picking a site and boy oh boy, it is as flat as a pancake, and has a super nice view. Glorious God! Life is good. 
It is much different on the south end of the San Juan’s. The mountains are red with clay trails and corn flowers growing like weeds. I never get tired of the scenery, I just get tired. I’ve been having a hard time eating so I’m not getting the fuel I need to get me up the trail. Usually it’s the complete opposite and you have hiker hunger. All you want to do is eat, eat, eat but for some reason my belly is not happy and I can barely get food down. That’s a problem! 
We are back in the trees again with lush green landscape, deers grazing and squirrels squeaking! Triple-Z has finally zoned in on what the chirping sound that we constantly hear from pikas and marmots. It sounds just like the alarm in your smoke detector when you need to change the batteries. Sometimes it’s really loud while others are just a gentle chirp. We are still holding out on finding the rare white weasel but haven’t seen one yet.
We climbed up a pass and found a perfect red rock to sit upon. I pulled out my yellow closed-cell foam insulated pad and relaxed. During our lunch we watched a very accomplished mountain biker come up the trail and negotiate the tightest turn around a rock like it was nothing at all. Darn mountain bikers are so much faster than us!
After lunch we finished the climb and headed down into a valley that looked like Zion National Park. Okay, I’ve never been there before but I’ve seen pictures and it has all the similarities. Red rock formations, red mountains and red clay trails. I came around a bend and this deer was standing just off the trail. She looked right at me and had no care that I was there. Sometimes they’re so skid dish while others just hangout. We filled up with water at Cascade Creek and yep, hiked up another 1000′ to our not-so-flat piece of earth. We are up on a ridge line and sometimes you get graced with a flat piece of real estate, but not tonight. I’m doing my best to barricade myself from sliding sideways and downhill but it’s a poor attempt. The consolation prize, I’m so tired that it probably won’t matter. Looking at our guidebook, tomorrow will be more downhill than uphill. Hallelujah! 
God has more in store for you than you can even imagine. 
Once I was through the first maze, I started to get the hang of it, but seriously in California they’d close the trail down. Here in a Colorado, they put up colored tape marking where the trail should be and cut you loose. The rumor is they might clear it out next year! People in Colorado are just made differently. 
Once we finished our gym workout, we came around the corner and there was a flat campsite with sticks laying all over it. Triple-Z said it was a staging area for beavers. Hmm, I just thought they didn’t want anyone camping there but sure enough, three small beavers came running down the trail directly towards us! It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. And adorable, of my gosh! Once they saw us, they headed back towards the water and off they went. 
We made it down to the railroad tracks today. A couple of years ago, Bear Bait and I rode the very train that travels these tracks. The route is from Durango to Silverton on an old steam engine-coal driven working train. I remember the train conductor mentioned picking up hikers on the CT. There was a quasi train stop for hikers as we walked down the tracks. I was tempted to wait for that train but we had a good box to pick up in Molas so up the mountain we went. 
Once at Molas Lake, we picked up our last resupply box filled with food to get us to Durango. With COVID and all, the store doesn’t allow anyone in but they staple their food and snacks on a wall and you can chose what you’d like. Triple-Z bought a huge burrito and I bought an ice cream. It was the best drumstick I’ve ever tasted! We both took showers, and washed our clothes in the shower with us. Not the most hygienic but desperate times call for desperate measures. We wore our tank tops till our shirts dried up and off we went, relatively clean for hiker trash. 
We had a few more miles to go and made our way out of the campground and back on the trail. We climbed again, of course, and made our way to our predetermined water source. After climbing up the rock, our water source was leftover pools of standing water. We scooped the best we could and found a luscious plateau that overlooks our accomplishments for the day. There is a satisfaction when you realize where you came from just this morning. 
Today was a day of God’s protection. Anyway you slice it, it could’ve been disastrous. A slip on a log, a twisted this or that. One thing is for certain, there was a lot of prayer going on. I truly know that our Lord has guided my every step. I am far from Wonder Woman or for that matter, some elite athlete. So in my mind, I truly believe that God is my master planner, that I love Him immensely and he has many angels working overtime on my behalf! It is God’s graces that allow both Triple-Z and I to cover the miles we do and stay relatively unharmed. I may have a few bumps and bruises but if I was to be honest, I usually always do. God is the one who is in-charge of my life and my path, and I am so grateful for that!
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called accordingly to his purpose. 
kellyhikes4god 