Obsession or necessity?

Haynes Reservoir, Leominster, MA 20 Sep 2014

       Hiking appears to be an obsession of mine and maybe it is. I'd argue it's become medically necessary.  Depends on how you define obsession. I do try to take a walk into the woods at least once a day as often as possible. Today I fit in three little walks, one right after church along Paradise Pond, one to this reservoir between laundry, and one more at Prospect Park in Leominster as laundry finished up and before the sun set.  Fall is a hectic season with school starting back up, it is peaceful scenes like the one above that give me my serenity to face the chaos again.

I believe everyone tries to have balance in their life.  Faith, family and friends are top priorities in my life.  Today, church with family and friends came first, then lunch and chores with family, then I fit in what walks I can. Finding a balance with what's important and what's necessary is tough.  Chores and work often cut into enjoyable activities. I am lucky to have a job I really enjoy and find rewarding as well as the blessings of a home to take care of.

Hiking and exploring the woods began really early. My Mom shared that she use to have to tie me to the clothes line outside or I would escape into the woods as young as 2 and 3. By age 4 I was off exploring, my Mummu took me on walks and showed me berries I could eat and leaves I could chew on.  I still remember finding these peppermint and spearmint leaves with her.  We lived in a home surrounded by woods, and many trails.  I found some trails that are still favorites today in Hager Park and the Midstate Trail sections in Westminster.

I continued to explore the woods throughout my childhood and into adolescence.  In my teens I became very angry, and later found out it was depression.  I still visited the woods when I could but school and work cut into much of my free time.  By early 20s I was still very much fighting depression and started on medication.  I needed the medication to finish college and raise my young son.  I tried to go off medication when I got married at age 23 but a year later I needed them again. For years I was off and on medication for depression. The side effects were minor but I could tell that my feelings were suppressed.  At the same time I was gaining weight as an emotional eater and that triggered high blood pressure. Soon I was taking medication for both.  This depressed me further to know I was needing meds in my 30s.

It was while sitting in a doctor's office in 2007 that I stumbled upon a magazine article describing a hobby called letterboxing. I was intrigued as it was about treasure hunting in the woods. This brought me back to my childhood days looking for neat things to explore in the woods nearby.  That June I set out and starting searching for local letterboxes. I found so many trails right in my Leominster neighborhood. I was soon hooked and looking for them everywhere.  Then I just started to enjoy hiking the trails. That summer I lost 20 pounds. This was great, I was feeling better and losing weight.  I continued to letterbox but then also starting hiking just to hike.  A year later, I am down another 30 pounds and feelings so strong that I stopped my anti-depressants.  My blood pressure was also down and I cut the meds in half, a year later of continuous hiking and I didn't need them at all!

Hiking has helped me stay med free for over 5 years now and my weight has stayed the same. I would like to lose more and still working on that.  As long as I hike I am healthy; spiritually, mentally, and physically.  The medicinal effects of hiking are amazing, I can talk to God during my hikes, problem solve, and burn a lot of calories.  The obsession is that I enjoy hiking so much that I'd like to find a trail and stay on the trail for a long time...but alas, now is not the time, nor the season.  I know hiking isn't for everyone. It's about finding your passion and carving out time for it so that it adds to your life.

Happy Trails!!

Sister time in Steamboat Springs

Visit a ski resort in the summer? Why not, there is a lot to do and see any season in Colorado! For the first time in our lives, my two sisters and I took a vacation together, just the three of us. Christine initiated the planning to celebrate turning 40.  I was excited to see them both again, be in Colorado, and explore a new area.  Travel to Denver was uneventful and after a quick visit with Christof, my brother-in-law, and my two nieces, the three of us headed up to Steamboat Springs, a 3 hour drive from the Denver area.  With traffic it took us a bit longer but was still daylight when we arrived.  We checked into our condo at the Rockies, very nearby the ski resort on the mountain.  After reviewing our weekend digs, we headed downtown to grab something to eat and see the sites.  We all decided on Mexican and enjoyed a delicious meal at The Cantina downtown sitting at a table on the sidewalk.  The drive up had been quite rainy and stormy but thankfully the storms had passed and we had very pleasant weather during the evening to walk up and down the main street checking out souvenirs and local flavor.  We walked over to see the Yampa river and could hear the excitement growing at a nearby Rodeo. As it grew dark we headed back to the condo to get some sleep before an early morning trip down to Bald Eagle Lake for our first ever Hot Air Balloon Festival!

 Saturday morning we left the condo just after 6 am to head over to the Hot Air Balloons.  There was a free shuttle from a parking lot nearby.  We were then greeted by a local Civil Air Patrol group that were helping with unloading the shuttles and patrolling the area.  My oldest son and husband had served in the CAP years ago and was nice to see some in action.  We arrived just as the ceremonies began.  Two balloons were fully inflated, one representing America and the second, Colorado. The National Anthem was sung and then the balloons lifted off.  As the morning progressed many more balloons were inflated and took off, filling the skies. Some returned back, some skidded over Bald Eagle Lake, adjacent to the event, and others took off further away. I had two favorite balloons, although they were all very pretty.  Smokey the Bear's balloon, and character, were at the event to celebrate 70 years of promoting forest fire prevention.  My other favorite was called Western Spirit and it is one of 12 operational balloons today that is hand painted.  We spent several hours at the event enjoying all the balloons and beautiful morning down in Yampa Valley.

Western Spirit

The Smokey the Bear Hot Air Balloon made a special appearance!

 As the event closed up for the day, at only 10 in the morning, we decided to head over to a local farmer's market in downtown Springboat.  There we enjoyed locally prepared jams, jewelry and purchased some souvenirs.  They even had a van parked nearby selling Buffalo meat.  Next we headed back to the condo for a quick lunch before going up to the ski resort for a gondola ride.

America's Balloon over Bald Eagle Lake

The Steamboat Ski resort is a beautiful place, really wish I could return to see it in the winter as well! It was very clean, had a small creek running through with Adirondack chairs along side to sit and relax in. The gondola ticket was good for all day, as many trips as you wanted. We wanted to head up before any possible storms.  The lift also brought up mountain bikes as there is an extensive mountain biking trail system up and down the mountain.  The views were beautiful from the ride up and the weather was still really nice.  Once at the top we took a small hike over to some vistas as well as through some of the aspen laden woods.  It was nice to get a small hike in and enjoy some of the wild flowers and look down upon the village of Steamboat Springs. The weather held out and we were able to do another ride up and down the mountain. On our second trip we enjoyed sitting out on the sundeck of the lodge.  They were setting up the place for a wedding, so beautiful! What a wonderful place for a wedding ceremony!

View looking down on the village of Steamboat Springs through some of the Aspen

      Upon returning from our final gondola trip we headed out to do some more hiking, and we headed over the find Fish Creek Falls.  Along the way we "accidentally" found the historic barn in Steamboat that is found in many advertising posters and postcards for over 40 years.  I had wanted to find the barn ever since seeing a photo of it at the farmer's market. My sisters kept teasing me about wanting to see some silly barn and then we were shocked to find it just along the main road as we were driving.  I of course had to take pictures!

The More Barn in Steamboat Spring, CO

After a quick stop at the barn we found our way over the Fish Creek Falls just a few miles from downtown and hiked two small trails, one that took you to see the overall falls and then a steeper trail that led down to the base of the falls.  The trails were not challenging but very beautiful and there were many interpretive signs along the way.  It was somewhat crowded but that didn't take away from the beauty of the place.
     After all that hiking and exploring we had worked up our appetites so went back to the condo to eat leftovers along with the fresh vegetables we bought at the farmer's market.  Then we headed back up to the ski resort to see a night time display of the balloons and watch a mountain side showing of the movie "Up".
Though we had beautiful weather all day the night brought very strong winds which prevented the balloons from being inflated.  It was a little disappointing but would have been terrible had there been any accidents. The Balloon pilot were good sports though and 10 of them came up with their baskets and fuel and lit up the night skies for us. And we still enjoyed the showing of Up until it became too cold.  Didn't take us long to fall asleep!
     On Sunday I woke up early to take a walk around the area, enjoy some prayer time and try to catch some of the balloons taking off at day 2 of the festival. I did enjoy the peaceful morning and beautiful array of balloons taking off a few miles away.  It was such an added bonus to my morning walk to see balloons all over the sky! And also could see balloons from our condo.

The original Steamboat Springs

Art in the Park

Art sample from truebutterflies.com

      A little later, Christine and I headed over to the Art in the Park while Darlene caught up on rest. We found some of the orginal spring that the town was named for and found the reason for the name "steamboat".  Apparehntly when French explorers came upon this area they heard the springs and the sound reminded them of a steamboat. The name stuck.  These springs were 70 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter and smelled awful like sulfur. There are over 9 different springs in Steamboat and they all have different names.  The Art in the Park was overwhelming. I enjoyed all the photo displays from some very talented artists and one artists display of insect art, called Entomology Art.  And we also made a quick stop over to see the Steamboat train depot.
 

About to tube the Yampa

     After lunch we all headed downtown to rent tubes and float down the Yampa! I was the only one to wear a life jacket and brought a camera so of course I dumped over twice. It was cold and the water rushing but did ok.  Christine fell over once and recovered but it was definitely scary for a few moments when you realize the river has more control than you do.  It definitely was a fun and refreshing adventure.  On the way back I asked some boys on our shuttle for their recommended favorite place to visit in Steamboat and they unanimously agreed it was a place called Rocket Fizz and remarked that it had candy that existed back in my day! My sisters and I decided to have a quick bite and drink along the river at Sweet Pea.  Our waiter was sweet but devastated as news had just been shared that his team, Argentina, had just lost to Germany in extra over time for the World Cup.  We browsed a few downtown stores including Rocket Fizz where we all bought some candy! Our next adventure would be to try the Hot Spring in Strawberry Park.

arriving at Strawberry Park Hot Springs

Hot spring at Strawberry Park

The sun setting at Strawberry Park

Enjoying our first hot spring pool

            We drove several miles out of the village to reach Strawberry Park Hotsprings.  I had no idea what to expect and was looking forward to it.  The setting was beautiful surrounded by aspen and all the building were rustic, a tepee was provided as a changing room.  The park had several different areas to soak in, and each one had a very different temperature from so hot it was difficult to sit in at all to freezing cold.  You could see several of the run off hot spring as steam rose above them and snow melt rivers that combined with the springs made for reasonable temperature pools.  After trying several we found one that was just right and enjoyed soaking in for for several hours.  The park is clothing optional after dark and for adults only. I will let my readers use their own thoughts on whether or not we went for clothing optional.  We had to use flashlights to navigate out of the park back to our car and had to be careful not to shine on others! The soak was so nice after a day of floating down the chilly Yampa River.  I would definitely recommend this as a must do if in the Steamboat area.  Close to 10 pm we headed back to town, saw a deer along the way, and were ready for some sleep after a couple of snacks.  

On the train at Adventure Land

      Monday we headed back to Denver to bring Darlene to the airport and then I was able to spend a few extra days in Aurora with Christof and my nieces.  Our first evening we went bowling and I must really benefit from the high altitude because I scored 3 strikes in my first string and 5 in my second string! On Tuesday we enjoyed a day at Adventureland where we did a maze, took a train ride, enjoyed ice cream and rode the alpine slide.  The girls are growing more adventurous and it was fun to hang out with family a little bit longer. I have for years wanted to visit the Columbine memorial but never felt ready, we visited on Tuesday afternoon and I realized I still wasn't ready, it still hits too close to home as a teacher, Mom and aunt to read the memorials but will say it is a beautiful tribute and gave me time to reflect and pray for all those still in mourning.   On Wednesday we spent the majority of the day before I went to the airport at the Denver Museum of Science and 'Nature. The girls never tire of this museum and we visit every year. I must say it's one of my favorite stops as well. I love the Human Body exhibit enjoyed a new movie about hiking in high altitude.

Columbine Memorial in Littleton

Parting shot as I leave Denver...

Mount Katahdin: completed by His strength, not mine... Phil 4:13

A little trip to celebrate my 42nd birthday...

Colleen and I at Chimney pond, soaking wet, summer of 2012

My friend Colleen and I had been drawn to Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park back in 2012; we spent a night in a motel near by and then attempted a hike in a down pour only to make it 4/5ths up and run into thunder and lightening.  Storms are common here, brought in by the legend of Pamola - more on that later. We safely descended during that hike, a total of 10 hours on the mountain and vowed to come back some day.  That day would be 2 years later just before my birthday.  That trip taught us a lot, mostly that we really needed to trust God for what we could do and make it more about the entire trip, not just the destination.

Stopped for a Munzee at a vista along the highway and had this view!

Months prior to the trip we spent praying about it, planning different itineraries, and booked space at bunk houses located at the base (Roaring Brook) and also part way up (Chimney Pond).  I prepared a devotional to read the night before the hiking began and Colleen also had brought along devotionals about relying on God to do what He calls you to do.  As the days grew closer and closer we started looking at weather predictions and growing nervous as rain and storms fell on the days we planned to hike.  In a last minute decision, Colleen suggested we try to go up a day early and stay locally so we'd have one more optional day to hike.  We booked a room at the Big Moose Inn just outside the park for one night earlier.  We also spent the final days researching and purchasing needed gear for the trek and stay at the bunk houses. We were ready, sort of....

Wednesday, July 2nd, we took off from my house in the morning and headed north.  We only made one stop on the way up and that was to visit a very large Cabela's store in Scarborough. Just a few hours later we arrived at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket, Maine. (7 hours total)  The Inn was very welcoming and the decor made it feel very homey. Lots of rooms, a few shared bathrooms, common rooms, large screened in porch filled with rocking chairs, attached restaurant as well as a bar.  We walked next door to the North Woods Trading Post to souvenir shop and then grabbed dinner at the attached Loose Moose Bar.  The beds were super comfortable and gave us a decent night's rest after a time of sharing devotionals.  A verse taken from one of the devotionals helped drive us forward through the hike, "It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights...You (God) broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn." (Psalm 18:32-33, 36) The devotional came from a gentleman who is hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money for a Christian School in Florida and his mission is called Hike it Forward.  We slept until just after 4 am, grabbed our gear and checked out of the Inn.  There is an Inn Sitter that sleeps on the couch and a sign that says to just wake her up by saying "Good Morning" which we did.  She was sleepy but very helpful and made us coffee at our request and also brought out breakfast which is amazing since it wasn't even 5 am yet! We ate quickly and headed out.

Through all of our research, we never saw a note about what time the park opens and just assumed it would be early.  Note to others: it doesn't open until 6 am! We were 40 minutes early but used that time to get our boots on, do final gear checks, apply bug spray, sun screen, and finish our coffees.  Three other vehicles were waiting along with us for the ranger to open the gates.  We quickly checked in and drove down to the Roaring Brook Campground parking lot.  The weather prediction at the ranger cottage read: partly sunny with 70% chance of rain and storms. At the moment it was in the high 60s and cloudy.  Several other hikers were starting off, we all signed in at the hikers' register with our planned route, Chimney Pond Trail, which would bring us to the next Ranger Station.  And we were off... I was hiking a little faster wanting to beat the storms but not remembering to enjoy the hike, especially the sensational roaring brook that parallels the beginning of the trail.  The trail was dry, with a few moist spots, a few stream crossings, and lots of rocks.  Early on in the trail we crossed boards and bridges over larger water areas.  On one section there is a nice set of stone staircases that reminded me of my hometown Barret Park stone staircases.  My favorite part of the Chimney Pond Trail are the long, nicely constructed bridges and this morning the clouds were starting to lift so you could see the mountain early on!

The Chimney Pond Trail is 3.3 miles from Roaring Brook to the campground and ranger station. We left Roaring Brook at 6:40 am and arrived at Chimney Pond by 9 am.  We were overdue for a water break and tried to eat though our appetites were really small. It was getting really hot and we were sweating profusely which caused the bug spray to wear off. Should have reapplied....found that out later. Next we headed over to the ranger station to get weather and trail updates.  Abol trail, though not on our list, was closed due to rock slides and instability. We had planned to take Saddle Slide up to Baxter Peak then cross over Knife's Edge and down Dudley back to Chimney Pond and Chimney Pond Trail back to Roaring Brook to our awaiting bunk house.  The rangers at Baxter Park are some of the best I've ever met and very nice, honest and helpful.  They recommended Saddle Slide up and back due to the impending storms and need for tree cover.  Storms could arrive anytime between noon and 5.  There are outhouses at Chimney pond so we took advantage of those as well and took a quick walk over to Chimney Pond for a picture taken graciously by a couple from New York.

Colleen and Cher at Chimney Pond July 3, 2014

We started up Saddle Slide Trail just before 10 and it grew steep and quite rocky early on.  You could rock hop or climb up and over the rocks. It wasn't long before I gave up on using poles and stashed them in my pack.  There were a few stream crossings and tree cover for much of the way.  I was watching the sky constantly for cloud patterns. There were more clouds than earlier, but white with patches of blue so was encouraged.  As the trail went on it grew steeper and the rocks larger.  Often you had to pull yourself up over a large boulder to get to the next one.  Colleen and I had our heart set on finishing this, especially since God had provided such beautiful weather for the day.  Our strength was draining, and Colleen had a heavier pack which made it more difficult.  We both agreed this wasn't the type of hiking we really enjoyed, not when it's endless and punishing our bodies.  We relied on that promise in scripture that God would make the way perfect, and keep us from falling.  I prayed continually for strength and encouragement.  At one point Colleen need time to recover and think the hike over as I went up ahead a bit to see how much further we had.  We still hadn't reached the point we had two years ago.  This time there wasn't any rain but the black flies started to swarm in on us.  As I went up, a solo hiker stopped to check on Colleen and encourage her. At the same time Colleen texted her sister for prayer and received a live face time encouraging chat with her sister and nieces urging her on.  I praised God for that moment, a miraculous moment for her to have cell service and immediate encouragement from family.  She wanted to keep at it, and we didn't move fast, just forward.  This is a great picture of her endurance as you can see there isn't really a trail, just a pile of rocks to climb up and over for just under a mile. So proud of her for pushing through and encouraging me as well!
After the big rock piles we hit the .8 mile slide, which is basically a rock slide down the mountain.  Most of the rocks are stationary but most are not and then there is loose sand all around.  Each step has to be calculated and we were very thankful that it was dry! The thought that kept nagging at us is that we still needed to go through this in reverse after we make it as far as we make it which we weren't sure what that point would be.  One nice distraction while hiking in a tough section is sharing it with others.  There was a family going through this at the same time and it wasn't much easier for them than it was for us. We all encouraged one another through it.

The views were incredible and here Colleen is just about at the top of the Slide with Pamola peak in the background to the right.  This was exciting, to reach the Saddle or Table Land which brings us to just a mile from the peak.  I had mistakenly thought the Table Land would provide a mostly flat hike to the peak... It was flat for a hundred yards or so but then grew rocky and steep again.  Just before the half mile marker the trail is marked with pink rocks (granite) that look like lava flowing down. They were loose so footing was tough.  A few hikers returning encouraged us to keep going and we heard cheers from further down the trail.  It was shared that a few Appalachian Trail thru hikers had just completed the trail from Georgia and were celebrating up top.  That was incredible to know some had just finished hiking over 2000 miles!

Colleen had severe knee pain at this point and didn't want to hurt her chances of making it down safely so opted to make this her turn around spot. She insisted I go on while she rested.  I was hesitant, and a bit anxious, but she really wanted me to keep going so I did.  I will admit it was with some guilt not hitting the peak together, but hurried up the last .4 mile, took some quick shots, and returned in less than an hour. There were only a few others at the peak, and I had a hiker take my picture at the top, took a few more before returning. My favorite part of seeing the sign in person was seeing my favorite verse written on one of the legs, Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

The weather was perfect! Views looking East over at Pamola Peak and Knife's Edge Trail

Colleen had used her time alone to pray and read scripture and it was evident she had found peace during this time. She was also incredibly happy for me which helped ease some of my guilt.  We now had to head down and kept praying for the storms to hold off.  The hike down the Table Land wasn't bad once you were passed the pink stones but it was the slide we were nervous about.  Met another couple about to go down and they were a bit nervous as well.  Poled helped some but not a lot and soon we met a new obstacle, well several, millions actually in the form of little black flies.  We tried a mosquito net and that helped a little but it was very distracting trying to hike down while they swarmed in your face and feasted on any exposed skin.  At first it was comical, and I stopped to take a picture of them all around me, my ears were full of blood by now, as was my face.  They had bothered us on the way up but seemed to multiply during the time we had left them.  The amazing thing is that they couldn't bite through my shirt, was happy about that but now two days later I still look like I have chicken pox! We applied 100% DEET for the third time and that finally seemed to make a difference.  I had avoided putting it on my face before and now I know that was a mistake.

At this point I did try to carry all the heavier items but Colleen was still managing with a bigger, heavier pack. We were running low on water as well so knew we had to make it to Chimney Pond for gathering more.  We moved very slowly but wanted to be safe.  The clouds started to darken and I thought I heard thunder.  Then I thought I heard water but before I could take time to see what it was the sky just opened up and rain came down hard. I threw my jacket on real quick and then prayed for safety as the thunder and lightening followed.  The storm came on fast and ended quickly but reminded me of the legend of Pamola.  The Penobscot Indians believed that Pamola was a god of thunder that lived in Katahdin, their name meaning Great Mountain. The god is thought to be angry when anyone is on the mountain and brings sudden storms and cold weather.  Many stories are told about the legend of Pamola which has the head of a moose, body of a man and wings and talons of an eagle.  Our God and creator is the one we put our trust in during this trip and His might is evident in the storms He allows but also in the delicate way he provided blues skies for most of our trip and carried us safely down the mountain.  As the earlier verse indicated, God made our paths perfect, not what we wanted but exactly what we needed.  Completing Saddle slide up and down was a true lesson in endurance and knowing your limits.

It took us just about 3 hours to reach Chimney Pond and we were glad to find a ranger to ask about our descent. We has a few options, he offered us to stay at the bunk house at Chimney Pond but we didn't bring up our sleeping gear and feared Colleen's knee might be worse in the morning, also we could still go slowly to the Roaring Brook bunk house, or rather he called his cousin who owns the Big Moose Inn and found we could book another night there.  It would be best for us to be able to shower-I had blood and bugs all over my ears and neck at this point and also for sleep in real beds.  If the weather had been looking better for the next two days we would have split the hike up over three days and stayed in the bunk houses. This was a lot doing it in one day. The though of returning to the Big Moose Inn really helped motivate us to keep going.  I quickly filled up some water bottles and treated them with iodine, ate a little bit, and we headed back down after thanking the ranger who was very helpful and genuinely concerned about our well being.

 Chimney Pond Trail isn't as challenging as Saddle but when wet you need to be careful on the rocks and roots.  Both of us were very tired now as it was 13 hours into the days' hike and climbing over rocks was taking it's toll.  This trail seemed endless. Each time we heard the brook grow closer we thought we were near the end.  It wasn't until 10:12 did we reach Roaring Brook, thankfully we both had headlamps and flashlights along with experience hiking in the dark.  We checked in with the ranger at Roaring Brook, then got in the jeep and headed back to the Big Moose.
The welcome at the Big Moose was so sweet. We were afraid people would be asleep but there was still entertainment going on at the bar and folks offered to help us carry luggage in.  We didn't hang out long, took showers, and had separate rooms to sleep in.  Sleep was tough as both my ears were now swollen and very sore so I had to sleep on my back.  Plus the events from the day kept playing in my head.  Sleep finally found me at 3 am and I slept until 7.  I was happy to get up a little later and enjoy a breakfast with other guests. Talked with a young woman who met us on the trail the day before and had just finished the 100 mile wilderness.  Met another family from Georgia who came to enjoy the Maine woods.  And enjoyed talking to the employees who grew up in Millinocket and shared their experiences on Katahdin and also the AT.

We left by 9, stopped at the Trading Post for coffee and more souveniers, and then headed south. We did stop at Freeport to visit the shops there and have lunch. We enjoyed nice outdoor dining at Jameson Tavern  and explored the large LL Bean flagship store.  It was like a treasure trove for us because we also went into the North Face, Horny Toad, and then a fudge shop :) God protected us all the way back despite a scare with the engine light on the jeep.  We weren't as sore as we suspected we might be but definitely felt the 16 hour hike in our bodies.  This trip taught us a lot but relying on God, considering our limits more closely, the power of encouragement, and the importance of taking the time to enjoy all God has created.  Happy Birthday to me: a great accomplishment, and even better because it was spent with my Christian sister Colleen-Thank-you!!  God keeps His promises: "So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.  He will neither fail you or abandon you." (Deut 31:6)

Darn Tough socks for a tough hike--found out about them two years ago after hiking here and they are now my favorite socks. These were gifts from my mother-in-law <3