WE DID IT!

Saturday morning at 12:58 (after only going to bed at midnight) I awoke to my phone ringing. It was Anna. She had finally just gotten my text about borrowing her camelbak for the hike and was calling to tell me where it was. I guess she figured I'd still be awake. After retrieving the camelbak , I looked at the clock and realized I was supposed to be up in 15 minutes to get ready to leave at 1:30 according to our plan. Wanting as much sleep as I could get, I went back asleep anyway, only to be rudely awakened 15 minutes later. I opened my eyes, looked out my window and realized Taylor wasn't there. I still had a couple minutes to sleep. Pushing snooze, I closed my eyes for 5 more minutes. My alarm rang at 1:20. Looking out the window I noticed he still wasn't there. So I closed my eyes again. Repeat this situation until 2:00. At 2, I began to worry that he either accidentally didn't hear his alarm, or he was so tired on his way over here that he got in a wreck. So to calm the panic that situation caused me, I called him. It woke him up (he didn't feel his alarm) and he said he could be there in 20 minutes. I woke up Rachel and Sarah and we began to get ready for our hike. Taylor arrived, and much later than anticipated we left my house at 3:00 AM.

Here's our group-all ready to hike Timp! 

We made it to the parking lot and started up the trail by 4:00.

We hiked up in the dark for about 2 1/2 hrs. It was beautiful chilly weather, clear air, and silvery night sounds. Here is where we took the first pictures on the hike (when it was finally light enough to see). 

 Add Taylor...

 Just a couple feet further down the road, we discovered these trail companions:

 There was a huge heard of them, but here is just a sample.

  
 We tried to get some mountain goats in the background.

We came around this bend just as the sun was rising. It was a brilliant orange that gave the misty clouds a wonderful hue. Quickly we took a picture. Unfortunately, it was completely invisible in this picture!

 It was really there, see?

Taylor and I tried to get a picture, but we forgot that it was on zoom... 

Redo: 

After 5 hours hiking up we made it to the top. It was a hard hike, but it was breathtaking when we got there! 

 Add Taylor...

 Classic Taylor pose: 

 The lovely Rachel:

WE DID IT! While supporting Ron Paul ;)

And beautiful Sarah.

And yes, we got another one together at the top. Just for the record.

 This was our "we are SO legit!' pose.

After staying at the top to eat breakfast and look at the view for an hour we decided to start down. Unfortunately, about 2 hours previous, when we were already past all vegetation on the way up, I had started needing to use the bathroom. Can I just comment how awful it is to hike down hill (after coming up it for 2 hours needing to go) for 2 hours, on a jolty, scary trail, needing to use the bathroom SO bad? Basically the worst thing ever. As soon as we got back into vegetation, I fixed that problem. haha, I ended up not being the only one who had to go. Everyone but Sarah...

 On the way down we took a detour to a waterfall. It was so beautiful!

 And yes. One together.

Overall, I loved the hike. This to do next time: bring sunscreen! My face is fried! Don't drink too much water after you reach the timberline. Because then there is no where to go.

I loved it. Another goal checked off. Yay for hiking :)