Today’s Colorado Campaign submission comes to you from a good friend, Monica Witzig. Her words speak for themselves, so without further ado…
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Colorado: Climb Ev’ry Mountain
Readers, if you don’t get the reference—or do and want to sing along: http://youtu.be/EoCPuhhE6dw
That’s my mother’s favorite song from The Sound of Music—and what she always saw me doing with my life. Of course, I mean playing outside and tackling challenges, not becoming a nun. I am a transplant; I worked hard to get here and still can’t believe what’s in my backyard.
Colorado has more than 50 14ers (I know this because there’s a list on my fridge!), and I don’t need to go into the health benefits of hiking or the symbolism of reaching the top, but it’s good for the body and good for the soul.
Sometimes I go alone. (This makes my folks uncomfortable for hours and hours until they hear from me. Sorry, Mom and Daddy.) Sometimes I go with friends. Someday I want to go with family (especially little nieces who are getting big enough to do Bierstadt soon, I think—or maybe a husband). But most of the time, I take my four-legged best friend.
This is Monongahela the beagle. On Pikes Peak. At only 7 months old.
In hindsight, this should not have been our first 14er, but we did it together. Boy, did we ever crash when we finally got home. …And she’s been sleeping in my bed with me ever since (instead of in a crate, where a new puppy belongs, for various reasons—too late now).
At the risk of sounding dramatic, I don’t know what I’d do without her. When I drag my feet and curse switchbacks, her happy tail urges me on. When I sink to the floor of my apartment, in tears because I miss my grandpa, my tiny hound crawls into my lap. Monongahela has never ignored me after I’ve been away from her for days because of a wedding on the East Coast. I strive to love, forgive, and just enjoy being the way my dog does; I’d be a much better person.
And so Little Mon and I go on these journeys together: our favorite little hike at NCAR in Boulder, a mere 13,000 feet at Devil’s Playground, rock scrambles atop the peaks on our list of 14ers, and maybe some vanilla ice cream in Manitou Springs.
They say that when you know, you know.
I belong. I know.
A dream that will need all the love you can give, every day of your life, for as long as you live…
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Thank you so much, Monica!
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