The Hike to the T

(Note: this is a LONG one. It's really for posterity sake, so only read if you have nothing better to do...)

We had planned to return to Oregon on a Wednesday and finish out our vacation camping on the coast. Our Utah trip had been pretty power packed. So, we decided to forgo the camping trip and stay a little longer in Utah. We're glad we did as we got to spend Grandma's birthday with her.

With a little more time on our hands, we decided to do something memorable, something unique. We decided to hike to the T on the Tooele Mountain. It didn't look like to bad of a hike. In fact, Chad had done it in high school. (They had to run from the high school to the T...now that's a run!)

We parked in the canyon and proceeded to the purple Buffalo gate that led to “the T.” We had good hiking shoes on and 2 bottles of water. It was a perfect day for a hike (not too hot). As we reached the top of the first hill, we could see that the road divided into two paths. One led away from the mountain and was muddy. The other led up the mountain. We decided that UP was the right path.

Wow, was it a steep climb, but the kids did so well! Trevor really impressed me. He liked to be in the lead and has quite the endurance. The grasshoppers were jumping by the hundreds. They really have a grasshopper problem this year in the Tooele valley. Every step that you took, the grasshoppers were popping like popcorn on a hot stove. That really bothered Jenna, but she kept on going.

We reached a barbed wire fence. We could see a road on the other side of it (and the fence was broken by that road). However, we could also see a road up a hill that I thought led to “the T.” Despite Chad’s better judgment, he went along with me. I guess I was quite convincing that I could see a road that led straight across the mountain. I was sure of it. I remember seeing it from the valley.

After a steep, very grasshopper-invested climb, we indeed found the road that cut across the mountain. Unfortunately, we had found the end of it. It didn’t lead where we needed to go.

Then, a spot of brilliance appeared in my brain: “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” We could just walk across the mountain, through the little bushes to “the T.” Surely it couldn’t be that far away (mind you, I couldn’t see it). To Chad’s dismay, I started blazing a trail through the brush. He suggested we go back to the road by the fence. After about 30 yards of brush and grasshopper kisses, I relented. He was right. Forging a path across the mountain for my 4 kids didn’t seem like the brightest of ideas.

At this point, I started to see the many ways this “journey” could be likened to our journey here on earth. Sometimes the road of life is hard and challenging. Choosing the right path is important. Choosing the wrong path leads to repentance and extra work to get back to the right path. (Also, it should be noted that in hindsight, it was really quite shocking that we chose the WRONG path when the road first divided. Returning to the car, it was quite obvious which path we should have taken. We missed all the important signs. I think Satan likes to tempt us in this way. We want the “easy” path or he puts things in front of us to cloud our vision.)

Anyway, once we were on the right path, things went a little smoother. Until legs started to get tired and voices started to whine. They were tired. They were thirsty. When “the T” was in sight, it made the journey a little easier. We had to be careful with our water, because it could easily run out.

The negative comments were pouring out like running water. It was time to take action. We needed inspiration. We talked about the pioneers. Surely, their experience was much worse than ours. Can you imagine day after day after day of walking? I couldn’t resist humming a few bars of “Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked…”

We were buoyed up for a little longer until legs started to give out. I even carried a particularly tired 6-year old for about 30 yards—just to give him a break. Amazing how that helped (him, not me!). A few more yards and the whining/complaining/murmuring crept back in. The negative comments and thoughts were back in full force. This time, I fought it with “the positives.” It was like a secret science experiment: if I make positive comments, will it weed out the negative ones? “Thank you Heavenly Father for the trees that give us shade and a relief from beating sun.” “I believe in you.” “You can do this.” “Remember the little engine…I think I can, I think I can.”

Then we had two stumbles, even a little bit of blood. I thought we were done for, but “the T” was so close. How could we give in then? We added a little bit of blood to our tears, dirt, sweat, and grasshopper kisses.
The thought then occurred to me. It wasn’t enough for my kids to know that I thought they could make it, they had to believe for THEMSELVES that they could do it. My comments changed to “You know you can do this.” “You are strong.” “Dig deep…you are NOT a quitter.” “YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS.”

Well, we made it to the end of the road. We were there. (Hallelujah!) The only thing that stood between us and “the T” was a steep incline of about 30 feet. Oops, didn’t know about this part! It was pretty steep – probably a 70 degree angle. Climbing it required hands and feet. Trevor (who, by the way, had NOT complained on this adventure) and Chad decided to head up to “the T.” We decided it was safer to congratulate the others on their success and let them rest. Taking them to “the T” wasn’t going to be safe.

Julie remained with the younger kids…there was a cliff by the resting spot that DIDN’T need a Hancock visiting it. After much jubilation at finally being able to rest, we found joy in throwing rocks off the cliff. After about 5 minutes, I turned around to see Jason heading up to “the T.” I reassured him that it wasn’t necessary to go to “the T,” that it wasn’t safe.

“Jas, you don’t have to do this. It’s ok. You accomplished a big goal. Stay here, buddy.”

“No, Mom. You don’t understand. I’ve GOT to do this.”

The boy who had struggled the most to get up the mountain had apparently set his goals high. He was going to SIT on the T. Off he went and I just smiled. He made it half way up when the previous party met him on the way down. I guess getting down was beyond challenging. It was hard and it was scary. Chad didn’t feel it was safe to take Jason up any further, because he wasn’t sure how he was going to get him down safely. (I think Jason is still bugged that he was only “almost” there.)

The journey back down from the T was quite pleasant. We talked, we laughed. Interesting how the positive comments were now flowing! We all knew we had accomplished something HARD. It felt great. We felt confident. Even the grasshoppers weren’t as annoying. Although the path was a bit challenging in some places, it was much easier given that we were on the RIGHT path.

Back at the van, we replentished our bodies with much needed water and applied some bandaids to wounds. We talked about what we had learned and how it felt to accomplish HARD things.
Then, Jason said, “When I’m a Dad, I’m going to make my kids climb to ‘the T’ and I’m not going to carry them. In fact, I hope I live in Tooele. I’ll make my kids hike to ‘the T’ EVERYDAY!”

To which Jenna replied, “Oh yeah, when I’m a Mom, I’m just going to stay in the car."