{"id":1028,"date":"2014-07-31T10:58:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T17:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/?p=1028"},"modified":"2016-11-22T08:19:14","modified_gmt":"2016-11-22T15:19:14","slug":"paths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/?p=1028","title":{"rendered":"Paths"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sight of the wildflowers in the Wasatch Mountains in July is breathtaking.\u00a0 Fields of purple lupine, golden daisies, and Indian paintbrushes in orange, pinks, and reds, line our path.\u00a0 We make a fast ascent, scrambling up the steep incline, dislodging the occasional rock or scree with our feet and hiking poles.\u00a0 We are wary of ominous looking clouds lurking in the sky, our skin waiting for the touch of cool raindrops alerting us to the weather; wanting to reach the summit before potential afternoon thunderstorms. I stop every now and then to catch my breath and take in the beautiful vistas that surround us.<\/p>\n

As we near the peak, we reach a field of boulders clinging to the spine of the mountain, covered in eye-catching lichen of amber, rust, sage, and lime green. \u00a0I watch Jeff skip effortlessly and fearlessly from rock to rock like a mountain goat, determined on his path, and eager to reach the summit.\u00a0 I pick my path a little more gingerly.\u00a0 I sometimes slow, considering my route more carefully, wary of getting hurt. Or I pause to watch Jeff, admire the view, think, be in the moment, and take it all in. \u00a0Sometimes however, I push myself more than I think I can, taking large bounds and using my long legs, a smile spreading on my face\u00a0as I land safely, my confidence growing.<\/p>\n

I think about how many people have summited this mountain, but no two people have taken exactly the same route; each of us choosing our own unique path. \u00a0 It leads my mind to the comparison of this hike with life\u2019s journey.\u00a0 The approach of my husband and I in line with our personalities.\u00a0 We are all on our own unique paths in life, nobody\u2019s journeys the same. \u00a0Sometimes our paths cross, or linger, running side-by-side, and we revel in the beauty of these shared moments with each other.\u00a0 Other times they diverge, as we forge our own path, growing, learning, developing, moving forwards.<\/p>\n

Two quotes I read recently resonate with my thoughts and I want to share them with you.\u00a0 The first is from a wonderful book \u2018Empowered\u2019<\/a><\/em> by Jenny Powers.\u00a0 She shares:<\/p>\n

\u201cCarve Your Own Path.\u00a0 On days like today, following the crowd feels so much easier to me.\u00a0 Because there is a level of certainty in the crowd and in the numbers of people that surround me.\u00a0 In a crowd, I am never alone.\u00a0 But when I walk in a crowd, I am never the first to discover anything new.\u00a0 I am never the first to discover something unique.\u00a0 I am never the first to discover something that I can call my own.\u00a0 There is such passion to be found in discovering my own.\u00a0 So I will leave the crowd and I will set out on my own.\u00a0 And I will continue to carve the path in front of me, for as long as it takes for me to get to my own.\u00a0 When confronted with choice, decide to leave the crowd.\u00a0 Set out on your own.\u00a0 Carve your own path through this world.\u00a0 It is how you will find the gold in undiscovered lands.\u201d<\/p>\n

I also read this quote from the Dalai Lami this week, which I want to share:<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road does not mean they are lost.\u201d – Dalai\u00a0Lama\u00a0XIV<\/p>\n

Be brave.\u00a0 Forge ahead.\u00a0 I respect your own unique path and I cherish the shared moments with you.\u00a0 I wish you fulfillment and happiness on your journey.<\/p>\n

Lydia<\/p>\n

My photos from our hike last Saturday in the Wasatch Mountains.\u00a0 We summited ‘10,420’ and ‘Clayton’s Peak’ (10,721 ft).\u00a0 I am so grateful to\u00a0 be surrounded by such beauty where I live and to get out and enjoy it.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The view from Guardsman Pass – wildflowers in the foreground and vistas and mountains beyond.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Jeff<\/a>

Jeff at the summit of Clayton’s Peak 10,721 ft.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"At<\/a>

At the top of Clayton’s Peak (10,721 ft) with the summit marker \/ lightning rod! Amazing views. You can see 6 ski resorts from this point.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Views<\/a>

Views from Clayton’s Peak looking South-West towards Brighton, Solitude, Alta, and Snowbird ski areas. (We had to pay attention to potential mountain thunderstorms, so we descended from the summit pretty quickly).<\/p><\/div>\n

\"View<\/a>

View from Clayton’s Peak looking east towards Lackawaxen Lake and Silver Lake.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The lichen on the boulders at the summit was eye-catching in amber, rust, sage and lime green colors.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Determined<\/a>

Determined wildflowers growing between the rocks (daisies, columbine, etc.).<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Pretty<\/a>

Pretty purple lupine line our path.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Jeff<\/a>

Jeff descends through fields of wildflowers.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Various<\/a>

Various shades of Paintbrush (Castilleja) from pink-red to orange-red brighten the area.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A field of mauve daisies.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Daisies<\/a>

Daisies alongside an alpine river.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"We<\/a>

We pass through meadows of interesting plants.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"We<\/a>

We end up by the beautiful Bloods Lake.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A wonderful hike and opportunity to think, breathe, and connect with Jeff, myself, and nature.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sight of the wildflowers in the Wasatch Mountains in July is breathtaking.\u00a0 Fields of purple lupine, golden daisies, and Indian paintbrushes in orange, pinks, and reds, line our path.\u00a0 We make a fast ascent, scrambling up the steep incline, dislodging the occasional rock or scree with our feet and hiking poles.\u00a0 We are wary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[349,351,340,350,347,339,356,346,352,353,354,355,345,341,342,344,338,343,348],"class_list":["post-1028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings","tag-empowered-by-jenny-powers","tag-10420-peak","tag-bloods-lake","tag-claytons-peak","tag-dali-lama","tag-guardsman-pass","tag-indian-paintbrush","tag-jounrey","tag-lackawaxen-lake","tag-lichen","tag-lupine","tag-paintbrush-castilleja","tag-path","tag-silver-lake","tag-utah","tag-utah-wildflowers","tag-wasatch-mountains","tag-wildflowers","tag-people-take-different-roads-seeking-fulfillment-and-happiness-just-because-theyre-not-on-your-road-does-not-mean-they-are-lost-dalai-lama-xiv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1028"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1329,"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions\/1329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lydiakluge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}