Arethusa Falls

Submitted by Nancy

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December 14, 2019
Trails: Arethusa-Ripley Falls Trail, Frankenstein Cliff Trail, Arethusa Falls Trail

Pat and I hiked the Frankenstein Cliff and Arethusa Falls Trails yesterday near Crawford Notch. We broke trail all day until we reached the last packed-out 1.2 miles. Phew! That’s hard work, especially when it’s steep! The coolest part of our hike was freeing the trees. There were lots of beech trees bent over with their tops buried in a foot and a half of crusty snow. We pulled the tops of the trees out of winter’s clutches, setting them free. Watching them spring back into the sky, their leaves shaking a thank you, was exhilarating! It was our way of giving back to the environment that gifts us with peace and beauty every time we venture outside. Actually, freeing the trees was my very favorite part of the day, because it gave us a way to show our love and gratitude. But that’s my favorite part of life as well — that moment when you show someone how grateful you are to them, or how much you love them. It just makes you feel so good inside, doesn’t it?

Hiking mirrors life and teaches me how to live. On our Arethusa Falls hike we came up against many obstacles — it took us an hour and a half to finally find the right trail, we thought it would be packed out, but instead we were breaking trail which was hard to follow in places. The snow was crusty so that every step we took we would sink in a little and then when we put our full weight on our snow shoes we’d sink deep into the snow, often finding holes between rocks or rock steps that we couldn’t see before. I fell in a spruce trap and had to drag myself out on my tummy. And there were lots of blow-downs that required we crawl under to get through. But we persisted, taking one obstacle at a time. And the trail gave us hints with a sign or arrow every now and again, pointing us in the right direction. And along the way we were rewarded with incredible beauty. Like life. We meet so many obstacles, one after another. But if we take them one at a time, we can overcome. And life also gives us arrows every now and then. Those arrows, for me, take the form of that still small voice inside me that whispers its message. One obstacle at a time, listening to your heart. And we get rewarded with beauty.