jenni in wonderland

one mountain. four people. forty-eight hours. ninety-three miles.

that is all i knew going in to this adventure. the wonderland trail has a total elevation gain of about 5000 feet, various terrain such as rock, glacier, mud, river, forest, suspension bridges... you name it.. it had it all. and the best part, this trail gives a nice tight hug to mt rainier. complete with some of the most lovely views i have ever seen of a mountain.

DAY ONE: jordan, michael and i woke at 3 am, packed up the car, ate some muffins and hit the road for box canyon. it took about and hour and a half to get there.. i had taken nyquil to sleep, and had the weird sensation of not being able to keep my eyes open during the car ride... heh

at 5:30 am, kirk met us in the parking lot. after some quick intros and last-minute gear check, we hit the trail. watches in sync. the sun was just coming up. it was chilly, but not cold. a perfect time to climb!

about two hours later, we found ourselves in indian bar... wildflowers galore. oh, and, yes, mount rainier oversaw our enthusiastic steps as we barely finished 4 miles of our 93 mile journey.

shortly after leaving indian bar we were surprised to stumble on the first life we had seen that day (other than nature).. a herd of mountain goats! just chilling in the glaciers!

possibly the best part of the day was our pit crew. these great people met us at summerland around noontime with a great lunch spread of salami cheese rounds and bread. yum. not to mention, they brought smiles and encouragement!

power pose.. rainier has my back on this one...

this is one of the many cool bridges we crossed. but this river was the coolest. it is called the white river because the water is this milky-white color from the glaciers.. and remains that color all the way to the ocean! i don't really know what though...








this waterfall almost made me trip going across one of those handy-dandy bridges. so amazingly beautiful.

at about 8 pm we hit mystic lake. probably my favorite place on the hike. behind us, rainier is towering a lovely.. the moon was just peaking over it's peak. and ahead, the sun was setting. the lake was like an oasis from the rocky trail ahead of us... though, to my understanding.. it was only one small climb, a big descent, then a larger climb to camp mowitch, where we planned to sleep that night. ten more miles to our resting point.

 for some reason, after mystic lake, we kept stopping and taking pictures.. snacking.. resting.. our motivation was waning.. but we knew we had to forge onward. and we did. we had not seen other hikers in quite some time and realized they had all probably taken refuge in their tents by now to rest up for the next day's hike. we took a sad detour around the suspension bridges, which i looked forward to a great deal. after a long while, we began to wonder if we missed the turn. we donned out headlamps and kept moving, though, not before noticing how amazing the stars looks. i have never seen so many starts in my life. finally, after what seemed like ten hours, we reached a sign telling us we had only five miles to go. after the forty plus we had accomplished already, this was nothing! so, with  enthusiasm, we hurried up the trail. after hiking another two or three miles, we realized we had not been climbing. after consulting the map, we saw we still had about 2000 feet of elevation to go and only a couple miles left. how is this going to work out we wondered? but.. it was getting cold. we were exhausted, a bit hungry. but mostly just wanted some rest. and to answer our question, we found the climb. it was probably the steepest climb of our day. and it was dark. and i could not keep up with those strong men. i wanted to cry, but i knew that would only drain my energy and probably freak out my trail mates. i knew i had no choice but to keep moving. if i stopped, i would freeze. and be alone. so i kept on moving. i just kept thinking of where i was headed, and it gave me enough strength to move faster. we took one quick break on this insane hike, but for the rest we moved like machines. we just wanted to get to camp. at the top, we were elated to see a mere one mile hike to camp. we stumbled in to our tents around 1:30 am. 47 miles completed in 21 hours straight. mike and marianne had set it all up for us and emerged from their tents to greet us. i was grateful for marianne's willingness to guide me to the bathroom. i was so disoriented i probably would have gotten myself lost in the woods. after we were settled, we crashed. five solid hours of sleep.

in the morning, i woke up and tried to stretch out my body. surprisingly, it was not too sore. my knee felt a bit tender, but the rest of me was ready to keep up the hike. i could hear others moving around outside and decided to get up. i walked around a bit and realized i was so tired. my body was pretty beat. i considered hiking on, but thought back to how tough it was mentally on me to climb. i decided not to risk it, not to be a burden on my trail mates, and opt out of day two. i was sad to admit it to my new friends, but not ashamed. i still think hiking 47 miles in one day is pretty amazing. my only regret is that i did not get to finish giving mount rainier that hug. someday soon, i will have to hike the other 36 miles to complete the hug. 

to rainier i say- i will return. i will finish what i started. and thank you for the challenges. to my friends i say thank you for the support. and to myself i say good work. never be afraid to try things.. you may surprise yourself with what you can do!

where is that band when you need it?

caution: this blog post was written after a couple weeks of frustration.. the purpose of it is not to complain or vent, but to reflect on my findings over those frustrating days. please put up with the bitterness to get the sweet message i want to share...

i hate feeling bitter. but the worst part is... once i get going, i don't stop. it starts with negative thoughts.. and then spreads to a whole attitude that could probably wilt the daffodils if i stood too close to them. at the root of it all is the famous question: what the heck am i even good for? heck, what is anything good for? what is the silly dinosaur cursor image on my computer good for? or ipads? or exercise balls? well, these are all valid questions. questions i have pondered all week. my conclusion.. these things all have a purpose... an equally important purpose if you ask me..

i have watched so many movies and documentaries about world war two. (a mild obsession) it always seems like the stories that touch me the most involve seemingly unimportant things. like, a soldier giving a doll to an enemy's abandoned child because he recognized her pain. or, the sharing of a cigarette on the deathbed of a dear friend on the battlefield. what was it good for? it was good for the moment. it was good for the people involved. why? because they cared. because their hearts were wide open, ready to feel something.

i recently read an article on doing your duty. one line is very embedded in my brain today.. (it is from this month's ensign article entitled "answering the call of duty" by heidi s. swinton)

 Our prophet’s view of duty requires looking beyond personal ambition, success, convenience, or pleasure to seeing and responding to the greater good. “To find real happiness,” President Monson said, “we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellowmen. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy.

(as i read this i could just imagine mumford and sons walking in the front door of the FWCC and playing "awake my soul" in full surround sound) and from this, i realize what my frustration has been over.. i know what is "good"... in fact, the many options i have to choose from for my future right now are all good things. none of them will hold me back in any way, but i desperately want to know what is best. i may never find that out, but what is really important is that i stay focused on the greater good. so long as my heart is set on fulfilling this greater good (whatever it is), i feel that i will be guided to whatever is best. and so, life becomes exciting once more.. when i realize that it is a quest for the greater good. it is a journey to become the best i can be. there is no shame in that.

so, just because that dinosaur is only good for entertaining me while a page loads, or that exercise ball is only good when i know how to use it without spazzing all over the place, and ipads are good for looking up quick information to prove a point... does not mean it is any less important than anything else. and, i must be good for something, or i wouldn't be here. though i am exhausted from being frustrated, stressed, and an insomniac, i am really going to find my purpose. what is the greater good, and how can i, jenni thomas, respond to that need? well, i am going to find out. i will write about it when i know....

this helps me remember how beautiful life is... i took this on august 1st  just a few miles from the dunn's place, where i  currently live...

in case your day is less than great..

so.. my boyfriend has an amazing knack for finding hilarious things online.. things that make my whole day better.. like penguins, pretty pictures, ridiculous things/ people.. anyway, he is brilliant, and today's find is blog-worthy.. just read it.. no need for explanation..

WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS

love you all! happy independence day!

Super Powers or Healing Powers?

i am currently reading a book entitled The Secret Language of your Body by Inna Segal. i stumbled upon this book at the library one day.. and just couldn't forget about it. so, i asked ian to check it out for me... and, well, i found it interesting. and, not as cooky as i expected.. first off, it is not a mystical magical voodoo thing.. at least, that is not what i got out of it.. but, i found a few things i intend to practice in my life to find the balance i am looking for! in the book, Inna explains the emotional, mental and energetic causes of disease, explains how to heal those diseases, and then how to replace disease with new health

to sum up her findings, negativity leads to disease and unhappiness. this is where i question.. what about people who get in a car accident or are born with a physical ailment? i highly doubt they were living in such a way to contract a disease.. but, i do believe it is all about attitude. after a huge accident, people can either spiral down into a deep despair OR make the most of it and enjoy life to its fullest. i think this is great advice.

the first step to the healing process is recognizing the negative things. look inside yourself.. listen to your body.. ask it where you are hurting. when you find it, focus on it and try to understand it. (up to this point i am all in.. from here it gets a bit... different) then, place your hands on the area of your body where you store that negative feeling. slowly breathe and tune in to your body. once you are tuned in, visualize an orange light infusing the area with energy and purging out the negative feeling (which may look like a gray or nasty color leaving). then, she gives a list of colors that will overcome the negative emotion and bring healing to the body.

now, you may think this sounds wacky, but i think she is on to something. the main message is to allow yourself to listen to your body and then choose to make a positive experience of it rather than negative. choose the brighter path, no? in an effort to encourage health and healing in my body, i am striving to purge some negative attitudes from my life starting by eliminating phrases like.. "i have to"... "i am not good enough" or "why can't i" and replacing them with phrases like "i get to"... "i will do better" and "how can i" and then going out into the world willing to see what a blessing it really is to be there... instead of treating it like a mundane to do list.

i recently read a talk by elder costa from october 2007 Don't Leave for Tomorrow What you can do Today. in it he shares this poem by Norma Cornett Marek that really made me take a deeper look at my attitude.

If I knew this would be the last time I would watch you sleep,
I would hug you tighter. I would plead with the Lord to protect you.
If I knew this would be the last time I saw you walk out the door,
I would hug and kiss you and call you back to hug and kiss you one more time.
If I knew this would be the last time I would hear your voice in prayer,
I would record every gesture, every look, every smile, every one of your words,
So that I could listen to it later, day after day.
If I knew this would be the last time,
I would spend an extra minute or two to tell you, “I love you,” instead of assuming you already knew it.
If I knew this would be our last time, our last moment,
I would be by your side, spending the day with you instead of thinking,
“Well, I’m sure other opportunities will come, so I can let this day go by.”
Of course there will be a day to revise things,
And we would have a second chance to do things right.
Oh, of course there will be another day for us to say, “I love you.”
And certainly there will be another chance to tell each other, “Can I help with anything?”
But in my case, there isn’t one!
I don’t have you here with me, and today is the last day we have—our farewell.
Therefore I would like to say how much I love you,
And I hope you never forget it.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old.
Today might be your last chance to hold tight to the hand of the one you love and show all you feel.
If you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
Because if tomorrow never comes, you certainly will regret for the rest of your life
Not having spent some extra time for a smile, a conversation, a hug, a kiss,
Because you were too busy to give that person what ended up being their last wish.
Then hug tight today the one you love, your friends, your family, and whisper in their ears how much you love them and want them close to you.
Use your time to say,
“I’m sorry,”
“Please,”
“Forgive me,”
“Thank you,”
Or even,
“That was nothing,”
“It’s all right,”
Because if tomorrow never comes, you will not have to regret today.
The past doesn’t come back, and the future might not come!

i think this is something easy to get caught up in. i make a list of to dos, but try to keep the other things i want to accomplish on this list, and suddenly it all becomes a routine. if i change my attitude and treat each day like my last, i will show love to people in my life more freely, and i will live more righteously. i will be able to open my mind and heart to new possibilities and accept change when it comes, because deep inside, i know what my purpose is.. "men are that they might have joy".. so why not start living that way now?? after i am gone, i don't want to be remembered as the grumpy one, or the one who complained a lot, or the one who had no time. i want to be remembered as the one who loved and laughed, was always there for people, and never chose things over people... i want to be a champion of joy.

i also realize that in order to achieve goals like these, i must take my time. i must heal myself first. but, through healing i find great strength. i have learned that Jesus Christ is the only way to joy. He is the champion of joy. so, through healing and changing, i guess i want to become like Him. so, reading this book that encourages self-healing... it is something i feel i need to do, but most important, i know i cannot complete the healing. i can prepare myself, desire to be happy, keep working to be better, but i cannot be whole until i ask Christ to make me so and then allow Him to do it.

so, in conclusion... i believe there are healing powers in ordinary people. but, the ultimate source of healing is found only in the Son of God. without His power, i know i am lost and broken. but with Him, i know i can be whole.. and have joy! that is SUPER powerful. (and cheesy, i know... )

in the land of green and grey

i know you have all been just dying to hear how i feel about washington. and, simply, i love it. i live in a great house that overlooks the puget sound.... there is a light house about two miles away. i like to run there.

this is the view from my back porch... see the lighthouse??

speaking of running here.. there are far too many hills. i was super bored my first two weeks here so i went on hour long runs every day.. (REALLY stupid idea... now i have a bulged disc in my sacrum) but i learned the roads really fast. there is beach pretty much surrounding me, so i ran to the beach a few times.. got my feet wet in the butt-cold water... oh, and there is a state park one mile away.. complete with trails to run on.. i am in runner's heaven (once i get better acquainted with the hills and my disc heals.) but, i have already had some great adventures and it has only been a few weeks! good times!

shark climbing.. the newest sport

this is at brown's point lighthouse (the one i can see from my house)... with my new friend brad.. who karissa should date, and my super handsome boyfriend who i want to keep dating.

cascade falls in the quinalt rainforest

at the beach in ocean shores.. 

i also must mention the great people here. the dunn's.. my surrogate parents.. are amazing. they are always up for a great conversation and have awesome stories.. garry used to work for united airlines and they also served in new zealand as mission presidents. they are just full of great stories, and their home is full of cool stuff form all the places they have been. the davidson's have been so welcoming.. i am lucky to have two surrogate families! and i made a new friend! her name is danielle! so, i am really happy with people here. it is nice to have supportive people. now i just need to figure out how to pay back their kindness...

now all that is left is to find a job and make more friends and have more adventures. i will keep you all posted on the new things! but, i am super happy! i hope you all are happy too! oh, and side note.. there are forget-me-not flowers everywhere here.. it reminds me of president uchtdorf's talk from last october in the RS broadcast. it has been on mind as i am trying to figure out my life now and prepare for my future. if you haven't listened to it in a while, i highly recommend it... (just click on the link to read/ watch it)

forget me not

happy memorial day weekend, now go have a bbq and play some games! love you!

hero of the week

yeah, just check this out...

Man attempts to set world record fist pumping

(all thanks go to my wonderful cousin, janiece)

a haitian holiday

i just returned from the land of cement and jungle vines. haiti was beautiful. absolutely. also... a little shocking and very humbling. 


after a looooooong two days of traveling, i arrived and met the henwoods. they were very hospitable to me as i visited.. their six kids are a ton of fun. their house is located in petionville (known as the bourgeois part of port-au-prince). after climbing up what appeared to be a mountain, i was introduced to the heavy gate a barbed wire that surrounds their house (only slightly unsettling). the house was lovely. and the neighbors very kind. 




i had many great experiences... we visited a small orphanage and spent some time holding babies.. i found it nearly impossible to make them laugh. it was a rainy day, and they seemed to be a little blue. there was one boy there with a dazzling smile. he knew i couldn't speak his language, but it did not stop him from grinning ear to ear every time i looked at him. i was also lucky enough to help at a medical clinic in canaa. it is a HUGE tent city outside of port-au-prince. i mean HUGE. it was really interesting to see what all they can do for these people. not a lot can be done for some of them, but some vitamins and medicine really go a long way. there i met an adorable little boy, samuel. we played tag and looked at the clouds. he spoke to me in creole, i answered in english, and it never seemed to bother him. i liked that. 

typical housing in haiti

the farmland of the baptist mission

i enjoyed visiting the baptist mission.. especially the bread we got there. de-freakin-licious. i later went back and bought some pretties for my future home. i did some more shopping.. which is stressful. the street vendors are really good at making you feel pressured to choose something quick and if you show ANY signs of interest, they keep trying to sell you.. no matter how many times you say, "no merci!"


the marche. it is like a farmers market on steroids. utter chaos. i was glad to have our friend rosalie there to keep me safe from fast moving vehicles and cat-calling men on motorcycles. that was an experience to remember. i also got to see a true haitian rainstorm (good practice for seattle). the streets were, quite literally, waterfalls. and yes, we drove up them to get home. better than splash mountain. 

waterfall #3

one day rach and i took the big kids and hiked in the jungle behind the house. wow. we saw waterfall after waterfall, gardens just planted on the hillsides, avatar trees of life, some wildlife, farmers, it was too amazing to explain in words. i wish the jungle were in my backyard. oh, oh yes, and the hike was complete with naked men bathing in the river.                           

the wildlife...

me loving the corn...

the palace

a typical tap tap.

there was a considerable amount of driving... everything is far away. but, we endured two four-hour drives out to the beach.. well worth it. on the drive, i saw the palace, many a great graffiti, a naked man covered in mud, tap taps PACKED with people...

the ocean!

and after driving through all of this destruction and poor living conditions, we emerged onto a beautiful beach, set aside for the wealthy to enjoy a day of sitting and eating. really? it was difficult for me to feel comfortable, but, admittedly, i loved the beach. it was beautiful, relaxing, and the food was delicious. and there were baby jelly fish! and volleyball! but, i could not turn off those images of people starving and living in trash piles while i lazed on the beach. just too hard. 

beach feet!

on sunday, i tagged along with the henwoods to the feeding clinic they started holding in a placed called st. rock. first of all, the road to st. rock is ridiculous. not meant for a weekly drive, and more like climbing mt. everest.. with six kids, five adults, and a puppy. insanity. there were 150ish kids there to eat. it was kind of awkeward at first, because i do not speak their language, but i found a friend. her name is ishmaya. after an initial moment of shyness, she called for me to come and sit with her. her older sister was the nicest girl ever, and we all became good friends, through smiles and nods and laughter. also, the food was so amazing. the rice and beans that haiti is famous for. seriously. yummy. 

my friends at st. rock

so... i know i am forgetting things, but this is already a long post. all in all, i loved haiti. it was rough around the edges, but the people have lovely hearts. i have this new passion for helping orphans.. and for helping in the medical field. i also am going to learn how to make ricole, the rice and beans dish, and soup d'jou moo.. i probably spelled all of those wrong. but, i am going to make them. so good. 


my final thoughts on haiti are these.. it is amazing that a country can be in so much need that all the help there is barely scratching the surface. there are so many organizations and projects and volunteers, and so much more needs to be done. i read in a book.. mountains beyond mountains by tracey kidder (HIGHLY suggested).. there is a haitian saying.. "God gives but does not share." I like this. God gives us everything, but not everyone is given the same amount. and that is where we step in. it is our duty to share what God has given us. no matter how much or little we have, there are people who we can share it with. everywhere. we just need to look around. and, though the people in countries like haiti need a lot of help, there are people in our very own communities that need us. we don't have to go far to serve. i love that.

some great graffiti.

the best.. and coolest way to carry things.