One Little Light

Here is the big story. Let's start in the middle. Let's start at the part where it seemed all hope was lost. Let's start at the part where I seriously debated having my husband call search and rescue to get us off the mountain.
Picture this...
Me (35), my Mom (56), my Dad (60), and my two boys (9 & 12) on top of the steepest mountain range in the United States; the Wellsvilles. We cannot find the right trail to get down. The winds are high, dark clouds are approaching and the sun is nearing the west mountain range. We are nearly out of water & my dad has pulled out his flashlight. It is not working.

Looking back at our dire situation, I cannot believe we got off that mountain alone. And, actually, we were not alone. Not even a little bit. There were a series of miracles that helped us survive this situation. I know that the Lord protected all of us.

The hike up the range was a challenge. It was so challenging, in fact, that Troy, Nick and Amber turned back after less than 2 miles in. The men had some knee problems, and Amber was trying to backpack Malleya up the mountain. They just picked up Kira from my friend's house and went on home to cook dinner and make a birthday cake (oh, this was on my birthday, too. Did I mention that? Did I mention it was my idea to take an adventurous birthday hike? Ugh.). The boys turned around on the trail taking extra water and flashlights we didn't think we'd need. We reached the summit 3 1/2 hours after starting the hike. There were a few glaciers up there that we gladly filled our water bottles with and sucked on snowballs. My kids liked playing in the snow, too. Then we saw what we had hiked for; The MOST AMAZING VIEW. Wow. On that summit at the end of Deep Canyon, you could look down into Box Elder County and beyond. There were the coolest rivers and mountain ranges and towns and roads. What a breathtaking view! We stopped and took a few pictures and tried not to lose our hats. It was super windy. We continued along the ridge and up to the next peak where you could see both sides of the Mountain range. On my right I could see Box Elder County and on the left I could see Cache Valley. So cool. It felt like quite an accomplishment. It was almost 6 pm. I knew we still had 2 miles to go to get down, so I texted Amber that our ETA would be around 7:15ish. I really wish we would've just hiked right back down from the Summit, but we really didn't know that the turnoff to the other canyon would be impossible to find.
An hour later, Troy called and I told him we hadn't come to the turnoff. We were just hiking along the west ridge of the range enjoying the wildflowers and views. He said we probably should've found the turnoff by then. We came to another peak, and I guessed it was Scout Peak. My dad thought it was Mendon peak. There was supposed to be another turnoff around Scout Peak, so we continued on to the next peak. The next peak was actually Box Elder peak. It was the tallest peak. It was really strenuous to get up that puppy. We could also tell that it was going to the top and not around it, so we turned around and went back at this point. I calculated now that from the summit to Box Elder peak was an additional 3-4 miles.

My first concern was the approaching storm. I saw dark clouds approaching from the North right towards the range we were on top of. I envisioned my son up in front of me being struck by lightning and it made my heart skip a beat. I stopped on the trail, and said a quick prayer that we would be spared from the storm and that we could quickly find the trail. After the prayer, I felt a quick burst of energy and quickened my pace up to the next peak. No trail in sight. We knew the trail was supposed to cut eastward and down into Coldwater canyon. Nada. The first miracle was with the clouds. Just as they reached Box Elder Peak, they blew towards the East. When I saw the first lightning bolt shoot down from them, they were near Black Fork Canyon across on the other side of the valley. Phew.

We found a trail cutting east! We suprisingly had great reception 8000 feet high, and Troy and Nick were in touch with us trying to help give directions on what information they could find on the internet. The tricky part was knowing which peak was which. It's hard to tell when you are on top of them. They told us the turnoff was on the lowest point of the Wellsvilles and was marked with rocks. We found a distinct trail, but it led directly into a glacier. We slid down the glacier and searched everywhere for a continuing trail. It seemed as if the trail continued up a small hill by a pine tree. It was quite hilarious, by-the-way, to watch my parents slide down a glacier and land in the mud on their fannies. My children rather enjoyed sliding down it. I thought it just hurt. We were so excited to find a trail! But alas, near the pine, we could not see any kind of trail heading down. This mountain was so steep and lush, that we could have easily been lost venturing down the mountainside with no trail. My dad stopped and said a prayer right then. He prayed for us to be safe and that we would find a trail to take us home safely. He led us up the mountain (off-trail) and back atop one of the Wellsville Mountain Peaks. The hike straight back up this peak was only about 100 yards, but was the most difficult climbing of the day we had done. It was still light at this point, and we took comfort in the fact that my Dad said he had a flashlight. My dad decided we should head back the same way we came up. This was a difficult decision to make. One, because it was so much longer than going down Coldwater Canyon (wherever the heck that was), and two, because we knew how difficult the trail was.

My children were shivering. Mind you, we thought we'd be home by 6 or 7 pm and it was a good 90 degrees that day. Atop the chilly mountain range at dusk, it was probably 60 degrees plus a wind chill. My children were in shorts and t-shirts. At least I'd had them wear hiking boots. Nick and Troy were ready to call in the troops to rescue us. My dad wouldn't hear of it. I debated texting them to say "SEND HELP NOW" when I saw my boys shivering and my dad's flashlight shorting out.

Darkness...
When the dark hit on the mountain, I took little time to enjoy the setting sun and the city lights. My dad had just pulled out his flashlight and it flickered off. My dad kept trying to comfort us, and kept telling me that Nick and Troy better not call Search and Rescue. We were fine, he said. "We are on a trail. Worse case scenario, we go back down the way we came." I really hoped to find the trail leading down the mountain to the East, but it never came. We just continued back down the way we came (Worse case scenario. Sigh). The problem now was the darkness and the steepness combined. We hiked along the west ridge of the range for another mile or so until we got back to the summit. We headed down the mountain and the flashlight flickered on and off for the last time. I told the men at home our plan and to come up and meet us on the trail with lights, water and jackets. We had to now use my phone as our only light source going down the mountain. I had probably been talking on the phone for 30 minutes or so all together, and I also sent about 3-4 text messages. Imagine my shock when I looked down at my phone before passing it up to my father, and there were still 3 bars left. My dad led the train down the mountain leading us by the light of my cell phone. Douglas held on to his shirt, I held on to Douglas' sleeve, TJ grabbed my backpack and my mother held on to TJ. We proceeded slowly and cautiously like the little engine that barely could. We were calling out every little tree root and rock in the path. On difficult steps, we passed the cell phone back in the line to make sure everyone proceeded carefully over the obstacles. This was slow going. Troy and Nick called a few times asking if we could see their lights or hear them, yet. I told them no, and that it would still be an hour or so before we met. I reminded them that in the light, the hike to the summit took us 3 1/2 hours. We took a few stops to answer the phone and to drink the melted snow, which was again running low. I tried to sing a few songs along the way, and my mom shared a few pioneer stories (it was the day after Pioneer Day after all). The children complained very little, and their bodies were holding up much better than the adults' were. TJ turned his complaining into what I "so owed him" when we got back. I think a lego toy and ice cream were mentioned. Douglas fussed a little as well, but stopped after I told him that the worst thing to do in a bad situation was to complain about it. It's the only thing you can do to make the situation worse than it already is. He turned his complaints into what he would do first when we got home. "I can't wait to take a warm shower. No, I mean, I'm going to eat like 10 bowls of cereal first. Then I'm just going to dive into bed." An hour or so down the mountain, I checked my phone. It still had 2 bars left. I had no idea how that was even possible. Actually, I did. There is no earthly way that was possible. This was a heavenly intervention for sure. Another hour down the mountain we heard a whistling sound. 10 minutes later, we heard Nick yelling for us. Our pace quickened and our hearts were lifted. We saw lights on the rock below and yelled "HELLOOOO!" in unison. My honey had rescued me! I was so happy to see him! He had even come in flip-flops, and a bum knee. Nick wasn't in any better shape either. His knees were lousy, also. Nonetheless, we finished the last hour and a half of the hike with lights and water and hope. I checked my cell phone as we finished our hike and reached the glorious trailhead. It still had one little bar left. My eyes filled with tears as I sat in my car. I didn't know if I would ever be able to move again, but I was sooooo thankful to my Heavenly Father for watching over us on that Mountain; ALL 12 HOURS of it!
As we drove home from Mendon at 3:30am, TJ said he was going to have nightmares about being stuck on the Wellsville mountains all night. Douglas said, "No you won't, TJ. Just say a prayer and Heavenly Father will help you have good dreams. He answers prayers, you know."
Yes, Douglas, he does. I know.