PROVO -- Hiking Y Mountain in Provo is nothing new for Stephanie Nielson -- she must have done it hundreds of times by now.

But today's hike to the landmark at 7 p.m. will hold a new significance for Nielson has been preparing mentally and physically for the climb for a year since a plane crash left her badly burned and nearly dead.

"It just means health to me," she said. "If I'm able to hike the Y, my body's good enough to live."

Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the plane crash involving Nielson, her husband, Christian, and their friend Doug Kinneard. Kinneard was killed and Stephanie and Christian sustained severe burns when their Cessna 177 crashed Aug. 16 just after takeoff in St. Johns, Ariz.

For nearly two months, Nielson lay in a coma in the Maricopa Medical Center, with burns covering more than 70 percent of her body. Her first recollection of waking up was when the nurse told her it was Nov. 4.

"I was absolutely shocked," she said. "I couldn't believe it."

On Nov. 15, Stephanie was flown to the University of Utah burn unit, where she stayed until Dec. 31. She first thought of climbing the Y on her flight to Utah, when she saw the mountains and remembered her daily climbs up the mountain while growing up in Provo. In the hospital, her room had a view of the mountains, where she watched hikers climbing every day. She began to set a goal to climb Y Mountain, a goal that gained momentum when she moved to her new home in Provo, which her family picked because of the view of the Y from her bedroom.

"My body may not move, and my knees may not bend, but I can do it," she determined.

The goal has helped to motivate Nielson in her physical therapy, and her therapists knew of the goal and tried to help her reach it. She worked through constant pain and exhaustion, and still does, but the goal helped her to look past daunting physical limitations that seemed to make the task impossible.

"I had to learn to walk again," she said. "That was hard. Moving my body was just hard."

While Sunday will hold a quiet fireside with family members to share their gratitude and thoughts on the year, today's hike will be a symbol of conquering limitations and celebrating life. Hopefully, the tradition will continue each year around the anniversary of the crash.

"I didn't want to remember the accident being a terrible day and how it changed my life forever," she said.

Instead, she will remember the good things -- she is alive, she is able to love people and be with her family. Her parents, Steve and Cindy Clark, will be by her side for the climb, as will Christian and her children and dozens more from both their families.

Family members are the reason Nielson returned to Utah, for their support in caring for her and her children. Except for one brother, all of her family lives within 5 miles, and they have all spent their days caring for her. While she was in the hospital, a different sibling stayed in her room each night to keep her company, and her children lived with two of her sisters for several months.

"It's been amazing how much support they've offered and given," she said.

Nielson said she hopes many children will make the hike and learn from the experience. Though the crash was difficult for her own children at first, they have learned and grown from it, becoming more tolerant of other people. Hopefully, this event will help them to see the value of setting and accomplishing goals, despite hardship.

"I want kids to see that even people with challenges can do things they set their minds to," she said.

New friends she has met through her blog, nieniedialogues.blogspot.com, will likely show up too. She said she is nervous to see people she may have never met there to support her. But more than anything, she said she hopes she will now have the opportunity to thank everyone for their support over the last year. From fundraisers to donations of every kind, the blogging community rallied around her after the crash.

"I wish I could get to know them all and put my arms around them," she said. "I hope to."

Nielson said she was shocked when her sister, Courtney, told her of all the support she had received from complete strangers. Those people helped her through the hard times, and she'll never be able to express just how much it meant, she said.

"I don't even think there's a word for how I feel," she said. " 'Thank you' seems so trite."

Cindy Clark said the hike will be symbolic for her daughter, showing how much she's been able to accomplish. The mountain has always been a part of her life, and her love for climbing before the crash likely helped her to recover so well, she said. The odds were against Nielson at first, but this will show what she has overcome, Clark said.

"It's just kind of symbolic for her," she said. "She won't be running, but she'll be walking."

Christian Nielson said he and his wife will be celebrating this weekend with family and friends. Celebrating being with family, living with their children and being able to make the hike. It will be a way of saying that they've made it this far and will continue to progress.

"Things are going to keep getting better," he said.

Christian and Stephanie first started to prepare for the hike itself on March 14, when they made it to the first switchback. Since then, they have been able to make it to the third switchback, but there is still a ways to go, he said.

"Eventually we'll get to the top, and hopefully that will be [today]," he said.

"It will," Stephanie replied.

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