Bell Canyon Waterfall

Last Saturday Abe and I did something truly wonderful.  We went on a hike-- JUST THE TWO OF US!  No children to keep track of.  I enjoy going as a family, but this was a dream!

Parts of this hike were definitely the most challenging we've done so far.  Well, I suppose Abe has done much harder stuff on 50 miler hikes and such, but this was no easy walk for me!

The waterfall and the view from the waterfall was glorious.  No lie-- it brought me to tears.  As we neared the waterfall there were some very, very rocky parts that were pretty steep.  Several people passed us as they were headed down and they assured us we were getting closer and it was worth it!Indeed it was.  Abe and I enjoyed playing a game of "Find the Gospel Principle".  We talked about what we can learn about the gospel from what we observe hiking.  First off, the people who told us it was worth it were the people who had actually done it.  They had successfully walked the path and seen the rewarding view.  They knew first hand of what they spoke.  Someone down in the valley who had never done it and wasn't on the path had no way of knowing whether the journey was worth it or not.  We must be cautious in whose advice we follow.

There was a long section of the trail that was extremely rocky and steep.  Looking upwards at it, it appeared to be continuous rock and rock after rock with no flat, dirt spaces at all.  Basically, as far as you could see, it appeared you would just be climbing rocks.
But if you turned around and looked down the trail, from whence you had just come, it was clear that in between all the rocks, almost like flat steps, there were dirt patches were you could easily get a safe foothold and even rest for a moment.
Gospel principle lesson:  We are not always seeing things as they actually are.  God provides a doable, albeit challenging trail, when it may appear to us an impossibly difficult path.  There are footholds.  There are steps.  You need not ascend the mountain all at once.  Stay on the path and keep pressing forward.

The reservoir was quite picturesque.

I would certainly NOT be opposed to another morning date hike in the near future!