Mount Hood
Wy’east has a secret. He loves the sunrise.
Before the sun even rose, I felt the stirring. I lifted my head from the soft pillow and looked out the window. Outside of our log cabin at the base of Mount Hood, the sky was turning purple behind the thick cluster of trees. Streaks of pink began to tint the clouds, then orange strands began to glow. But there was something else in the air that morning that I’d never quite felt before during a sunrise. It was like the quivering excitement you felt as a kid on Christmas morning. It grows and grows until you burst from your bed and race downstairs to see the presents under the tree.
I snuggled under the thick down comforter as I watched the sunrise. The excitement thickened in the air like static electricity. Jason was fast asleep next to me. And I hadn’t heard a peep from downstairs. Even the birds had barely begun to chirp. The only one up was the volcano.
Mount St. Helens: Sweet Summit Success!
Monitor Ridge – Part 2
Three steps. Two. One. Suddenly, Mount St. Helens’ summit crater stretched wide open in front of me. The rim of the crater curved around to the north like eagles’ wings. An enormous lava dome that dwarfed everything around it sat perched in the heart of the mile-wide crater. The lava dome itself sat steaming happily away, tendrils of the white steam curling up toward us. The sharp scent of sulfur – like rotten eggs – made my nose sting.
We had made it! I clung to my husband, brother, and sister as we cried victorious tears. Jason, Paul, and Alex had each been overwhelmingly patient and kind to me on that hike. Twenty-four hours before, none of us imagined we’d be standing there together. But there we were! Successful because of each other’s patience, love for each other and for the volcano, and because of God’s grace.
