Item 3: Y Hike the Y?

Yes...that's what I ask myself every time I hike the Y. Why do I hike this thing? I had a reason this time: I had to do it one last time before I left BYU. It was just as dreadful as I remembered it.

Maybe I'm getting older, maybe I'm out of shape, but that hike is harder than people lead on to believe.  My friend, Jocelyne, and I went at 11 in the morning, which means we ended up hiking during the hottest part of the day. We saw a couple on a date during the same time, and I just pitied that girl, as the sweat coursed down my face. A date to hike the Y at noon? For real? If that relationship works out it's a miracle, since they will definitely be traveling through Hades. That would be too trying for me; I would hate the guy immediately. This hike is pretty steep, has no shade so good luck escaping the hot sun, and really is not that pretty of a hike, until you see the views. But you have to do it. It's one of those things. And it really is awesome being at the top and thinking, wow, after all that mindless trudging in the heat, I made it to the Y!

Jocelyne and Me

Soaking in the View at the Top of the Y

 On the way up, I kept telling Jocelyne that if I were a pioneer, I would die during the first stretch. Sad I know. And then Jocelyne got really sick. Sickly sick. She had to sit for a bit, and she told me to go on, she was too weak to make it to the top. But I told her absolutely not. I would not leave her behind! It felt like a reenacted scene from Legacy. She had to be with me at the top. After all, who would take my picture to document I was there? Well, that and I care about her well being of course...:)


Anyway, Jocelyne wasn't the only one who was having heat/sick issues on the way up. After we finally made it to the top (HURRAY! Yes...Jocelyne made it! A true pioneer miracle!), we heard all these ambulances heading our way. If you're wondering how the medics can reach people on the trail, here is their heroic medic-mobile they use to rescue people.

Not sure what was wrong with the lady, but I'll bet it was the heat. I'm happy to report she was improving by the time we reached her. Farther down the path I ran into, well, almost on top of, this scary thing:

Can you see the snake hiding in this picture?? This thing was huge and seemed to just be chilling on the trail, waiting to bite some hapless person, like me. Luck was on our side again! I guess I proved to be the scarier of the two of us, and he slithered off as fast as he could. Kristen - 1 Snake - 0.

After forever, (How long is this hike? A mile? It seems like 50) we finally made it down in one piece!