Mount Nebo and Me

As the raindrops began gently falling washing tear stains from my cheeks, I have never been so happy to see the car. Mount Nebo and I started off as friends, but now I realize that we are much more than friends…we are frenemies.

Frenemy: One who pretends to be my friend, but is actually my enemy.

It all started innocent enough. I thought it would be a great idea to take 2 of our boys and my husband to summit Mt. Nebo in Utah. It was a beautiful day for a hike. We grabbed our packs, water, snacks, first aid kit and our dog Lucy and off we went.

The first mile Nebo sucked me in with promises of an easy to follow trail and beautiful flowers. It was gorgeous.

Starting off strong with a steady incline that wound up through beautiful fields of wildflowers and along the ridge, my hopes were high. The trail continued to meander up the mountain for the next mile and a half through pines and flowers galore.

Steep took on new meaning for me during this hike. The next mile is the first brutal uphill. Steep, steep, steep. Hiking poles were my saving grace on this hike. I strongly encourage you, if you still want to summit Mt. Nebo after reading this, take hiking poles with you. You will come back and thank me.

More wildflowers at the top of this first climb seemed to lessen the burn, just a little. (We hiked in July if you are wondering when to catch the flowers at their peak). From here there is…surprise, more uphill until the trail begins to traverse the mountain over to the saddle. This part of the trail is pretty straight forward and has a beautiful view of the summit to come. Remember to look up at this point and take it all in.

Arriving at the meadow we took a rest, enjoyed the view and fueled our bodies before heading out to what ended up being one of the scariest hikes of my life.

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I need to clarify that I am an avid hiker and have been hiking for over 30 years. I have summited many non-technical peaks, hiked the Grand Canyon and have been hiking 2-3 times a week for months training. I am not easily frightened and am very adventurous. This particular summit pushed my every limit.

Starting up towards the false summit is not scary, but just plain nasty. It is one of the steepest dirt and loose rocks trails I have ever hiked. Legs were burning and my lungs working overtime. The elevation was taking a toll on my breathing and my energy level. I marched on, stopping to rest in the few areas of shade along the way. One fall and it would have been a long ride to the bottom. This is the point where I started to psych myself out a little bit.

Reaching the false summit was an accomplishment, but it is also where the real challenge lay. Looking towards Mt. Nebo I questioned whether or not I should attempt it. Not normally persuaded by others, my family was reassuring me that I could do it. That they would help me and that we would be fine. So on I went.

The trail from here to the summit is hard to find. We stayed left when we should have stayed right across the rocky slate outcropping. I am happy to be home safely in my bed writing this. As I crossed the slate “trail” I became more and more aware of the possibility of slipping and falling hundreds of feet. The rock was sharp as glass and I had to be careful not to grab too hard to cut myself or too hard that the rock would just break off.

Another tip – take gloves, you will be glad you did.

Going across the spine was nerve racking. I had to stop at least twice because I thought I was going to hyperventilate. My son stayed with me most of the way talking me through and having me follow him. Then I became not only worried for me, but for him as well. Worry upon worry is never a good idea.

And then the tears came. I truly did not know how I would get down safely. I know my limits well, always have and at that moment in time, I realized that I was way past those limits. I definitely said many prayers and my boys and husband had to talk me up the final summit.

On one section I was able to look up long enough to see a herd of about 5 mountain goats on the snow.

We made it to the top. It was a beautiful view in every direction. I immediately sank down as close to the safety of the solid earth as I could. I did not want to move. It was at this point that I made a short funeral video…just in case. Something they could play at my funeral if I did indeed take a fall. (My kids thought it was a bit morbid).

As we sat at the top we noticed a big storm heading our way. That is all we needed was to be stuck up on the slippery slate in the middle of a rain storm. So we began our decent. I am happy to say that going down was not near as difficult as I imagined. I simply focused on watching each step and making sure that was all I was looking at. We made okay time going down. The most difficult section was the false summit due to the steepness. This is where we definitely needed hiking poles.

As we got closer to the car, I became more and more thankful that everything ended well. I was breathing easier, my legs were still moving and I was going to make it back. The storm chased us down the mountain, back through the wildflowers and straight to a full rainbow before finally catching up with us a half mile from the car. As the rain fell on my face, I felt the stress of the hike wash away. I turned one last time to get a look at my new frenemy and vowed I would not be back.

Time has a funny way of easing memories. Although my intention now is to not go back, you never know what crazy idea I may have in the future.

PS My kids and husband all said they would like to go back and hike it again. Once was epic and quite enough for me….for now, that is.

-Carri