Hike to Elephant Rock

Today we went for a walk. A seven mile hike. Up and down and around a canyon. To see big rock. We started at 6:30 at night. Seriously.

Up Mill Creek canyon in Mueller Park there is a trail that leads to the mythical ‘Elephant Rock’. We have tried unsuccessfully to hike to this rock a few times before. We always make it up a few switchbacks and then decide it’s getting too dark and turn around. This time we decided to go for it. We had no idea how far it was or how hard it would be. All we had was a goal and a backpack to carry Alauna.

At first it wasn’t too bad. We soon passed our previous turn around point and kept going. Up a little bit higher, around a couple more switchbacks, over a few streams we walked. Brandon and Sean lead the way followed by Natalia and me, and then Robert carrying Alauna. Natalia and I played a catch game with Brandon and Sean. If the girls could catch the boys we would poke them with our sticks (not hard, of course) but if they saw us coming they would run ahead a little bit. Soon Robert got in on the game and Natalia and I were busy trying to avoid Robert while sneaking up on Brandon and Sean. This game lasted for most of the way up and kept the kids very entertained.

After an hour and a half we started to get concerned. We hadn’t reached the rock yet and it was starting to get late. The sun would be setting soon and we would be caught out on the mountain. We started pushing the kids to walk faster. They started complaining about being tired. Then Sean tripped and got the wind knocked out of him. Natalia was really getting tired. Brandon was sent ahead a little bit to see if he could see the rock. He kept coming back with a negative report. Would we ever reach it? Or should we just turn around? What if we were almost there and we turn around; that would be so horrible. What to do?

Robert and I pushed the kids to go just a little bit further. And then a little bit further. And a little bit more. Then Brandon saw it! We all hurried to catch up with him and 2 hours after we started our hike we made it to Elephant Rock!! What an accomplishment!

Unfortunately, we still had to hike back out. So we took a few pictures, rested a bit, the boys climbed down to the rock to see it close up and then we turned around and headed back. Since it was 8:30 we knew the sun would be setting soon and we pushed to kids to go faster and faster. I took Alauna in the backpack, Robert carried Natalia, and Brandon and Sean went on ahead of us. Natalia soon fell asleep in her Daddy’s arms, exhausted from the long hike up. Brandon and Sean, still emotional from his fall earlier, were getting freaked out by the thought of walking back in the dark. We stopped for a quick prayer and asked for Heavenly Father’s help in comforting us, and keeping us safe as we hiked out.

I took Sean’s hand and we followed Brandon down the path (Robert and Natalia brought up the rear). We started singing camp songs to keep up our spirits. We had a great pace going and Robert and I pointed out the views of the city lights as we walked through the twilight. Then it got darker. And I ran out of camp songs. So we started talking. We compared the path we were on to the straight and narrow path next to the iron rod in Lehi’s dream. If we struck off the path to cut straight through the canyon floor we would soon be lost in the deepening shadows. Just like if we let go of the iron rod and choose to put man’s wisdom ahead of the Lord’s, we will soon be lost spiritually. Even if we just took a few steps off the path we could be lost or fall off the edge or slide down the mountain. A few steps off the path can have dramatically bad results. As it got darker and darker the path became harder to see. We really had to watch our footing and focus on the path. Many times in our lives we can’t see what the end result of our choices will be. We have to have faith that if we are following the promptings of the Holy Ghost and staying on the straight and narrow path we will return to Heavenly Father in the end. Regardless of the hills and valleys we walk through and the tree roots and rocks we stumble over. Tonight we had to have faith that as long as we followed the path we would make it out okay. Even if we couldn’t see farther than a few steps ahead. Brandon made the connection that when he was scouting ahead for Elephant rock earlier, he hadn’t had faith that we would reach it and that he should have had faith in his parents that we would help them reach it.

It got darker and the shadows deepened. Sean and I took the lead and Robert took Brandon’s hand. This was a perfect example of how in life when it the going gets rough, your family is there to help and support you. Brandon had led the way most of the way down the mountain. He was a bit nervous/scared, but he kept it to himself so as not to freak out his brother and sisters. He was very brave and did a great job leading the way in the dark. But as it got darker and darker it was time for me to lead and let him drop back and be supported. Soon after we switched places we saw campfires from the campgrounds at the entrance to the trail. We knew we were almost down. As Lehi would say, ‘Our joy was exceedingly great!’ We hurried through the last few switchbacks and across the bridge and to our car. We had made it!

It took us 2 hours to hike up, 1 hour to hike back down. Natalia walked 3 ½ miles up at the age of 3 ½ and slept the whole way out. At least half of the way down was in the dark. We shared an incredible spiritual learning experience. Brandon and Sean learned the point of the iron rod in a way that they will never forget.