The Enchantments

Jason and I woke up at 4:30 a.m. this past Tuesday to hike up to the ENCHANTMENTS.  It was one of the hardest hikes I have ever done.  In fact, it was a good thing I had no idea how hard it would actually be!
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I am use to pushing my body because I love to run long distances and recently I ran the entire loop trail which is 10 miles.  I thought I was pretty hot stuff for doing that last week but now I have impressed myself even more since completing this hike.
I don't want to give you the wrong impression that I did not complain while hiking, I actually had to put a spin on my complaints to pull through.  For example, after hopping giant granite boulders and magically getting through without a broken ankle I would say, "I 100% did not like that part but I did it."

The hardest part of this 18 mile hike was the 5th mile which required me to climb Aasgard Pass,  It was God's idea of a stair climber, except I also had to use my hands to get myself up to the place you see in this picture.  I literally climbed up from that edge!!  It was an amazing and exhausting experience.  I have never been more glad that I had busted my tail running, biking, doing yoga, and practicing planks.

Here is a better shot of what I actually climbed.  Pretty sure my Dad would not have liked that I was doing it.

Once we reached the top we were finally in the ENCHANTMENTS which is an area of glacier lakes, more granite, and smaller trees.  It was beautiful- it reminded me of Alaska,

We hiked past many lakes, mountain goats, and even had a few drops of rain.  Jason was in heaven and I was not quite sure how I was going to make it down.  It was another 13 miles down the back through dirt, bolders, trees, water falls, more dirt, rocks (which I grew to hate) and more mountain goats. I also had to use poles to get down from various spots that were not easy because I am so stinking short.
I really had to dig deep and I learned that stopping was not an option.  If I stopped I would have fallen asleep!
Overall, I am glad I took on the challenge and 5 days later I am mostly recovered from my sore muscles and can fondly look back and realize that I did something that most people do not do.  It is a great feeling to know that I could keep going for 18 miles and 13 hours and survive.