The Climb to the Top
In the summer of 2011 I went on a big cross-country trip with my uncle. I was excited because I had never gone on a trip this long; but I was also nervous because I had never spent much time with my uncle and didn’t know him very well. We were going to go all the way from Nevada to Minnesota, a 1,700-mile trip to visit my aunt and cousins (his sister and nieces). We started by packing his truck to the brim with supplies.
Along the way we would camp nearly every night, pack up, and keep driving through the day. The first night we camped in a lesser known national park called the Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho. The park is nothing but giant volcanic rock formations and porous black rock. The next morning, …show more content…
So instead of getting back on the freeway, we took a detour onto a smaller highway. I was used to hiking at home, but the more details I heard about the hike the less excited I became. It turned out that this hike was extremely steep, nearly doubling in elevation compared to the distance. I was still willing to try, so we left for the trailhead. On the way, I remember a twisting road with tall trees on both sides so thick it made a canopy that occasionally blocked out the sun. The trees made it feel as if you were in a tunnel of green and brown. Little by little the canopy thinned until we were in a small clearing with a dirt parking lot on the side of the road. We parked the truck and started to pull out the supplies we would need for the hike. While he was pulling out his own gear, I saw a medium sized red canister that I did not recognize. I asked him what it was and he responded, “Bear spray. We’re in bear country.” At this comment, I felt a twinge of fear and he must have seen it on my face because he said, “Don’t worry we’ll be fine, it’s just a precaution. Most bears will get scared off just by the noise we make.” Taking in the smell of the tree sap and the crunch of dry leaves under foot, we set off on the winding trail slowly gaining …show more content…
I had started to fall behind due to the immense pain growing in my legs. My uncle turned and yelled something back at me to the effect of ‘keep up’ and I pushed myself a little further but soon fell behind again. Once more he turned to me and said something that to this day I cannot remember the exact words he said, but I do remember that it was an insult along the lines of my weight. His comment had ignited an intense rage within me. Suddenly, the pain in my legs vanished and was replaced with strength. Soon I had surpassed my uncle and was nearly out of sight when he called my name “Kyle you need to stay closer! We’re still in bear country and I don’t want you getting
In the summer of 2011 I went on a big cross-country trip with my uncle. I was excited because I had never gone on a trip this long; but I was also nervous because I had never spent much time with my uncle and didn’t know him very well. We were going to go all the way from Nevada to Minnesota, a 1,700-mile trip to visit my aunt and cousins (his sister and nieces). We started by packing his truck to the brim with supplies.
Along the way we would camp nearly every night, pack up, and keep driving through the day. The first night we camped in a lesser known national park called the Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho. The park is nothing but giant volcanic rock formations and porous black rock. The next morning, …show more content…
So instead of getting back on the freeway, we took a detour onto a smaller highway. I was used to hiking at home, but the more details I heard about the hike the less excited I became. It turned out that this hike was extremely steep, nearly doubling in elevation compared to the distance. I was still willing to try, so we left for the trailhead. On the way, I remember a twisting road with tall trees on both sides so thick it made a canopy that occasionally blocked out the sun. The trees made it feel as if you were in a tunnel of green and brown. Little by little the canopy thinned until we were in a small clearing with a dirt parking lot on the side of the road. We parked the truck and started to pull out the supplies we would need for the hike. While he was pulling out his own gear, I saw a medium sized red canister that I did not recognize. I asked him what it was and he responded, “Bear spray. We’re in bear country.” At this comment, I felt a twinge of fear and he must have seen it on my face because he said, “Don’t worry we’ll be fine, it’s just a precaution. Most bears will get scared off just by the noise we make.” Taking in the smell of the tree sap and the crunch of dry leaves under foot, we set off on the winding trail slowly gaining …show more content…
I had started to fall behind due to the immense pain growing in my legs. My uncle turned and yelled something back at me to the effect of ‘keep up’ and I pushed myself a little further but soon fell behind again. Once more he turned to me and said something that to this day I cannot remember the exact words he said, but I do remember that it was an insult along the lines of my weight. His comment had ignited an intense rage within me. Suddenly, the pain in my legs vanished and was replaced with strength. Soon I had surpassed my uncle and was nearly out of sight when he called my name “Kyle you need to stay closer! We’re still in bear country and I don’t want you getting