When I was very young I grew up in a little town in the middle of Texas called Abilene. This average and ordinary place although wholesome was far removed from everything with the exception of endless prairie. All of the time I lived in Abilene I never became inspired by the flat expanse of central Texas. I was never drawn in to experience it because I, foolishly, thought it was a barren and desolate place that was not worth knowing. The closest I got to nature in those days was the manicured lawn and trees of my moderately sized back yard. However, my uninspired youth was about to be turned on its head. As fate would have it, my father got a job with Boeing in Everett and we left Texas behind when I was fourteen. Nevertheless, even though we had just moved to one of the most beautiful places on the planet, I was still not yet ready to embrace the natural world.
After finishing high school, I began to go on day hiking
trips with friends along old logging trails east of Monroe along Highway 2. Back then, those trips ended up being
nightmares because I seemed to be bothered by everything and worried something
was going to jump out and eat me. Needless
to say those hikes did little to improve my acceptance of nature in all of its
forms, but a few years later I found myself dating a guy who was really into
hiking and backpacking. Since I was
really into him I had to make a choice.
Would I let my discomfort and fear keep me from enjoying the wonders of
forest and jeopardize my relationship or would I buck up and overcome my fears
and discomfort and go into wilderness to enjoy nature with him. I chose the latter.
After few years of frequent successful and enjoyable day
hikes with my boyfriend, I seemed to get over my fears and issues with the
woods. Wanting to challenge ourselves we
decided to go with some experienced backpacker friends to Grace Lake
(47.693044, -120.939512). It’s a little
known alpine lake, about 6000 feet up, located just north of Snowgrass Mountain
in western Chelan County.
My experience
at Grace Lake changed my life forever. It was a grueling hike for me but I persevered. Up
there I found strength, learned a few survival skills and almost fell off a
cliff. I saw the most breath taking
sunset from on top of the world and watched as clouds rolled in over the
mountains like flowing water. I even
learned that I am more capable than I thought and that I should believe more in
myself. Not to mention I properly pooped in a hole I
dug by myself. Simply put, I rediscovered
myself at 6000 feet.
After my experience at Grace Lake, I returned two more
times. Each time I went back I learned
new things about nature and myself.
Grace Lake is where I decided that I would dedicate myself to the environment
which in turn has led me to my current path at the University of Washington and
the Environmental Studies program.
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