the truth about lares

Allow me to begin by stating that I have never been tested by God in so many different ways in such a short period of time.

On tuesday, the group and I began our hiking trip. When I first heard about the 2 day hiking excursion, I already knew that it would test me physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. I know in a previous post I stated that I was going to die...to be honest, there was one point of the hike where I actually did think I was going to die. And no, I am NOT exaggerating. I seriously thought I was going to die.

A brief info sesh about the hiking trip. At 8 am on Tuesday we could hike up a mountain. We began at 2600 meters ( approx. 8500 feet) and had to go up to 5000 meters (16000 feet). After climbing up to the top we had to climb down to a town named Lares. Along the way we would stop by in rural communities and give the children Roanoke College sweatshirts.

Anywho it was day 1 and I was doing well until the last 400 meters;  at that point I got on the horse. haha. I did not want to let myself get on the horse because I thought that having to ride the horse was weak and I would feel like a failure. Later when I arrived at our campground did I realize that the right decision was to get on the horse because my legs were in sooo much pain. Anyways, the scenery from the first day was amazing.

When we arrived at campground our tents were already set up (hallelujah!) but we had to cook dinner. Dinner was cooked on a little propane tank and water in a pot...we cooked mac and cheese!

Oh, in case you were wondering. Yes, we had to handle our bladder issues in the nature. So basically if you had to tinkle or poo...the nature was your toilet.

Day 2:
Our second day began with rain and hail. Yes, hail as in raining ice. On the second day we were expected to hike up another 200 meters to reach the peak of the mountain and then climb down to go visit a rural community and then finally arrive in Lares. I rode the horse yet again because I was sooo flippin' cold and was unable to feel my legs. However, I still had to climb up nearly the entire mountain because it was really rocky for the horse to walk up. So the intense hike continued up the mountain in the fog and hail...as I was honestly may 10 feet away from the peak it began to snow. I was walking as slow as molasses because my body was cold...oh i forgot to mention I was wearing:  a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie, a fleece and my rain coat, alpaca gloves, two pairs of regular socks AND a pair of alpaca socks....all of my layers still meant that I had no circulation in either my fingers or my toes. The moment we got to the peak we all begged if we could walk down the mountain in hopes of the temperature rising and warmth. We began to walk down...and we were wrong, very wrong. It wasn't until 3 pm that my body felt warm. That day we made our stop at the rural community and handed out sweatshirts and supplies to the kids. The kids were so small, my theory is malnourishment however they seemed to be sooo gentle and sweet. After we left the community we still had a 2 hour hike to our final destination: Lares. I honestly powerwalked my munchkin self to Lares. Upon our arrival to Lares the reward of the group after hiking 2000 meters, encountering a snowstorm, hail, rain, fog, wind, cold...was bathing in hot springs. Greatest reward ever!!!

the water felt oh so very good!


On this trip I realized that I should NEVER fear asking for help and that I'm never alone. I am never alone because God is always guiding me through life. I also learned that I should not be afraid to  show my vulnerability because when I got to the top of the mountain I shed a few tears.

I honestly believe that the hike has helped me grow as an individual. And although it was only two days...those two days were rather intense and permitted me to learn things that I would have never thought I could learn because of my lack of willingness to open my mind.