March 1, 2019
Trails: Glen Boulder Trail, Direttisima
Glen Boulder Trail Take 2 — Friday, Pat and I hiked the Glen Boulder Trail up the shoulder of Washington trying to get to the intersection with the Booth Spur Trail for our redlining goal. It’s the same trail we hiked last week when we turned around exhausted from breaking trail through hip-deep snow. Yesterday we turned around AGAIN, this time above tree line at a steep rocky ledge covered with ice that, in spite of our spikes, we could not get up. I struggled, then I got scared when I realized I was slipping and could slide all the way down. Then I got mad because I couldn’t do it. I knew others ahead of us had already successfully navigated this section.
I’ve been trying to understand the meaning in that experience. I think the meaning was in my fear. I met my edge. Finding your edge can happen anytime, anywhere — from on a mountain, to at work, being with your kids, volunteering, training for a marathon, dealing with an illness, trying something new. And my edge, and yours, is not where other’s meet their edges. And that’s okay. Comparing isn’t helpful.
Once I reached that moment where I was not sure I could go on, at the edge of the ledge, and at my physical, emotional, psychological edge, I didn’t like how it felt. But I knew deep inside of me, that I was fully truly alive. That’s the gift. There’s the meaning.