A Hike Worth Trekking

A Hike Worth Trekking

It was a Saturday. We just had our dating anniversary on Thursday, Octover 30^th. We’d celebrated the weekend before since our school schedule didn’t allow us to celebrate on our actual anniversary date. We’d been talking about getting married for a while, but I wasn’t exactly sure when it would happen. Actually, we’d been dating for 3 years already, but we knew we wanted to get married after a month of officially dating (we refer to our non-official dating dinners as “friend food nights”). We met at church and live at our parents’ houses still, so moving out didn’t seem like an affordable option yet. However, we still strive to uphold our Christian beliefs and staying pure until we are married. (He’s a great man!) So, when to get engaged? When will we be “ready?”

However, that special Saturday morning on Nov. 1^st something very special happened! Zack (then boyfriend, now fiancé) asked me if I wanted to go on a hike. I figured, why not? But this was during choir practice at my church, so I wasn’t really dressed to go hiking. I ended up at the mall after church actually, and I had this funny feeling that maybe he would propose. Of course, I couldn’t go and get engaged unprepared, so I got thicker leggings (since it was a little chilly) and foundation done. I mean, even if I didn’t get engaged, I could look pretty while hiking, right?! I’m not normally one to wear makeup everyday – let alone a hike – but I just had this funny feeling …

After the mall, I headed to his house so we could drive together to Sunol Regional Wilderness in CA. Once we got to the park, we started hiking. Mind you, we are not super outdoorsy people. In fact, as we are hiking up, I told him, “Well, this is definitely a once in a lifetime hike. NEVER AGAIN.” To which he laughed, and later told me, “I laughed because I knew this wouldn’t be the only time we hike this trail!”

I had blisters on my feet and I was honestly exhausted, so I kept saying, “How about here? This is good, right? We’re basically at the top.” But at the same time I wanted to keep going. He wanted to get to the top, so I kept telling myself, “I NEED TO DO THIS. DON’T BE SUCH A WIMP!” At one point, we got to the top and it was just gorgeous.

 

 

We got to a mini part of the trail (see above) where we could see everything. However, there was a mini hill to the left, so we decided to keep going and sit down at a bench. (Below is a picture of my fiancé pre-proposal). My fiancé brought a backpack with our water bottles. As we were sitting down, he asked, “Do you want candy? I have Kit Kat, Twix, Snickers …” My heart began to beat a little faster because I thought, “Oh my gosh. This might be it. He’s going to pull the ring out right now. This is it.” So I just quickly said, “Kit Kat.” To which, shockingly, he gave me a Kit Kat!

 

As we’re sitting and enjoying the view, I told Zack, “You know, this would’ve been a really pretty place to propose.” Zack just kinda laughed and asked, “Would it?”

“Yeah …”

“Too bad I didn’t bring the ring.”

“Yeah, too bad!” I said. At this point, I’m thinking today is definitely not the day. However, I still loved hiking and it even rained at the top of the little hill, despite the lack of rain in CA. (This was before the “storm” hit CA back in October.)

 

We took one last look of the view, then he asked, “Should we get going?” I said yes since I had a family party planned. As we are leaving the bench area back to the main hiking trail, he pulls a white box with the ring out of his backpack and got down on one knee! I know this sounds terrible, but I honestly don’t remember much at all what he said in his proposal to me. I was just so happy that it was happening. I just remember “I’m gonna be his wife! I’m gonna be his WIFE!” I remember him saying, “You’re my best friend” and “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Otherwise, the rest went out the door as he put the ring on my finger. It felt so magical with the grey clouds overhead, winds howling, rain sprinkling, trees swaying, and grass blowing side to side. It was such a beautiful moment between just the two of us. I’m glad we didn’t have a photographer because it felt so private and away from the world.

 

 

I remember as we started the hike down, we were both like, “Well, this was cool. Now what?!” So we talked about if he was nervous, did I have any ideas, my thoughts on the Kit Kat scenario, etc. Having a best friend as a fiancé (and future husband!) is seriously such a blessing.

You may remember my blisters from earlier, which were KILLING me. Thankfully my adrenaline was still high from not only hiking, but getting ENGAGED! Since he only had one band-aid in his backpack, we used the Kit Kat wrapper on my other heel to act as my “band-aid.” Haha. I love our engagement story. It was so us and so private and perfect, down to the little rain sprinkles. In short, nobody is “ready.” Marriage is something you can’t prepare for. It’s like a roller coaster: Once you’re on the ride, you’re committed to it until the end. Thanks for letting me share our story; I love sharing it with others!

P.S. Here is a silly video of me dumb right before my phone died on the hike and his proposal! I honestly don't even know what I was trying to say. It's certainly not English. Hahaha ...