Climbing the Mountain

"Never give up on something you want. It is difficult to wait, but more difficult to regret."

If there was any day of this trip that would be my challenging one, this was it. Our last day in Krabi was spent at the Tiger temple. But to get to the tiger temple you need to hike up 1,200 steps. Hiking is not my strong point. When we drove from our wonderful beach side resort towards the temple Dr. Register pointed at a mountain in the distance and said "that's where we're going!" and I nearly fainted just from seeing the height of it.

Russell told us, "don't worry ladies, just think that with every step your butt gets cuter and cuter and cuter!"

 The first flight of stairs...

 This sign was pretty daunting. 

 Words cannot describe how steep (and slippery) the stairs were going up the mountain. There were even some flights where we literally crawled. 

The view from the one fourth way point. 

The climb was extremely difficult. Not only were they steep (and tall) stairs, but the humidity and temperature was crazy. We were all soaked in our own sweat after only a few minutes of hiking. One thing that kept us going was Russell yelling at us from behind, "cuter and cuter and cuter!" 

Along the trail, posts of the railing showed the number of steps you had climbed. At about stair 900 I thought I would die. I stopped to take a break at one of the platforms and stared out at the long way down, then hopelessly looking towards the top. 

"You can do it Utah!" Russell yelled at me from below. 

And did it I did. The last few flights were probably the steepest, and most difficult, but it was quite the accomplishment. As soon as I made it to the 1,260th step I sat right at the top. The view was incredible though...

 The 1,260th step at the top! 

 Me and Becca! 

 A different Buddha pose for each day of the week. 

Dr Dena Register and Dr. Russell Hilliard, both very fun and inspiring individuals! 

After we reached the top Dr. Register gave us her Sermon on the Mount about achieving your goals and working hard. It was the perfect way to metaphorically describe the experience we had just had. I only wish I could have been more positive during the climb. All my peers were motivating me, and helping each other through out the long hike. Even though it was an individual effort, it helped to be experiencing the same difficulty with the people around you. I am so grateful for the wonderful people I have with me on this journey!