Mountains – Morgan Marshall

Mountains & Valleys

March 23, 2024March 22, 2024moremarsh2 Comments

People often talk about the “mountain top experience” as the epitome of life. Its the best experience you could have! I think everyone will have a handful of these types of experiences where something incredible happens and completely changes your life.

But the reality is that most of our lives are actually spent in the valleys, in the mundane, in the everyday Tuesdays. And I think there is just as much beauty in the valley as there is on the mountain. Sure, the mountain gives you a new perspective, but you have to go through the valley in order to get to the mountain.

This summer, we backpacked in some of the most beautiful places in Colorado. As we hiked and hiked …and hiked… I contemplated this concept of mountains and valleys. Each time we got to a peak, I looked out and saw the valley we had trudged through. We had sometimes spent hours walking through these valleys that seemed to never end. Valleys that were often filled with a chilly wind that was relentless, or bugs that stuck to our faces and necks and arms without letting go, or rocks and uneven ground that was tedious, treacherous, and tough. But from up here, on the top of the world, on the mountain peak… the valley looked beautiful. It was wonderful and magnificent and perfect. We could see the green trees, lakes, and rivers and that was simply stunning! Sitting up here on the mountain, it seemed easy to forget the effort and endlessness of the valley which we had just traversed for a good portion of the day. We had made it to the summit!

And as we sat on the summit peak, I realized that sometimes you need to climb up the mountain just to see the beauty of where you were and how hard you worked. The view of the valley from the mountain top is what makes the mountain top experience so great. It’s understanding what it took to get out of the valley and up the mountain. That’s where the real beauty is.

The summit is never really the goal. (And I love myself a good summit!!) But the summit isn’t the end, in fact, the summit is typically only the halfway point. And each summit I reach there is a valley below that calls out and says, “Look how hard you worked to get here and look where you are now.”

The mountain top experience is about the person you are becoming as you climb. And for me, this is becoming a person who doesn’t give up, a person who knows that it will be hard and yet it will be worth it, a person who wants to learn how to be present even in the hardship and pain, a person who continues to lean on and trust the Lord even in the hardships of the valleys of life.

Last year held some difficult things for me, and in the moment they didn’t look beautiful. In the moment they seemed hard, and ugly, and painful. But as I catch my breath, as I continue to work at mental health, as I climb out of anxiety and depression… I can begin to see the beauty of the valley. And I can see where I was and the long hard road it took to get to where I am now. And I can see how God never left me alone in the valley, but rather continued to give me grace and rest each step of the way.

The Bible talks about the Christian life as being transformed one degree at a time. One degree is not a lot, but once you start to add these degrees up, it is much easier to see where you were! One step at a time. One degree at a time. That is the type of healing and the type of life that God has for us. Yes, he works in the big moments as well, but more often, he is simply with us in the everyday, long, and hard valleys of life.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18

There is beauty in growth. There is beauty in hardship. There is beauty in seemingly endless seasons of anxiety. But sometimes, you have to keep taking one step at a time to get to a place where you are awarded with some perspective. Others might not see how hard you have worked or the valleys you have trudged through, but you have made it, dear friend. And the journey is not over at the summit. In fact, it is just getting started!

Maroon Bells: Four Pass Loop

August 13, 2022August 12, 2022moremarsh1 Comment

We headed out for our next adventure early on a Wednesday morning, after staying up way too late the night before trying to fit everything into our bear canister. (If I’m honest, one of the hardest parts of this whole trip was figuring out the logistics of passes and transportation. We had to get our bus pass early in the year, but we still had to figure out parking and transportation to the actual bus location at Maroon Bells. It felt like a lot for such a popular hike.)

Anyways, we made it to the Maroon Bells bus location with extra time to sit and rest before our 4-day, 3-night adventure truly took off. The bus ride itself felt like Disney World as the overhead speakers gave us background information on the mountains, animals, waterfalls, and rocks in the area. When we stepped off the bus our jaws dropped. We hadn’t even started our trek into the mountains and we were already stunned by the majesty of the mountains.

The first day was full of a lot of stops as we took pictures about every ten steps. We just didn’t want to miss anything and it was all so insanely beautiful! We hiked from the trailhead to Crater Lake and began our clockwise (CW) adventure around the famous Four Pass Loop.

(A note on direction: Everyone says that their direction — clockwise or counter– is the best…but our CW direction was definitely the best! We still aren’t sure how people did it the other way without dying, but again, I bet the CCW folks say the same about us. I still think we are right.) … 🙂

Our goal on the first day was to get as close to the first pass as possible without crossing. We knew the next day had 2 passes, so we wanted to get up a little bit into the elevation and a little further in the miles before setting up camp.

Once we hit the right miles and elevation, we started looking for a campsite and the one we found was actually perfect!! It was one of the best campsites I think we have ever stayed at. The views were unreal in every direction and we didn’t have other hikers near us at all. (Though we did have 1 or 2 deer friends who got insanely close every time we stopped watching them.)

The view from our first campsite. UNREAL.

Day one was complete, so we repacked our bear canister (seriously so hard to do on the first night…plus Parker and Hannah had a pickle situation that was kinda a nightmare…but also hilarious!!) and headed to bed. At about 1am we woke up and got to look at the stars. The moon was pretty small that night and the sky was completely clear. We could see the Milky Way cross the sky along with hundreds of thousands of stars. It was absolutely beautiful.

No iPhone can truly capture it, but here’s an attempt!

The next morning we woke up, ate some breakfast, packed up the tent and gear, and headed out for our 2-pass-and-lots-of-miles day. We made it to the top of the first pass in under an hour!

Then we began the descent through the valley and up the next pass. This was an incredible section that a lot of people do in a day. There is a trail that goes from Crested Butte to Aspen that is about 11 miles and you go over West Maroon Pass along the way. We met a lot of people doing that 11-mile trek and could follow most of the trail as it headed down the valley and into Crested Butte. But our trail eventually turned right and we headed up Frigid Air Pass, making it to the top in great time!

We headed down the pass shortly after and knew we had a lot more miles to go before we could set up camp. Our goal was to descend and get as close to the next pass as we could. The trek down was beautiful. We went through insane fields of wildflowers that absolutely blew our minds. Who knew so many different kinds and colors of wildflowers could grow in one field?! We stopped a dozen or more times to take pictures of the flowers, and this was definitely the highlight of the day. We also passed an incredible waterfall that was so tall and so loud!

We found our campsite towards the base of the next pass, right before the incline started. This site had its pros and cons for sure. One of the biggest cons was the mosquitoes and flies. They were everywhere, but they died down once the sun went down and didn’t return in the morning. The best part about the site though was the moose! There was a female (or maybe a young male) moose that hung out in the marsh right by our site that night and the next morning. It was so fun to watch it from a distance and continue to look for it in the trees and shrubs. We also had a great water-filling river on this night, including a spot to wash some of our clothes. We took full advantage of being near a river and enjoyed some good downtime after our long day.

The next day, we headed up the third pass, Trail Rider. We heard that this one was not going to be super fun, but we also knew that we were the freshest in the morning and it was the coolest time of day. We were eager to get to the top and get over the pass so we could spend time at the famous Snowmass Lake. We made it to the top of the pass in good time, though this pass was probably the hardest one for everyone in our group. Once at the top of the pass, you get an incredible view of Snowmass… and the view continues to get better as you get closer!

When we got to the lake, the clouds and light rain seemed to follow us. For a moment, it looked like we would be hiking in the rain the rest of the day. We packed up our stuff and started to leave, but then it cleared up! So we headed back to the lake with hopes of enjoying an hour or more at the lake. Thankfully, we had some good weather come in and we were able to sit and relax at Snowmass for a little while before packing up and heading closer to the base of the final pass.

Our final campsite was our least favorite, but we still found some great spots to hang out once we were set up. Plus we had an incredible meadow right by our site that was so peaceful and beautiful. We did have a little bit of an issue getting water at this site since it was really muddy, but eventually, we made it work! This was our final night on the trail and we only had one pass to go!

We called this “Parker’s Meadow” because it was his favorite part of the trip!

We got up early the next day so we could get over the pass in plenty of time. We had heard that this last pass, Buckskin Pass, was the hardest of them all and we had a time limit to get to the bus. So we headed out, fully ready to accept whatever challenges came our way.

And then… it was super easy. Like we made it to the top of the pass in record time and it wasn’t hard or technical at all. So maybe the backside going down was going to be harder? …but it wasn’t. There were a few spots of rocks, but it was nothing compared to some of our other hikes and even compared to some of the other spots on this trail. We still aren’t sure why everyone says this pass is so hard…

The rest of the way was pretty easy as it was all downhill. We made it back to the bus in plenty of time and even got to stop for lunch on the way home. Overall, Four Pass Loop is a 10 out of 10 recommend for anyone who enjoys backpacking. It is not an easy trail and you should definitely have some experience before you go, but it’s also not insanely difficult or demanding. I’m so glad we got to do this bucket-list trip and explore the beauty of the Maroon Bells!

Mt. Princeton

July 30, 2022July 29, 2022moremarsh1 Comment

July 8, 2022: A day I will likely never forget. We started the day at about 5am as we headed to the trailhead for my 18th fourteener. My group included all friends, some of whom have hiked fourteeners with me before, and a few newbies. Overall, we were both excited and nervous about the adventure! I had read that this particular mountain was a class 2, meaning it was on the easier side, but I always remind myself and others that no fourteener is easy. This one had a lot of rocks, more so than a lot of others, so we were prepared to be in the scramble for a while.

We drove up and up. It was a little scary at times as our car felt like it was on the edge of a mountain (because it was), and very quickly the tops of the trees became eye-level. We passed a few cars that were parked on the side but decided to continue up, plus our map told us to keep going. So we did.

And then things went from okay to bad to worse within a matter of minutes.

We reached the end of the map (mind you: this included a lot of really difficult driving up some incredibly large rocks and divets but Lindsay was a champ…and she’s the MVP of this story as you will soon see). The end of the map was the actual trailhead. This is not where we needed to park though. And now we were on the side of a mountain… with a cliff on one edge… with nowhere to turn around. I remember looking over to one of my friends in the back seat and whispering, “This is the worst-case scenario.”

And it was. We were in big trouble.

We looked ahead and saw that the road got about 6 inches wider ahead so we drove there. We had to turn the car around. There was no other option. (I mean there was but that option included leaving a car on the mountain and a lot of money…) What happened next is truly a miracle. We spent the next 1.5 hours turning the car around on a mountain cliff, one inch at a time. The tires got stuck on the dry gravel multiple times, and we pulled the car up to the edge of the cliff too many times to count and enough times to cause us all to grow with anxiety and fear (and maybe a little sick to the stomach feeling mixed in there too).

There was a point where we legit didn’t think this car was coming off the mountain. No one actually said it out loud but we were all thinking it. This was one of those situations where you didn’t have time to truly think about what could happen next. You just had to figure out the best move you had at the moment and put all your chips in on that. At different points I think all six of us prayed out loud, asking God to save us and to save this car.

And then, it worked. We got the car out of the divet and out of the gravel. And it was facing exactly 180 degrees opposite of where it had been 90 minutes prior. It was a miracle. And we still don’t understand how it worked. (Again, Lindsay is the MVP here for her incredible driving skills and the Lord is the big hero for rescuing us and the car!)

The thing is, this was not the end of the journey. We still had to drive the car back down the large divets that we had gone up. At one point we had to all get to one side of the car in order for it to not flip. It was actually terrifying.

Now, you would think that this would be enough adventure for us in one day. But you would be wrong.

We got back down to the cars that were parked where we should have parked 1.5 hours ago (which we also thought previously were insane for parking that far down the mountain… we repented and gave them kudos for being smarter than us). We got out of the car, strapped on our packs, and headed back up the road we had just driven down…now on foot. Walking felt like a relief to us after this whole car endeavor.

Thankfully, we had checked the weather and we had a great weather window for the day, so we decided we could still complete the hike, even with an extra late start. The trail itself was not super fun. It was a ton of rocks and a lot of scrambling basically the whole way. I wouldn’t say it was hard but more tedious than anything. It seemed like the rocks just never ended.

We reached the summit, obviously a lot later than we had planned, but we were all alive and we had a lot to be thankful for.

We headed down the mountain, back to the car (which again, took forever because of the incredible amount of rocks), knowing that we still had a journey ahead of us. We had parked at a good location, but the rest of the road was still not awesome. And now, it was even harder. There were people coming up the road to camp for the night. (Again, this is a single-lane road made of dirt with a mountain on one side and a cliff on the other.)

Lindsay, once again, pulled through for us as she navigated and negotiated with the other cars coming up. We had a few tricky and tight passes, but honestly, after everything we had been through that day, this seemed like not a huge deal.

All that to say, we made it back safely with our lives, the car, and our bank accounts still intact. The car did have some damage, but it was honestly so minimal for what we had put it through, that it was a miracle in my eyes!

So today, as I sit and write this account, drinking coffee and remembering back to this insane adventure, I am thankful that God was with us and helped us turn the car around. I am thankful that I was with friends who did not freak out in a situation that could have been very easy to freak out in. I am thankful for Lindsay, who drove the car and turned it around on the side of a mountain cliff. I am thankful to have not been through this alone. I am thankful to be alive and without any injuries. And I am thankful that today, I am not on top of a mountain.

But don’t worry mountains. I will be back for you soon! Just next time, I think we will all triple-check the map and park in the right location. I prefer to have my adventures on foot.

Rawah Wilderness Backpacking Trip

July 17, 2021July 16, 2021moremarsh2 Comments

My first full backpacking trip was to Northern Colorado in the Rawah Wilderness. This area is beautiful and scenic, with lots of opportunity to see wildlife and wild flowers! …although we sadly did not see any moose this trip like we hoped to see…

Anyways, we drove up to Tunnels campsite on Wednesday to spend the night before our big trip beginning the next morning. (Note to self: bring $22 in cash or find another place to camp next time…) But it was nice to have a real fire pit, water, and a bathroom (which smelled like cinnamon) the night before we started the trip!

Thursday morning we started our adventure! We began hiking around 9am. The first day was a pretty decent uphill climb to Twin Crater Lakes. We had to cross several rivers and go over, under, and around dozens of fallen trees. Both of these tasks proved extra difficult with the added weight of a pack, but we finally made it to the lakes around 2:30pm. The last mile or so was the steepest part and I ended up doing it in sandals because I had taken off my boots to cross a river and then never put my boots back on. The lakes were beautiful!! We saw a bald eagle near the lakes and spent a good amount of time refilling water and resting by this insanely majestic place!

The only unfortunate part was that we couldn’t camp at these lakes for a few reasons. First, we were above the trees so there was not much shelter from wind or rain. Second, we couldn’t have a fire above the alpine line. And third, the mosquitoes were INSANE. That last one was true every we went, but around the water they were much worse. So, after enjoying the lakes and views for a while, we headed back down and found a nice campground that another group had left. It was a great spot, close to the river and sheltered in the trees, for our first night on the trail!

The next morning, we headed out around 9am again. It took us about 1.5 hours each day to pack up everything and eat breakfast. This day was my favorite! We had a mix of uphill and downhill hiking, but the best part was going over the tree-line again! There is something I love about the feeling of being on top of the world that I will simply never get over. It was an insanely beautiful view and we got to pass several lakes this day as well! We jumped in one of them and it was amazing! …and cold!

We got to Upper Camp Lake around 2pm on Friday and found a place to camp. Since it was a lot more downhill this day than the previous day, we had gone faster which meant our legs and feet were super tired! The first site that we saw, we took, and then another group came in behind us about 30 minutes later. We were thankful we had a great spot with a good view. …But… the mosquitoes were UNREAL. So we packed up and moved further up the trail. This ended up being the right choice because the view from the top of the hill overlooked the lake (see picture below) and was way less “mosquito-y” …which was our main goal.

We enjoyed a longer day at camp this day, but also had to go get water at the lake several times. This was a whole situation as we had to hike through marshy grounds to get to the lake. We saw lots of moose tracks but unfortunately, no moose.

The next morning we headed out around 7:30am. The goal was to be to the cars before 3pm, but really, we wanted to get back between 12-1pm. People on the trail told us that the way down was steep and there was lots of loose rock and fallen trees. So we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get down safely and planned extra time. This was also our longest day of hiking at about 8 miles. The entire trail, since day one, had fallen trees on it as well, so we knew those would continue to be something we had to go around (which added miles) or go over/under (which was simply exhausting, especially with a pack).

This part of the trail was also so beautiful though, and included a very flat, wide section of trail! It was wonderful! We ended up making it down by 11:45am, beating all of our predictions! We saw a lot of people on this section. It was a Saturday morning for one, but it was also much closer to the trailhead, so there were people out for day hikes as well as overnight trips.

Overall, this trip was worth it! The mosquitoes were the worst part about the trip for sure, and the fallen trees were a close second, but now we know to be better prepared for the bugs and be mentally prepared for the trees. We also learned that there are things we can share next time (like toothpaste, because each person doesn’t need their own toothpaste on a trail!!!) and we learned that we can survive in the wilderness for several days!

Being in nature, away from the crowds and the cell service and the social media pressures, is one of my favorite things. I enjoy time with my own thoughts, time in prayer (which often include prayers like, “Please God, let the trail not be so steep anymore”), and time with good friends. Being in nature reminds me that we serve a God who sustains us in all seasons, just as he continues to care for the wildflowers and the wild animals.

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:28-33 (ESV)

Mt. Shavano & Tabeguache Peak

June 13, 2021moremarsh1 Comment

Mt. Shavano: 14,229 feet

Tabeguache Peak: 14, 155 feet

These 14ers were something else. And we may have thought we wouldn’t be getting off the mountain a few times. But we did. And we are never going back. Here’s the story…

We started out the day at 3am since we had a 3 hour drive to the trailhead. The hike itself started at 6:20am. After doing some research the day before, I estimated that it would take us about 6-8hours for the hike total. This was a double 14er, but it had three summits. In order to summit the second peak, Tabeguache, you have to first summit Shavano. In order to return from Tabeguache, you have to re-summit Shavano… there is no other way in or out.

Now, I’ve done double 14ers before and I’ve done some class 3 mountains too. Therefore, I was expecting this hike to be pretty straight forward. It was a total of about 11 miles, round-trip, and again, expecting about a 6-8 hour hike depending on how we were feeling. We also had absolutely perfect weather! No storms in sight and blue skies all day long, which is everything you could ask for on a hike like this!

The hike started in the trees at about 8,500 feet elevation. We hiked through a beautiful area of aspen trees and wildflowers, and then through a few miles of pines and evergreens. We enjoyed most of this section since it was in the trees and we were still fresh.

We hit the tree-line around 8:30am and continued towards the summit. This first section to the base of the summit was long, steep, and narrow. There were even a few spots with lots of snow still on the trail, causing our time to be slower than planned.

We made it to the base of the summit and headed up where it looked like there was a trail. Unfortunately, the trail ended pretty quickly and it became a “choose your own adventure” situation. A few people were already heading down from the summit, but they were coming down in all different parts. And there were several others going up at the same time as us, but again, all at different spots. We lost each other at one point and I remember thinking to myself, “Well, I hope we all find each other at the summit.”

When I made it to the summit, I realized how dumb I was to leave my friends. I’ve climbed a lot of mountains, and one of the first rules is don’t split up… and I had done just that. So I found a place to sit and rest, where the wind was blocked but I could also see most of the summit. And I waited. Eventually my friends joined me and we took a few quick pics.

After a quick chat, two of us decided to continue on while the other waited and rested. We had two waiting points. One was on the summit, and the other was the base of the summit. We knew we would all meet up at either of those locations in the next few hours. So we started our descent down the first, across the saddle, and up the second.

The problem was, there was also not a clearly marked trail on the second summit. We now believe that the trail ran across the ridge on the top, but that was completely snow packed and too slippery to hike up. So again we took the “choose your own adventure” route and headed towards the summit area by scaling the side of Tabeguache. We eventually made it and I was so thankful to finally be at the summit! …other than the fact that we were only half way done with the day and I was completely out of water.

We once again headed down the peak and across the saddle. This time we got to slide down a few “snow slides” on the way, which was both terrifying and amazing all at once! As we approached the summit for Shavano, we saw a flight for life helicopter. These are helicopters that are often called to the tops of 14ers to rescue people who fall, need some other medical attention, or get struck by lightening. I sometimes see these helicopters on my hikes, but this time was different because it was landing on OUR PEAK. In fact, it was landing in the exact place we had decided to meet up.

We began to pray for our friend and any other people who may be in danger and tried to get cell service to text our friend. Thankfully, she was okay and the helicopter was for another man who was severally dehydrated. I am so thankful for these men and women who come to rescue people on these mountains!

Anyways, we re-summited Shavano and then headed down to the meet up location at the base of the summit. But, as you know, we didn’t follow a trail up so we had no idea how to get down. I decided to head towards the right, but that was definitely the wrong choice. We ended up on the side of the mountain that was full of unstable boulders. It felt like a class 4 mountain and literally every step felt like a risk. My friend and I quickly realized the situation we were in. There was no trail on this side of the mountain, we could no longer see the trail we needed to get to, we were all alone, and we were in big trouble.

We were able to take one step at a time, maneuvering around and over boulders. We made it back to the correct side of the mountain, but still no trail. We were simply thankful to be back in eye-sight of our friend. We never truly found the trail on the way down, but did eventually make it down with only one bruised-up and bloody knee, and a few tears.

Even though it felt like we had just conquered the world by getting off the summit, we were still only at the base of the summit… meaning we still had a few hours of hiking. So we began to walk and walk and walk. Now, I know that a lot of people like downhill better than uphill because it’s easier on the lungs, but I sure hate downhills. They are the worst part of the hike for me because of the strain they put on your body. Even with trekking poles, it took us just as long to go down as it took to go up due to the amount of rocks and the steepness of the mountain.

We made it back to our car at 5:40pm with a total time of 11 hours and 20 minutes on the mountain. We had all run out of water a long time ago and were thankful just to be back at the car where we could sit and re-hydrate.

All this to say, these mountains were a beast. Maybe it was due to the fact that it was early June, maybe it was due to the extra snow on the trails, or maybe it was due to inaccurate trail reports from others. Either way, it was definitely an adventure… but one that I will never suggest anyone else to do.

I’m thankful for my friends, who hiked for 11 hours with me just to help me get a little closer to my goal of hiking all 58 14ers in Colorado. Here’s to #15 and #16. Never again, Shav & Tab. Never again.

Deep Survival – Book Recommendation

November 21, 2020November 20, 2020moremarshLeave a comment

If you have been around me at all in the last few months, you have likely heard me tell you a story from the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. This is a fascinating book that is full of incredible stories.

Gonzales tells the stories of many people who have been on some crazy adventures. Some lived to tell the story, others didn’t… and you’ll have to read the book to find out who lives and who dies. Most of these stories are about rock climbers, mountaineers, and sailors who simply had all the wrong things happen at just the right time.

What I loved about this book was not only the stories (which are truly fascinating and ones I hope to read again because they are full of incredible detail) but the way Gonzales weaves in these stories with facts about survival. In this book he talks about how the brain works and a various other important things to consider in survival.

One interesting fact he points out is that psychologists have noted the importances of being seen by other humans. This is actually a human need… to be seen by another human! So the big thing about getting lost is the fact that no one sees you, so you feel alone not just emotionally but in your being.

Another thing I learned was that there were multiple people who died who had climbed and summited Mt Everest several times, and then they died in Yosemite or on a Colorado 14er or another “easier” trip. It’s important to always remember that there are multiple factors to survival and just because you have made it to the top of the world doesn’t mean you can make it to the top of the mountain in front of you!

Anyways, I could go on and tell some of the stories in this book, but I wouldn’t do nearly as good of a job as Gonzales does in his story telling, so I will leave you to get the book and read these stories for yourself!

Stay safe out there!

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

Uncrustable Weekends

October 10, 2020October 9, 2020moremarsh2 Comments

If you haven’t had an uncrustable sandwich during a hike, you are missing out. And if you don’t know what an uncrustable is, here’s a quick run down. You can find them in a box in the freezer section at any grocery store. They are PB&J sandwiches that are ready to grab and go at any time. And let me tell you, they taste the best at the end of a hike.

This fall, my roommates and I have started a new tradition of going on hikes every Saturday morning. We typically leave the house between 4:30-5:30am in order to get to the trailhead right as the sunrises. This means that Friday nights are filled with intense searches on google for the best hike we can find, researching driving times and trail maps, packing up our gear, and heading to bed early for our long day.

Our first weekend, we went big and hiked Mt Sherman, which is a 14er (a mountain over 14,000 feet above sea level). This was my 14th 14er and I was excited to mark another mountain off the list, and introduce my roommates to these mountains!

Mt. Sherman’s trailhead starts above the tree line so the hike is not very long and it’s considered “easy” especially for a 14er. The elevation will still get you every time though! The mountain face is covered with rocks, so I also highly recommend bringing hiking poles since the rocks are extremely loose on the way down. Overall though, it was a good hike and one of the last really warm weekends to hike at this altitude. (We had an early snow three days later!)

The following weekend, we headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a re-hike of Sky Pond. This is a hike that two of us hiked earlier in the summer but we wanted to go back on a clearer day since it was really cold and rainy on the day we went. Since we had an early snow just a few days before, there were several areas of the trail that were snow or ice packed already.

When we got to the waterfall, we weren’t sure if we could still make it up due to the ice and snow. But we watched a few others go and then went for it. And it was worth it! We made it all the way to Sky Pond and it was beautiful…but very windy! Plus I just love the rock formations found at this lake!

The following weekend was the beginning of the aspen leaves changing color, so we went on an adventure to find some beautiful leaves! We ended up at Herman Lake Gulch. This was a great trail, but I was glad that we got there early! By the time we made it back to the trailhead, the parking lot was packed! This hike was about 3 miles out and 3 back. The first and third miles were pretty tough, but the second mile was really enjoyable. The trail ended at a lake, where we got to enjoy our uncrustables! But the way down was when we really got to see the beginnings of fall colors in Colorado!

The last hike for this post was our hike at Meadow Creek and Lily Pad Lake. This was the best weekend for the aspen leaves and they were absolutely stunning! We chose this trail because of the number of aspens along the trail! The Meadow Creek Trail isn’t labeled that well and it doesn’t really lead to a lake or the top of a mountain, so we went along this trail until we hit an open field and then turned around. The Lily Pad Lake hike is not that long, which is why we added on at the beginning, but it is beautiful!

We got to see some of the most incredible fall colors out there and it was a joy to spend the day in God’s creation with the vibrant colors!

There are many more adventures waiting out there for us, but so far, Colorado has been fun of some great adventures! Hiking may not be restful to many, but it is to me. It reminds me that I am part of something much larger than myself and that I serve a God who is big and who is also in the details of everything. So my encouragement to you is to get outside an enjoy God’s creation! As you do, express gratitude to God for His creation!

Oh also, #uncrustables … SPONSOR ME! 😉

The Mountains Are Calling.

September 19, 2020moremarsh6 Comments

I grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado and loved my childhood. It included building snow-forts, sledding down our neighborhood hill, playing baseball in our backyard, running cross country at my high school, and countless friends enjoying our basement, which was full of games and adventure!

I don’t think I really realized the joy of living in Colorado until I left for college. I went to school at Oklahoma Baptist University to run on their track and cross country team. I loved my team and have some great memories from that place. But the question I got every time I met someone new was, “Why did you leave Colorado?”

My mom always said the same thing. Both of my parents grew up in Texas and much of our family still lives there. We moved from Texas to Colorado when I was four, so I don’t really remember much of Texas.

I ended up back in Texas after college to work at The Village Church in the middle school ministry. It was a dream job! I have felt called to student ministry since my senior year of college. That’s when I began to look for internships at churches so I could learn more about life in ministry and gain some hands on experience. Joining the staff at The Village was an incredible opportunity to grow, learn, and get the experience I needed.

I intended to only be in Dallas for the one year internship and then move again. But God had different plans. He allowed me to stay, grow, and be planted there for five years, almost exactly to the day.

During those five years I grew in my understanding of God and in my experience as a Bible teacher, and I grew to deeply love the Church, Christ’s Bride. I also went through trials during these years, like anxiety and depression, loss of friendships, and difficult health issues. Yet, God also allowed me to get to know some incredible people I would call family for the rest of my life.

Towards the end of last year (around October) I started to feel the Lord calling me into something new but I wasn’t sure what it was. I thought it was a new season at TVC, but once Covid hit, I thought maybe it was simply a different pace in student ministry and a time to rest. I continued to feel like the Lord was asking me to transition, but I was unsure what door He would open.

As summer began (and all of our events were canceled for students) I had some time in Colorado planned. My first trip was a backpacking trip with some friends. During this trip, I was able to spend some time asking God what He was doing in my life and where He wanted me to walk. Was it something new at TVC? Was it something new with students? Was it in a new place? I returned from that trip with a lot of questions and very few answers.

“Go to the place I will send you.”

I began to pray and fast, seeking more specific answers from God. And slowly, the Lord opened up doors. I was still really confused on what to do specifically and what he was doing, mostly because there seemed to be two really great doors opened to me.

When you come to a crossroad in life, what do you do? Well, if you are like me, you are first grateful for the options but also terrified of choosing the wrong one. Because of this, I needed some time and space to process and pray. I didn’t want to stay or go or move at all unless the Lord was in it.

So I prayed.

And prayed.

I asked some close friends to pray with and for me.

And then I prayed some more.

Slowly, He began to remind me of my childhood, of a people I love, of the place I go every time I get a free weekend and friend willing to join an adventure. He began to open up doors for a move back to my home state, just one hour from home.

This is a sweet gift. One I did not accept lightly. It was the most difficult decision I have had to make to this day. And yet, God was in it all. He guided me through conversations with others and by His word. He led me beside quiet waters to restore me and remind me that I belong to Him. He led me as a good shepherd does, reminding me that no matter where I go, He is the same God.

It was hard to say goodbye to friends in Texas, and even harder to say goodbye to those friends I call family. But I know that we still worship the same God. I know that God is still with them even when I can’t be there with them physically. I trust that God will watch over them just as He is watching over me.

Overall, I am grateful even amidst the sad and hard goodbyes. I’m grateful because God led me back to a place my heart has desired to go, to minister to a people a long to see redeemed, and to a place I feel the closest to God. He has called me to this place and given me a confidence that this is where I am to be planted right now.

My prayer for Colorado (and Arvada) is that they would know the God who molded the mountains, formed the forests, and spoke the stars into being. My prayer is that the people of Colorado would not just enjoy His creation but would recognize that there is a Creator, who also made them.

Would you join me in praying for this people (my neighbors) to know, love, and worship the one true God?! He is more than able! I am confident that He has called me and others to this place to be ministers of the gospel here, and to bring hope to a dark and dying world. I am eager to see God work and excited to join all that He is doing!

‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17 (ESV)

The Most Delightful Dinner.

July 18, 2020June 29, 2020moremarsh2 Comments

Think about the most delightful dinner you have ever had. What made it so great? The scenery? The people? The journey to get there?

After our crazy backpacking experience, which you can read about in my other posts HERE, we decided to ditch the last 14er and head into town early. We were all way more tired than we expected and we still had to backpack down the mountain and drive an hour into town.

With the crazy hiking portion of our trip finalized, we decided to go to the store and get a good, savory meal to cook for dinner. We grabbed all the essentials: steak, asparagus, potatoes, and wine. Then we headed to our perfect little Airbnb in the middle of an aspen forest! We took hot showers, short naps, and began cooking dinner. We found a small picnic table outside and decided that it would be the perfect place for dinner.

And it was.

This was the most delightful, content, and filling meal I have had in a long time…. dare I say, it was the best dinner ever. It is pretty hard to beat good friends, fine food, and cool mountain air. Plus we were completely surround by Colorado 14er… sitting in a forest of aspen trees… as the sun was setting… listening to deer prancing about in the trees nearby.

Yep, that’s hard to beat.

This was the most delightful dinner. And I think what made it so delightful was not just the incredible scenery, but also the journey to get to that dinner. We had just spent several days eating granola bars, oatmeal, and instant meals. (Though the astronaut ice cream was pretty tasty!) To be in a place where we had a hot meal (that was not made by heating up water) was pure joy.

The only thing we thought of that could make this dinner better was if Jesus Himself was there in the flesh with us. This truly felt like a dinner He would have enjoyed with us if He had been here in person. And yet, He was with us. He was with us on the mountains and during the cold nights and throughout the tough hiking. And He was with us during this most delightful dinner ever.

And friends, I can’t wait to have more dinners like this for eternity with Jesus. Can you imagine?! Eternity with Jesus is going to be delightful!

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV)

Belford and Oxford.

July 3, 2020June 29, 2020moremarshLeave a comment

This post is a continuation of our backpacking experience, but it also stands alone as a play-by-play of our double 14er day hike up Mt Belford and Mt Oxford.

We woke up pretty early after a shorter night of sleep due to our lack of planning and a strenuous night hike into our camping location the night before. Because of this, our group split up and two of us went on the adventure for the day while the others spent the day resting and enjoying the fresh mountain air.

We began at 7:28am from our campsite, which was right below the treeline at about 11,000 feet elevation. This is the latest I’ve ever started a 14er, but we also were technically almost halfway up it already! It was an additional bonus to be able to hike during the daylight for the entire trek!

We made it to the first summit (Mt. Belford) by 9:45am, which is a 2 hour 17 minute time. It was faster than I was expecting us to go, but it felt nice to have one mountain down before 10am…and before the wind picked up.

*Mt. Belford – 14,197ft. My 11th Colorado 14er.*

We enjoyed some PB&J uncrustables at the top (which always taste the best on top of a mountain for whatever reason), and then started down the saddle towards our second mountain for the day, Mt. Oxford. The saddle took us just over an hour to complete (summiting at 11:30am), and it was extremely windy. The wind was the hardest and worst part of the day since it never really let up and we were completely exposed on the tops of the mountains and on the saddle.

*Mt. Oxford – 14,153ft. My 12th Colorado 14er.*

At the top of Mt. Oxford there is a small hole that you can sit in to be protected from the wind. This gave us a chance to catch our breath and consider how incredible the views are from the top of the world… as well as consider the goodness of the Lord knowing that every peak we could see belongs to Him!

For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
Psalm 95:3-4 (NIV)

*One of my favorite pictures from our hike!*

The only bummer about the Belford/Oxford combo is that you have to hike back up Belford in order to get down. There is no other way. So technically, we hiked three 14ers in one day. 😉

(The saddle. The trail is on the ridge on the left side of the picture. This is a picture taken from Oxford looking across to Belford. The Belford summit is the tallest point in the picture, which is the circular rock area at the center of the photo.)

We began the hike down the saddle and back over to Belford at 12pm and made it just under an hour, faster than our way over which we were impressed with! The backside of Belford is a beast! It is one of the steepest hikes I’ve done, making it difficult for both the way up and the way down.

Once we arrived at the summit of Belford for the second time, we took a nice, long break, enjoyed some food, talked with others who had just made it to the summit, took in the incredible views, and let the sun warm up our faces. The sun felt so nice after being in the wind for so long. We took our sweet time up there knowing that we only had a few hours left and it would likely be in the wind…again.

We began our descent at 1:46pm and made it to the campsite by 3:38pm, just under 2 hours. Our total time on the mountain was 8 hours and 10 minutes, though our actual hiking time was 6 hours and 23 minutes.

Overall, this was a great day of hiking and we kept an awesome pace all day. We also saw a TON of marmots and the tiniest chipmunks you have ever seen! This was a really fun addition to our day! The marmots seemed to be continually following us up the mountain and we were totally okay with that!

At the end of the day, here are some words we used to describe our hike: Difficult. Majestic. Hard. Content. Achieving. Perspective. Thankful.

Everytime I make it to the top of another 14er, I am filled with feelings of gratitude and awe. Gratitude for those who make the journey with me. Gratitude for God to give us mountains to climb, legs to walk, and lungs to breath (even if it’s very minimal amounts of oxygen). Gratitude for surviving at least half of the hike. Gratitude for being able to experience a view that very few people ever get the opportunity to see with their own eyes. And awe that God allows us to experience His creation at this level.

Mountains make me feel small and remind me that God is big! They show me that God is majestic. I was reading in J.I. Packer’s book Knowing God this week and he says, “The word majesty, when applied to God, is always a declaration of his greatness and an invitation to worship.” This is what the mountains do. They declare the greatness of God and invite us to worship Him because of this greatness!

Today, I’m thankful for friends who hike mountains with me for over 8 hours, and a God who is gracious and kind towards us in allowing us to experience His creation at new levels!