How an accidental 14er became an Ebenezer

Day 5: (Colorado) If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation requiring more mental and physical exertion than you knew possible, you might be able to relate to our day (OR, you’ve given birth before 😂). 

Upon arriving at Pike’s Peak at the crack of dawn for the second day in a row, we were told the Summit was still closed, but that we could drive to Devil’s Playground and hike the last 2.5+ miles to the top. We didn’t dress for a hike, but after talking to a young, hip (and now we know, lying)  park ranger who said it was a very doable 1.5 hour hike, we decided to tackle this hike as a family. The prize of  accomplishing our goal of reaching the summit (and for some of my kids, donuts) informed our collective decision.The visitors center at the top looked as far away as Mordor, but the beginning of the hike wasn’t too difficult. The hike and the pace offered unparalleled views and I was excited to realize we were experiencing this mountain with all our senses. The temp was about 36 degrees and we were above the tree line. My 5 & 7 year old complained a few times about being tired, but we drank lots of water and stopped frequently for breaks. 

It wasn’t long before we noticed they were, in fact, letting a few cars at a time go up to the top, and we were wondering if we should turn around and try for that. Some fellow hikers told us it could be up to two hours of waiting to drive to the top, so we kept plodding ahead. An hour into it, we were starting to struggle with the altitude, but no one wanted to quit. My husband tried to hitch a ride to the top for our youngest and those struggling the most with oxygen, but no one was willing or able to take us. We felt like we couldn’t turn around, and there were a few tears at one point (but not from the youngest!). We relied so heavily on each other for encouragement and motivation. My older two kids helped my youngest (who seemed undaunted!) and we even found motivation from an older couple in their 70’s who were a few yards ahead of us (also hiking unexpectedly to the top instead of their planned drive). At one point we shared a snack together with this couple, and when we had to hang back for those of us who couldn’t ascend as quickly 🙋‍♀️ they looked out for our speedier kids. After 1:45 hours of hiking an incline, we were feeling pretty worn out. We’d been in CO Springs for two days but weren’t really acclimated to the altitude. 

This is the point when some of our kids, who were up ahead, yelled down to us to announce that the rest of the hike consisted of climbing and hiking up boulders. There was no way out of this except through the pain. 😬 At one point I turned around to rest on a flat boulder  and looked down 13+ thousand feet, only to find my body shaking and my breakfast threatening to make a reprise. I was heaving to catch my breath, but discovered I could avoid nausea if I didn’t look down. It got easier to follow the cairns and find our way, to the point that we finished the last 20 minutes with confidence and even enjoyment. When we reached the road at the top I couldn’t help but break out in euphoric tears. Completing those miles as a team (even if half our group was far up ahead cheering us on) and watching my children do something hard and a little dangerous made our Pike’s Peak experience an adventure we will recall together for years to come. 

LWe may be called to do something hard as a family in the coming days, and God was gracious to show us how it might look to work together and endure a mere few hours of challenge. Pike’s Peak is our Ebenezer. God has helped us this far, and He will not fail us in the future.