Sunscreen and a Scramble.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Thanks, Mary Schmich. Your advice from 1997 is still applicable 12 years later. And for this, I am grateful. Yesterday, I took your advice and did something that scared me. Terrified me, in fact. 

As we turned the bend to begin the Haystack on Mount Si, I saw snow. Deep snow. People sliding down the snow. Not by choice, but by the force of gravity. As I look towards the peak of the Haystack, my heart begins to pound. It seems like an impossible scramble to the top. The snow intimidates me. The rock climb intimidates me. The huge gusts of wind intimidate me. We had the choice to go back or move forward. I chose to move forward despite my fears.

I clung onto the thin trees as I tried to hike up the mountain in my trail running shoes. The hikers ahead of us decided it wasn't worth it and were heading down. As I tried to maneuver around the snow to let them pass, I slipped. Thank goodness for that tree that I was clinging on to. No physical injury. Just my pride.

We get deeper into the snow. Kick step in to the mountain of snow. Follow the tracks of the people before you. Deep your fingers deep into the snow for stabilization. Keep close to the snow so the wind doesn't shake you. Kick step by kick step I make it up to the rock climbing section. 

Neal is behind me, he coached me through the path that we were going to take.  He told me where to put my right foot, where to grip, how to shift my body. He lead me up the scramble and he supported me the entire time. He never pressured on me to move fast. He never lost patience with me. And when I looked up to a vertical climb, I looked behind me and told him I was scared. I told him that I wanted to go back down. He assured me that we're completely safe as we descended the rock face. I felt safe, even though I was scared. I always feel safe when I'm with him.

We put our jackets on, so we wouldn't freeze on the descent down the snow bank. Kick step, kick step, grip, grip. Frozen fingers, wet toes. A feeling of accomplishment over something that was terrifying to me. We reached the bottom of the scramble and baked in the sun for a bit. It was a good day to be alive. 

So, I thank you Mary for giving words of advice that still live strong today. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you... 

...I wore Sunscreen.