Thunder and lightning

thunder and lightningEveryone who knows me knows I worked in Colorado. Hawk and RyanO say it best when we all are together and realize people don't like to hang out with us because all we talk about is "one time on trail...". Still, it is a part of me and the stories I retell over and over remind me so much of the person I was and the person I became because of that job.The week I became a guide...I was with Bert Paddock and Daniel George, and Midlothian, the infamous group that was always somehow cursed. The first day, the Rock, the kid that wouldn't go, and the hour I spent 200 feet up holding a rope waiting for this kid to conquer a fear of rapelling. The hike to low camp and sleeping on a slant...The hike to high camp, and the ridge i made the group gain that was not the right ridge. The phone call to Tommy, "can we just climb Crystal?" --"No Rachel, get where you are supposed to be..." and then asking myself, where is that exactly. I chose to tell the group i got them lost. it was my decision, and i could have lied, but that's just not me. The next day, we started out to get where should have already been. Then the youth minister with chest pain... and later kidney failure... It was interesting, because we were closer to the road because i had gotten us lost. It may have saved him, maybe not. but he made it to the ER just before a big fat MI. And i got stuck carrying the watermelon that was hidden in his pack... great. So we kept going. and on this bluff on a fairly small trail, some kid tripped and began tumbling down the mountain. dropped my pack and took off after her. rocks were rolling after me as i tried to go at an angle to cut off her tumble. she sprained her ankle and cried. didn't tell her how much worse it could have been. We made it to high camp on atlantic and rested. the next morning... summit day... no one ever gets to atlantic unless its me bc i know where the keyhole is to avoid the big ridge. but still, it is so hard to reach. and not as safe as i would like. At 430am i woke up and got the kids up. we started hikin at 545 and at 615 there was mutiny. the kids refused to go. i was almost glad bc i was so tired. but another piece of me wont ever give up that easy. gave the best pep talk i could and said i was goin to hike. i would either see them when i got back or share my sundrop with them at the top...They hiked. We did terrible on time, and were pushin clouds all morning. we got to the point where i could have summitted myself in 20 minutes, but this group was exhausted. so i made a decision to continue to gain elevation after 100pm. not a good idea and now i know why. we summitted at 200pm and started back down with big clouds everywhere. then the rain started, then the hail, then i realized two kids forgot their raincoats. there went my fleece and my jacket and my pants. so in a tshirt and shorts i kept hikin. I was cold and tired and all of the sudden very uncertain. comin off atlantic you can see pacific to your right, and pacific's ridge seems far away until you see a lightning bolt hit it, then it seems real close. i turned around and saw this girl's hair standing straight up from the static electricity. my ice axe and the zippers on my backpack were humming. i could see bert hikin with his ice axe in his hand. -- good lightning rod if necessary. I stopped and gave him mine too. he put his hands on my shoulders and said, "flip your radio off and get them to the trees as fast as you can." we had an older man in the group bert had to stay back with. This is when a game face is important. and trust is even more important. i had been honest all week, and these kids trusted me with their lives. now there really was a threat to those lives. was i ready? the sound of the thunder and the pop of the lightning did not leave much time for gathering courage. i got the kids close and said, "stay together, move as fast as you can, and don't say anything unless you are talking to me" i could see that they were dependent on me. and i was scared. one girl broke her finger, but other than that we made it to the trees. she didn't even tell me about it until we stopped. i dropped my pack and went back up to help bert. one of the younger boys came with me. Bravery shows itself in strange ways, so i didn't send him back.so was i a hero that day or not? could have protected them better, and could have even stayed in camp.or is a hero the one that steps into a situation with faith that God has an idea of what is in store, and will hold your hand as you climb and as you descend...still, who wants to run from lightning?Tommy said i was now officially a mountain guide. and i guided the rest of the summer with lots more emergencies but never with the doubt i carried that week. i left all that doubt on atlantic. mountains have a funny way helping you unload your baggage.