The View From a Mountain

Hola Readers!
If I were a doctor, and you, or anyone, were my patient, I would prescribe the healing powers of climbing a mountain.
Just last week, my family and I drove thirteen hours to Pray, Montana, a small town with big mountains. We stayed at a cabin in between two mountain ranges.
 My family does a lot of geocaching, which is basically just plugging in coordinates into your handy GPS and following them to the hidden peanut butter jar full of plastic toys. Of course it's not about finding the toys; it's more about pride, and being able to say you've found 100 geocaches or something like that. Anyways, my dad was looking for geocaches in the area and happened to find one that was definitely worth bragging about. This one had been hidden on the very top of Emigrant Peak, the tallest mountain in Pray. So off we went, up a steep trail that would lead us to the treasure. At first, the trail was manageable; just a slight incline. The views were fantastic nonetheless. You could literally see every pine tree for miles (there were a lot of pine trees there)! But after about a half-hour of hiking, the path suddenly became almost vertical; this is where my mom and brother stopped. We left them with the food and the bear spray and continued up the steep trail to the elusive geocache.
If you have never climbed a mountain before, it's not all fun and games. First off, the air is very thin on top of a mountain. Hiking up a steep, winding trail and having to make do with a small amount of oxygen are not a great combination. We had to stop every few minutes to catch our breath. At last, we reached a flat clearing. And let me tell you that I have never seen something more amazing than the view I saw then. You could see absolutely everything, from the thick carpet of pine trees to the last detail of every other mountain around. The sunlight touches everything, adding a surreal effect to the panoramic view. Just one small problem: the geocache was still thousands of feet above our heads! We were 7,200 feet above sea level, but we still had more to go if we were to reach the treasure.
Unfortunately, the path that led from the clearing to the top was even steeper than the path we had already conquered! This was the end of the mountain climbing adventure for me, but the awesomeness of the whole experience is something I will never forget. Let me tell you, people, there is nothing more exciting, healing or rewarding than conquering a mighty mountain of your own. Even if you don't make it all the way to the top, the view is still amazing.
-Julia