It had been decided. We were going to go. Enough already, enough of waiting for another time, a better opportunity, it wasn’t going to get any easier so we just might as well take a shot and go for it.
There were just the two of us, we’d gotten this far twice before but at the last moment we had turned back. Stormy weather, difficult circumstances, unexpected terrain had made us decide on waiting for another day. Not this time, after reviewing the situation we decided to press on.
We had hoped for it, visualized it, fantasized it and dreamed it. Our bodies were ready. We had trained and prepared. We had discussed every aspect of it. Knowing full well that once we reached this point, our fail safe point it was do or die.
Oh sure I know what you’re thinking. So many people have done it and not made such a big deal about it. After all it wasn’t the highest, although it was the highest we had ever been. It certainly wasn’t the most difficult, although the most difficult we had experienced.
We had spent so much time and energy to get to this point. You couldn’t imagine. Honestly, four years in a row we’d come to this very spot only to turn back. But here we were, ready to go. We were going to climb to the Cascading Falls at Zion National Park. We were going to do it. This time. This final time.
We got out of the car, headed toward the trailhead and then, it started to rain. Oh well, Maybe we should just head back to the cabin. No, you said. And so we pressed on. Slipping and sliding and laughing our way, up and across, and down and around. And then it wouldn’t stop raining and we could see that it wasn’t going to stop. But we pressed on and were not disappointed when we rounded that last bend, climbed that final elevation, and kissed beside the falls.
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