Mt. Baker from Hidden Lake Pass, North Cascades National Park, Washington
I love mountaintops. Most of my favorite hikes have been high-elevation – peaks overlooking the mountains, ridgelines with views to mountains or countrysides, even meadowed mountainsides. Get me above treeline with great views to cliffs and mountains and meadows, and I’m a happy girl.
Meadows on the slopes of White Rock, Wind River Range, Wyoming
When I’m training for a hiking trip, I’m thinking about those mountains: I have to train my muscles to climb those peaks. I need to train my lungs to breathe high up in the atmosphere where the oxygen is thinner. I go looking for the steepest trails I can find in this rather flat neighborhood – and then I go up and down the same hill 20 or 30 times. (It’s one way to get in shape!)
It’s hard to train for a trail like this… On the slopes of Goat Peak, Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, Montana
But despite the focus on mountains and mountaintops, that’s not where we live. We camp in the valleys, then ascend the mountain peaks the next day. Even then, we don’t stay on the mountain tops – we walk to the top, then we descend. We trek along the ridgelines, but we go back down to the parking area. Even when we intentionally descend into a canyon, we come back up and out. And along the way, we pass through valleys and cross rivers that flow in the lowest place available.
Bridge at the bottom of Letchworth Gorge, New York
In life, we sometimes think we can live on the mountaintops forever – live in life’s highs and hopefully never crash into a valley. Millions of dollars are spent each year to stay living the “good life” instead of descending into life’s lows – or at least, attempting to stay out of the lows. Life looks better, happier, and more worth living when we’re on mountaintops.
The Teton Range from the top of Mount Leidy, Wyoming
But like hiking, we can’t always stay on life’s mountain peaks. They are amazing and wonderful, but life is a mix of scenery: mountaintops, ridgelines, valleys, river crossings, canyons, plains and so much more.
The Grand Canyon from Angels Window Overlook, Arizona
The Psalmist wrote, “[The Lord] makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (Psalm 23:2). But within two verses, he says, “I walk through the valley of the shadow… you are with me” (v.4). David recognized that life went through peaceful times and dark valleys – but that God was with him through it all.
Descending the Lava Falls Route into the Grand Canyon, Arizona
I heard a sermon once where the preacher spoke on “The Farris Wheel of Fame”. “If you’re at the bottom,” she said, “don’t worry because you’ll eventually be at the top. But if you’re on top, don’t take it too seriously: you’ll be back at the bottom at some point. And then you’ll rise again to the top. And so on.”
Views down the valley below Doubtful Lake from Sahale Arm, North Cascades National Park, Washington
The valleys aren’t necessarily our enemies. On the other side of the valley may be the best view ever. Several of my hiking companions were discussing some of their favorite trails. One everyone agreed was fantastic because of the view – but we spent most of the long trail trudging through one forest valley after another.
Wildflowers in Bonneville Pass, one of the most peaceful valleys I’ve ever encountered
In hiking and in life, the mountaintops are passing. But so are the valleys. And the mountain peaks wouldn’t be so spectacular if you hadn’t been in the valley first. As a friend said, “You can’t appreciate the summits unless you’ve experienced the valleys.”
