Mount Raymond Summit (Shantel Hike)

I have been able to go hiking many times this summer and i've enjoyed it very much. I'm hiking the Timpanogos Cave Trail each week with my friend Dani (3 miles, 1,000 elevation gain), I've gone hiking with David a few times, and regular hikes with the kids (although not as many with the kids because I've been hiking so much on my own.) 

My dear friend Ali asked if I wanted to take a Saturday morning to hike to the summit of Mount Raymond. It's an 8-mile hike, which is significantly more than the 3-miles that I've been doing each week.  I was a little nervous about the length and elevation gain - but it was an incredible hike. 

I left my house at 5:45 am. 8.18 miles, 4hrs 50 min, elevation gain 3,000 ft. Reached an elevation of 10,225 ft. 

I can’t believe such a beautiful place is so close to my house. As I was hiking, it was easy to imagine that I was hiking through the Swiss Mountains in Europe. If I had paid $5000 and taken a plane ride across the ocean, I would have put this hike on my bucket list and it would have been worth every penny.Utah is incredible.

Such incredible vistas and deep conversations about faith, Jesus, homeschool, travel, and motherhood. Grateful for good friends who enjoy hiking and invited me along as I am increasing my stamina and hiking skills. I've heard that people call themselves "summit chasers" and hike to the summit of all the mountains that they can. I've never really understood that because I enjoy hiking just for the sake of hiking. But after this morning, I UNDERSTAND. Reaching the Mount Raymond summit was like no other hike I've ever done. It was incredble and I loved it. (And have to express my gratitude to David for covering Saturday morning at home so I could have this experience.)