Kris and Themum woke up to a thunderstorm filled with bright flashes of lightning. Thank goodness they had taken extra time to secure their tents and position them for protection. Because the thunderstorm turned into what Uncle Paulo would describe as “a real frog drowner.” But they weren’t gonna let a little rain put a damper on reaching the goal for the day.

Because the goal for the day was the ultimate hiker’s prize.

The summit. The peak. A couple more vertical miles, and they’d see the tip-top of the goal they’d talked about for a long time. And they both thought about that as they fired up the little backpack grill to make breakfast and coffee.

Neither one said anything. Kris had pointed out, before they even started their climb, that he wasn’t a morning talker. And Themum said he just wasn’t a morning person, period. So, that worked out. Even though it sounds funny to say it, they could just enjoy the mountain sounds in silence.

After breakfast, and a jolt of adrenaline thanks to their Italian roast coffee, the guys gathered up their gear to get ready to press on.

And as most climbers (the honest ones at least) might tell you, they didn’t even fully understand WHY they pressed on. Because the thin air increased the challenge with each step up in elevation. So, it wasn’t like it was just a walk in the park.

But when set a goal, you gotta keep your eyes on the goal.

Otherwise your mind, and aching muscles, can conjure up all kinds of reasons to turn back. And Kris and Themum certainly faced those distractions way up there above the tree line. But the awesome beauty of the summit, bathed in the orange-red-yellow glow of the morning sun, urged them forward.

After a few more switchbacks, the trail turned considerably narrower. And rockier.

As they approached a sharp turn, next to a wind-worn tree trunk, Themum felt a pebble in his hiking boot. So, he stopped to lean on the tree trunk for support and remove it. But just as he started to lift his foot to unlace the boot his other foot twisted slightly on another rock. And his hand slipped off the tree trunk. And he tumbled off the edge of the trail.

Kris had just made the sharp turn when he looked back to see Themum disappear over the edge. And, as you can well imagine, he dashed back down the trail to where his friend had fallen out of sight. He was afraid of what he might find. Or not find. But he quickly calmed that fear with faith.

“Themum!” he called out.

And thankfully Themum replied, “I’m right down here. Good thing there was a shrub to break my fall. But it’s pretty small. And I don’t know if it can hold me for long.”

So, Kris answered back, “OK, don’t worry. I’ll help you get back up here.”

And with that promise, Kris quickly looked around for something to hand down to his friend. There wasn’t much to choose from. But he DID find one solid limb, about 4 feet long, that looked like it had fallen off that wind-worn tree.

Then, he carefully approached the edge of the trail again.

“Ok, buddy. I’m gonna hand you a branch to grab on to. Can you do that without falling?” he asked.

Themum answered, “Yeah, I think so. But I think we’d better hurry. The roots of this shrub seem to be shifting around a little bit.”

So, Kris grabbed on to another shrub with his left hand and lowered the branch down to his friend. And it was a good thing the branch was about 4 feet long. Because they needed every inch of it.

“Now, we’ve gotta sync up just right, buddy,” Kris told Themum. “When I pull,