Trail Obstacles

Hiking through Rocky Mountain National Park the beauty was overwhelming, the next day our team was serving in downtown Denver in a Street reach meal service to people suffering from homelessness. The beauty of the mountains was overwhelming but then we surrounded by this vast issue of homelessness. Both of these moving experiences, along with many other moments during the week, that made this trip personally impactful and helped me to see the world in a more vivid light.

Sight, I saw many cool things on the hiking trip. I saw rocks in the middle of the rushing waters that were disputing the water away from it. Another thing I saw was a tree that was 30 times taller than me.

This part of the run is not difficult for me, which is good because my mind is already focused on the cliff that I know is about 100 feet down the ridge and 50 feet on my left (north). Waiting for my turn at the top, I had lots of time to sit and think about what I was about to do, igniting my nerves and adrenaline, making my body feel numb. I ski to my spot above the cliff, and the iconic House Rock looks like it always does, almost like a fifty foot diving board that will shoot you out half-way down the rest of the mountain. I stop right above the point of no return. I must choose to hit the cliff or not. There is no turning back once I move from this spot.

At that time, I felt like a rookie sky diver preparing for his first plunge. The cabin door opens to reveal the extreme distance of his fall, which leads to either sheer excitement or eventual death. The naivete that sheltered his fear disappears at the sudden reality of the moment. By then, of course, it is much too late to turn back. The very thought that this was his idea seems absurd to him, and he feels like the only person on the face of the planet. And so he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and

My mom, Kailli and I were spending our first week of summer in the hot dry sun of Palm Desert. As we were planning out our agenda for the next day, we came across a brochure for the Taquitz falls three miles deep into the hot Palm springs desert. We had to see it with our own eyes to believe it. A waterfall in the middle of the desert seemed bizarre, so the next morning we set off for our hike at six in the morning. After a couple bumps in the road we finally began our hike

I love hiking the Soberanes Loop Trail with my dad. The first mile or two follows deep into the redwoods, with soft sunlight filtering through the canopy a hundred feet above. The creek babbles and bubbles in the depths of the valley, and birds cry out flying overhead, weaving through trees.

With the afternoon sun beating down on the water and the camp in view, I can’t help but catch my breath in awe as I prepare to hike down the rest of the way, absorbing the beauty of this wonderful place. As the steep trail descends along the shoreline, it runs over the Sierra Mountain streams and makes its way towards camp. Running through camp and past the aged Herrington Lodge that serves as our kitchen, the trail then ascends up and through the campsites which reside on a rocky ridge. Overlooking the Lake from above, the view from the campsites becomes quite relaxing, especially as you climb up higher and higher. The highest campsite on the rocky hill is Eagle Rock, and although the hike can be treacherous, the incredible sight of the distant Sierra Mountains makes it worthwhile. While Camp is in session, I often see some people rowing, or sailing gracefully through the water. Because the south end of the lake is surrounded by a tall rocky ridge, Cody Lake often gets wind from the north, where the valley descends just past the edge of the water, overlooking the distant highway. Looking outwards, I can see a distant waterfall as

After the train ride looking around seeing desert and sand. There was nothing, no houses to be seen the land flat and stretching for miles as far as the eye can see. I felt relieved to finally be off of the train and what I saw next took my breath away. My family and I have waited a long time to go excited to see what was waiting for us. The Grand Canyon the national park in Arizona August 2014.

Driving across the golden gate bridge is a sight to see. Well it is a site o see if you can see through the layers of thick fog and if your car sat up high enough you could see out over the bridge. The air was not freezing, but there was a chill in the breeze that gave me goose bumps. Driving down crooked roads, and eating the sourdough bread instead of the soup inside it are special memories. It was a few days in San Francisco last summer that gave me a love for somewhere other than home.

The trail back was considerably harder, not because of the hike, but because one of my last adventures with my best friends was coming to an end. The thing about this trip was not just the sights or the sounds. This trip was about the memories I was making with my friends. This was one of the last times I would be able to do something like this with these guys, since everyone would be moving out and going to college couple months. Just being able to feel the fresh, untouched air, and see the bright, starry specs in the sky, with some of my best friends is

Climbing up the moss covered steep spur after it was raining was one of the main challenges test expedition as it tested both my endurance, balance and courage. It was not helpful that my glasses were covered with droplets of water as it made me paranoid about tripping over stones. It tested my fears as I was afraid of heights, looking back what kept me from slipping and taking a break was never looking back behind me and never looking up at how much longer I had to go, keeping focused on where I was stepping, breathing and the position of my centre of gravity. Towards the end of the first day of the expedition there was one main highlight that made my day. We were all exhausted and down after the long first day hike, and we were no longer at the high spirits we were at in the previous days but, one thing that really helped everybody regain their spirits was the box of free apples on the side of the road on the way the orange tree grove

Then there were a lot of obstacles. They kept getting in my way. A stone fence was in my way and when I tried to go around, I fell. When I was close to the end, I fell. I made back to where I was.

The starting line was filled with up to 100 people. Bodies pushing you to get to the front, men who are already somehow sweaty and people who are just excited to be there. My sister helped me get over the first wall and we started. The first hill was horrendous. I relied on my sister to push me up once my legs started failing me. But once we got to the woods part, I was able to go on by myself. Jess and I both decided to walk most of the obstacle course since we weren’t in the greatest shape but we all helped each other get through as many obstacles as we can. There were hurdles, a slanted wall, downhills, a net we had to climb, and more. Once we got to the barbed wire, there was our first water break. The barbed wire was almost a half a mile long and we had to crawl under it on our stomachs or however you wanted to crawl. There was so many people around you doing the same thing and all going at the same pace. We thankfully got water sprayed on us during it so we washed off the mud

Years ago, my brothers friend, Jason, and I were going on a trip to walk through the woods to the fish hatchery. We had gotten everything ready to go, water bottles, food, and a couple of other equipment. After a lot of planning, we finally left my house. We started the walk at 10:30. The air was nice, warm and it was a summer day. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the fish hatchery, climbing hills and jumping over damp, large logs on the way.

One morning my dad and I woke up in our hotel room watching the glorious sunrise and were quietly walking down the hallway of the hotel to go to the lobby. In the lobby, there were these huge advertisement banners hanging up that said, "Take a roll through the desert." There were pictures of people riding ATV's in the desert so we decided to go on an adventure.