Mountains Farther

Mountains Farther,
originally uploaded by x.

Today we went towards Lowman to cut a tree for our living room. My Son and I arose early and motored off, thermos of coffee in hand. After finding the perfect spot and the perfect tree we felled it and began our journey up the mountain side. It reminded me of the step by step walk of recovery. We would get about 2 feet when the snow would break through the frost line and drop us 3 foot down. The dark side of the mountain was cold and the thin air left us gasping. We pondered our direction up the mountain, stopping to rest but not giving up. Gradually the focus went from getting the tree to our vehicle, to getting to the summit, soon I began just focusing on getting the next ten feet up the steep snow covered fall line. As we approached the summit our pace quickened encouraged by the the scent of victory. How do you know true victory? Because you have been on the dark side of the mountain mucking around in deep snowy holes that scrape your shins and fill your pants with cold snow crystals while dragging your burden. The journey down was a cake walk, aided by the slipping sun melted snow and gravity. How did we know completion of our journey? By the victory behind, and the battle it took to achieve it.