I looked up. We were a quarter of the way to the top. My eyes wandered right to the top of the mountain. It was red and then it was orange. “This is going to be a long way up,” I thought. I picked myself up and walked over to where my family was waiting for me. My brother's first words were “Took you long enough.” My parents gave him a look while I gave him a look of scorn. My brother was always mean to me. I was going into 4th grade. It was our summer in Utah. Every year we went somewhere. We had woken up at 5:30 in the morning to go hiking. Today we were going to Zyon National Park.

We started to climb again. This time I didn't ask to stop for water or take a break. I would not let my siblings have another reason to make fun of me for something I couldn't control. I mean I had only just turned 9. So I sucked it up and just started observing. We were going to climb high. I could feel the July sun beating on my skin. I looked across to my siblings. They were doing fine. We turned left then curved right. We continued walking until we saw a park bench and all sat down. I took a swig of water. It tasted like the best thing in the world, it’s like hot chocolate on a cold day, or that feeling when you think your favorite sports team is going to lose and then at the last second they win. That’s what it felt like to me. As the July sun continued to beat on my skin, my mind jumped back to reality. After walking a little further, my mom told us to stop. I looked at the ground while catching my breath. I put my hands on my head and let my lungs get filled with air.

 Right in front of me was a stone staircase. After that, there was a little more walking and then a big rock cut off from the canyon. It looked like it needed to be sat on. I could just feel the hot red rock on my skin. Refreshing and yet slightly painful, like a hot tub. I breathed deeply and smelled all the nature, the pine needles,rock dust and even the grass all the way down. 13,000ft down.  “like the woods back home,” I thought. I turned to my mother who looked hurt. “Are you okay, mommy?” She looked at me and answered, “I feel light headed”. “Does that mean sick, is she ok?” I thought. My concern must have shown on my face as I walked over to her, for when I got to her she assured me that she was ok and not to worry. Although she was fine she told me that she would not be able to keep going. My sister Mairead gave me a look, which indicated I should stay with my mom. Unfortunately, I was giving her the same look. We stared each other down. Finally, she surrendered, “I’ll stay with you, mommy”.

With two fewer people, the hike went a little more efficiently. Soon we got to the red rock and I sat down feeling the refreshing warmth.

 My dad sat down followed by my sister and brother. We all took some water. My siblings and I started to get up brushing off some rock powder. It felt soft like flour but a bit more grainy like rice. We waited for my dad but he wasn't getting up.

“Are you coming, papa?” I questioned.

“I don’t know if I will be able to walk far on that ledge” he responded, pointing behind me. I turned around. To the left, was a canyon wall with a chain on it. The only reason the chain was there was because to the right, there was the drop that would surely lead to my death.

Ahead of me, the ledge stood. Only 2 feet wide for walking on. I looked at the chain and knew that single chain might save my life. I thought that that chain would be the one hope I would have left before ending my life. My sister Keeley and brother Taylor’s face looked full excitement. No way had I come this far to back down. I put a smile on my face and walked forward leaving the others in my dust.

I got to the ledge before the others. I backed off the ledge to let my eldest sister Keeley take the lead. Before my older brother, Taylor could follow her,  I got on the ledge. As Keeley started walking, I followed. You know how in the movies they always say “don’t look down” and then the people always do? While that day, I guess I was just like those characters in a movie. I gulped. That must of been higher than 14,000ft. my eldest sister Keeley was flying through it like a gazelle. She would just step without looking. At that point, the only thing we had in common was that we were both holding onto the chain. I didn't even dare look back at Taylor's progress. As Keeley turned the corner. I had to make the turn. “I will not fall” kept running through my head over and over again. I moved my body and made the near impossible turn. As I turned Keeley screeched out “you made it.” I smiled to myself but on my face plastered a look that was meant to say “no big deal” I stepped off the ledge and looked around the curve, at the big opening. There were lots of jagged rocks. Yet every rock was a different color. On the ground a lizard sprinted around the curve. A split second later my brother came into view. He smiled and gave me a high five. I twirled around proud. What could my siblings say now!