On Thursday, Dad and I stole away from work in the morning to go hiking.
We had a bit of snow at home over a week ago, but it had mostly melted by Thursday. Still, we hiked up a small mountain and even just a little elevation gain can mean a lot more snow.
Fortunately, the trail wasn't too bad:
Unfortunately, ice covered many portions of the trail.
Even more unfortunately, I wore sneakers to hike. I forgot my snow boots at school and I don't own hiking boots, so I found some of the trail particularly difficult to navigate.
After a few miles of slipping and sliding, I finally found a walking stick--a fallen tree branch. With three points of traction (my two feet plus the walking stick), hiking became much easier.
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Dad and I conversed as we went up. I told him about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who is known for his interest in hiking and other sports. I remember hearing a while back that Bl. Pier Giorgio would stop to tie his shoe or pretend he was tired if he saw that other hikers were not able to keep up with his group. I threw up a few quick prayers for the intercession of Pier Giorgio as I skidded across the icy forest floor.
Dad and I scaled a boulder, crossed a frozen creek, and watched the morning sun across a small clearing on our way up.
Eventually, after many skids but zero falls, Dad and I made it to the top of the little mountain.
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Not only did we find a beautiful tower overlooking the valley below...
...but we also experienced this awe-inspiring view:
Thanks be to God!
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On Thursday night, after I arrived home and ate dinner, I baked my first-ever strawberry pie to take to some friends.
On Friday, I went down to see them with another friend. It was a wonderful time.
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And today, I visited the Catholic church where my great-grandfather laid some of the stone:
Aside from all of this, I continued to read St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body, visited a perpetual adoration chapel with friends, ate some delicious meatballs, and took a short nap.
All in all, not a bad weekend.
I love these pictures!!!! That tower on the mountain is amazing. As is the church your great-grandfather was involved with! Oooh, hiking sounds like so much fun!! When I studied in Austria, Jacob went hiking all the time, but out in the Midwest, there's not much in the way of hiking up small mountains, so we haven't done it in a while.
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