Hiking + Hammocking: Summit Semester Week 5

What a crazy week! A heap of a lot happened – physically and emotionally. Take a minute to read all about it.

What happened this week:

     Sunday was a relaxing, yet emotionally draining day. It started out like any other, with a later morning, great church service, fun at the local park for lunch, and enjoying downtown with my girl Micaela. I got to talk to some of my favorite people on the phone at a coffee shop and laughed the whole way home. There was some time before dinner, so a few of us decided that it would be fun to play basketball. My 2-week old rolled ankles weren't completely healed yet, so the running back and forth and jumping on the concrete basketball court did not help to heal them more. I was in pain and in frustration that I couldn't play like I wanted to, so (against my own desire) I quit the game. I found myself crying and freaking out the rest of the night, deciding if I really should attempt to climb a 14,120ft mountain the next morning. I had some great friends give great advice and encouragement so that really helped.

     The craziest day happened on Monday (link for the hiking experience here). After hiking, the seventeen of us that went met up with the rest of the group in Ouray. It was rainy and cold but still beautiful. The entire town is set in the middle of mountains (at least it felt like it), so you could see mountains and fog behind buildings and it was beautiful. I was so fatigued from hiking six miles that I spent the majority of the day in a restaurant and a coffee shop with friends just relaxing and trying to stay warm. When it was time to leave, it started to snow (!!!!!) and it was so beautiful! I was probably the only one excited about the snow during the drive, but I'm totally fine with that. The drive from Ouray to our lodge was along the million dollar highway, which was full from mountainous views and red + yellow trees. We stopped a few times along the way home to be touristy and take photos and breathe in the view, which was so cold but so fun. I ended up sleeping a lot of the way home (can you blame me?) and pretty much as soon as I could, I went to bed.

     Fatigue + bruises followed me all day Tuesday. Breakfast was optional (hallelujah), so I slept longer than normal, but it was still so hard to get out of bed. From the hiking and slipping on ice, my legs were bruised and sore. During work crews, I was put outside to sand down old bunk beds, so I got to use an angle grinder and orbital sander (still surprised I remember the fancy tool names), which was super fun. I was covered in paint dust when I finished, and everyone commented how disgusting I was; one of the girls thought I looked like I stepped out of a hard day's work in a coal mine. I took those remarks as hints to go clean up before dinner.

     Wednesday was a lazy, relaxing day. Our professor (who was supposed to arrive with enough time for class at 7:00) had a super delayed flight so our entire schedule shifted for the better. We had study time and solitude time (an hour a week we spend alone in our thoughts or in prayer). That was much needed for recouping from the craziness of the weekend – to just have some me time. After lunch and dish pit, Jason with Grace Church (the music director of the church we attend while here) showed up for an hour to rehearse for Sunday. It's our first trial of working as a musical group and the first time we'll be performing, so it's exciting! Afterwards, we had class with Dustin (leader of Summit) and we were supposed to have exercise time, but we ran late so it just turned into free time before dinner. I took it as a perfect opportunity to go tree hammocking with Micaela and the new hammock that arrived in the mail that day! It was so relaxing and entertaining. Superheroes were the topic of discussion during dinner and Hebrews class with Dustin happened later that evening.

     We had extra sourdough starter on Thursday, so we made double the recipe to make sourdough bread for dinner that evening! That was a fun experience. The weather was beautiful once again, so I enjoyed some basketball for exercise time. It was the first time I had played a game of basketball since the crazy hike, and it wasn't too bad. My ankles started hurting the more I ran back and forth on the court, but it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I was on the winning team with some great teammates, so that was a bonus. After dinner and class, we had another night of dancing. I got to dance some pretty great line dances, but there weren't enough guys for me to have a partner for swing dancing. I was okay with it though, because I was still tired from the line dances (it really works them leg muscles!) and it was so much fun to watch my roommate learn to swing dance for the first time. I was so proud of her!

     Friday was a pretty chill day. Class let out early this morning (bless!) so I took it as an opportunity to go hammocking again. After lunch (which was quite enjoyable), we had work crews, where I helped sand down more bunk beds. I got to use the angle grinder once again, which was nifty. Micaela and I discussed our costume ideas for the fall harvest festival (called Farvest Hall) we'll have later this month. Our costumes will be pretty amazing and surprises, so you'll just have to wait to see! We watched a Romeo + Juliet movie for evening class, which was quite entertaining. The acting was bad but the music was good, so I guess it balanced out. I spent the rest of my evening helping a friend unpack some of her winter clothes that she got in the mail. I actually didn't really help, I was just there because it was more fun that way.

     There was class all morning on Saturday (including a test on Romeo + Juliet!), but the afternoon and evening were quite entertaining. I went with a crowd on a hike on the property, which was awesome. My calves started feeling the burn about halfway up, asking me why I would dare do another hike after attempting Mount Sneffels four days prior. But it was great, and the view at the top was beautiful! We had a nice chat and lots of laughs, then we realized that we had dinner in thirty minutes (it took us a good thirty or more to get to the top), so we headed down. Someone thought it was a good idea to put me in the front (I had never gone on this trail either), so I got us lost. We took a detoured route (got some sick photos) and expecting to be late for dinner, ended up being a few minutes early! Woot woot. And we had chicken tenders and Chick fil A sauce, which was such a sweet reminder of home! Later that evening, there was a huge ping pong tournament, which I was a part of, but lost so that ended that. Micaela and myself took it upon ourselves to practice music for singing in church the next morning, and study.

     The first half of Sunday started out pretty early, but it was all worth it! We had our Summit worship team leave like an hour before the rest of the crowd, to go to the church to help set up and rehearse more. Considering we only rehearsed once and it was our first time performing, I think the worship went well. I think I missed a few keys, but it was also my first time singing harmony, which was an experience! (there will be a link going live later this week that is a video of the church service, if you're interested in watching! I'll link it in next week's blog.) After church, we split up into our different vans to hang out in town for the afternoon. I went with a few to a coffee shop (where I got the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich) and to Walmart.

What I have learned this week:

     It's been an emotional week of realization. The first week that I was here, during small group, I discussed with the girls there that what I was desiring most out of this three month experience is friendship. Since graduation, I had been struggling to find good and true girl friends... Christian girl friends at that. I didn't have but two or three at home. That was my most sincere prayer coming into this semester. And this week during small group, I realized that that prayer had been answered quite wonderfully. I have already accumulated thirty-two amazing friends, twenty of them being female. And I've created two truest and closest friendships, what I desired most coming here. I have loved learning that and coming to that realization this week. God is so good!

What's going on next week:

     There's another girls' night on Monday! I have no idea what it entails, but there's a snack sign up sheet that includes ice cream and brownies, so I'm pretty excited for what's to come.

Next weekend we're taking a camping trip to the Grand Canyon!! I'm so so excited! I've never been to the Grand Canyon, so I'm stoked to experience it for the first time, and with all my super great friends and classmates! I was told that we're actually camping on site, which should be pretty interesting considering that it gets pretty chilly in the evenings. But I also heard something about renting hotel rooms, depending on how many choose to go (it's an optional trip), so I'm not sure what our sleeping arrangements really are. But I'm pretty stoked!

Thanks for following along with me as I do life!

Blessings,

Becca

Bella and myself at the top of the mountain! We were so cold + tired!

Sweet Brittany and myself during our Saturday hike.

Leading worship on Sunday!