More Lessons from the Trail

It had been over 3 weeks since Kilimanjaro and I was really anxious to get back out and do some hiking. We've been so busy since we got back that it just hasn't fit the schedule. John was going to be out of town over the weekend so my hiking companion wasn't available. I decided I couldn't take it anymore I was going for a hike on my own on Sunday. My daughter was worried about me going out early in the morning alone but I assured her I would be okay.

I decided to take a trail I have done many times before training for Kili. Carpenter Peak is just 30 minutes from the house and its a good elevation gain (1,200 feet or so) over 2.6 miles. I could get there at 7 and be back before Mary Mac even woke up to worry about me. So I took off at 6:30 Sunday morning.

It was a beautiful sunny morning. On the road south to Roxborough Park where the trailhead begins I saw a half a dozen hot air balloons filling up for the morning ride along the foothills. It reminded me again of the balloon ride in Africa and took me back for just a minute or two.

At the trailhead there were just a couple of cars in the lot. This looked to be a very solitary morning, just me and the beauty that Mother Nature had to offer. There were two rangers talking as I headed up the trail so I figured they would come looking for me if I didn't come back - maybe. There are mountain lions in this area and early morning is one of the times you have to be concerned the most.

I started up what should have been a familiar trail but it was quite different than the last time I climbed it over 2 months ago. After we left for Africa Denver had had some very heavy rains for about a week and a half. The rains had taken a toll on the trail. There was now a deep rut down the middle of the trail making it uneven and harder to navigate. The rains had also exposed new rocks and roots as obstacles in my path. This got me thinking again how the trail can teach us about life. Even the most familiar things are always changing. That's just life. Sometimes forces will work on our lives, like the rain, and bring change. As I looked at the new rocks and roots in the trail I wondered about the first word that came to mind - exposed.

Exposed - adjective
1. left or being without shelter or protection
2. laid open to view; unconcealed
3. susceptible to attack; vulnerable

This is often how we feel in our lives when the rains come through a push us to change. We are uncomfortable, vulnerable, laid open. But that wasn't how I was feeling about the changes I have had in my life over the past year so I tried to think of another word to describe the changes in the landscape. These new rocks and roots hadn't been "exposed", they had been "revealed". Surprising what a different connotation has than "exposed".

Reveal - verb
1. to make known
2. to lay open to view, display, exhibit

I liked that word much better for this purpose. I do feel over the past few years I have been going through some great changes. As a result I have slowly, slowly started to reveal the real me that's been hiding inside. Starting to remember the things in life that truly give me joy. I don't have to be that persona that I was all those years in the business world. Not that some of that isn't who I still am, it just doesn't define me anymore and I don't let it mask the more vulnerable side of who I am. Today's Lesson #1 from the trail - life changes and will lead you to reveal new aspects of yourself as a result.

I continued on up the trail toward the peak. Some of my favorite parts of the trail are where it meanders through the tall pines. Its a bit cooler there and I love to hear the winds blow through the trees. There is a bench in one of these sections dedicated to "N. Michael Staritzky, September 12, 1941 - May 21, 1995" by his wife. The inscription reads, "Walking adds so much to life. We walked Roxborough this afternoon. It made life worth living. It is easy to put aside your problems when you are walking hand in hand with someone you love." I don't know who this man was but every time I walk past the bench it makes me smile and think of him walking hand in hand with his wife through these same woods. Lesson #2 - leave something behind that will make people smile and think of something wonderful

Just past the bench there is a sign for a trail that breaks off to the south - Elk Valley. We never took this trail on our training hikes because the name made us think it wouldn't be challenging enough and we needed to get our elevation in. I paused at the trailhead for a minute and decided to "take the road not taken". I have always loved Robert Frost's poem and it came to mind as I turned up the trail through the trees:


The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

So on I walked up the path I had never taken. It occurred to me that I really prefer walking on trails I have never been on before. For one thing I don't know how long it is going to take me so I can really worry or wonder about how much longer its going to be. I can just enjoy the scenery and lose myself in time and place. I made my way up through the woods and out in to an open section of the trail as it made its way south. Just then I turned a corner and THIS magnificent view revealed itself.

I think about how I would have missed this particular perspective if I had taken the same path I had taken every other trip to this park. Sometimes we just need a new perspective but its hard to get off the trail we are on so that we can SEE. I like taking new trails because I don't always want to know what's ahead. I want the surprise on discovery which is so hard to find in today's world. Then I thought again how the trail teaches us about life. Our life is like taking a long winding trail through various landscapes. We never really know what is ahead of it us. There will probably be obstacles - fallen trees, streams to cross, rocks, roots, animals, wind, rain, thunder and lightening. There will be darkness and there will ultimately be light and majestic views like the one I just saw. Imagine how pointless life would be if we new exactly what was around every corner, if we knew every road we were going to take before we took it. Sometimes the obstacles we hit are what make us realize how much sweeter life is. Just like the inscription on the bench above. I imagine that he probably had cancer or something like that but that obstacle made him appreciate the perfection of walking in the woods with someone he loved. So often we take those things for granted when we don't have any obstacles so to speak.

Lesson #3 - take the road not traveled every once in a while and take a moment to stop and savor the newness of what you see and appreciate the beauty of who or what is right next to you.

I walked on along the trail to its end where a sign said that the ranger house was 2.6 miles back. A gentle breeze had started to blow and it was helping to keep things cool despite the fact that the sun was now over the mountains and creating some heat. About half way back I realized I had to go to the bathroom but I didn't really feel like squatting in the woods. Funny I was used to doing that all the way up Kili but I wasn't in the mood for a squat! I picked up my pace to make it back to the ranger station faster. As I scurried along I realized that I was missing alot because I was in such a hurry. This is a good parallel for life as well.

Lesson #4 - you can't really enjoy the scenery if you are in a hurry. Slow down and enjoy (you might have to detour behind a bush first). Don't let life fly by without noticing it!

I made it to the ranger station in the nick of time passing only 3 other hikers on my way back. The park really was ALL mine that morning. I stopped for a moment to be thankful for how blessed my life really is. Sometimes I can't believe how great life really is.