Beautiful Day for a Hike.

I woke up yesterday and stepped outside to witness a beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was a light breeze that beckoned feelings of Spring! I took a deep breath of it in… I love this time of year!

My husband recognized the beauty as well and simply stated, “We’re getting out today. Let’s go for a hike.” 🙂

I had a lot planned for the day — with looming Tax Tuesday next week and a PHP class I have to complete, piles of laundry to be done, and a layer of dust my eyes fell on during my morning yoga….

But I disregarded it all, put on my hiking boots and headed out with my husband and two pups and met up with my brother in law and his friend, who also wanted to enjoy the beautiful day.

We drove for about forty minutes to a dedicated open space in Evergreen, Colorado, parked and got ready for the hike. To our dismay, my husband discovered that the water bottles I’d packed were not screwed on tight and leaked all in the bottom of the backpack. Argh.

This wasn’t starting off so well…. I fought the negative energy that threatened our positive hiking experience, my back cold and wet from the backpack.

Once the dogs hit the trail their excitement was electrifying, and I had to fight to be pulled away by their momentum. Little Einstein is only five months old, and this was his first hike, so much training (and arm wearing tugging) was needed, LOL.

Immediately I was succumbed by the beauty around us. The air was crisp, but pleasant as the warm sun shined down on us through the trees. This beauty pushed us forward, in excitement of our first hike of the season.

We didn’t stop to check the map at the beginning of the trail — I knew where we were going…. Right?

I realized once we were a good distance from the car that I failed to grab the print out of the 2.6 mile hike that I’d planned for us. But I thought we were on the right trail and recalled something about a loop….

We passed several other connecting trails, but stayed straight, following the Meadow View Trail, sure that it looped…. Right? LOL.

As our feet tired, and blisters popped up on my toes, subtle questioning arose within our pack of hikers — Are we going the right way? Should we turn around?

The sky darkened and the wind picked up. I looked up at the dark clouds and couldn’t help but feel a little fearful – What if we get caught up in a storm? (Colorado is notorious for lighting strikes and the woods are definitely not the best place to be during a storm).

My fellow travelers seemed uneasy as well and grumblings increased.

Fighting back the panic growing inside of me, I grabbed my husband’s smart phone and breathed silent gratitude to the fact that we had cell service and started Googling — in hopes of finding the same hike information I’d printed out — the information sitting in the car — Argh!

Finding the Way…

We came across another junction in the Meadow View Trail  — “Founder’s Trail” the small wooden sign read. My husband made an executive decision to take this new path. (He later mentioned that his intuition drove him this direction.)

I followed, my eyes stuck on the smart phone, searching for answers…. until the beauty all around beckoned me again. I looked up and paused, my tired feet grateful for the break. I understood then the reasoning behind the naming of the Meadow View Trail …..

Golden grass moved through the wind and the sun returned, shining bright on the beautiful, open meadow.

I felt the warmth of the light all around me and closed my eyes, soaking it all in 🙂

We continued to walk alongside this meadow for a long time, under the sun, as the dark clouds pushed away.

My uncertainty in our direction, and guilt for being the hike planner who’d forgotten the trail directions, kept me tied to my husband’s smart phone.

I landed on another hiker’s account of their trip along Meadow View Trail (which I had just learned was NOT a loop and in fact over nine miles long, ending at Bergen Peak — Oops, LOL).

His story was very similar to ours. Enough so that I had to chuckle…We hiked up Meadow View Trail with little directions, sure that the trail would loop — we started to get worried — then turned on Founder’s Trail to cut back to the parking lot (good choice)….

Founder’s Trail was the trail we were on! Hooray — we were going the right way. This was confirmed when we came upon another parking area that low and behold held a map of the trails.

We connected with Sleepy S trail and walked down this flat terrain, our bodies tired, but our spirits in ease. We were going the right way 🙂

Everything Connected. Coming Full Circle.

Something about being in nature, breathing in the crisp smell of Evergreens, and soaking up the silence and stillness of the woods around, opened up my creative mind and parallels of our journey with life in general…..

The journey of life can be long and uncertain and fear is going to arise. Dark clouds will threaten to cover you (and may rain down on you) causing anxiety and stress, but as soon as you turn the corner you will be surrounded with light …..

It’s so important to trust the inner intuition inside that inherently directs us down the right path. It is easy to ignore it, or reason against it, but the message and direction is always there. Bat back at the fear and doubt and just keep moving — that is all you can do — put one foot in front of the other. Everything always works out.

All the trails connected to each other. A big circle. No matter our doubts, we were on the right path the whole time.

Everything is connected. Nature teaches us this in a magnificent way. The sun and water from the patches of snow around us, nourishes the earth, providing food to nourish us —  and energy to the forest of trees providing oxygen and a trail of life — connecting natural energy to our bodies and mind.

Any question on healing the body should go back with nature — for here the answers are presented. Cut out the unnatural — put in that from nature — that with true energy and life. For this substance is healing.

On the Positive Side?

We made it back safely to our cars before the light of the day fell below the horizon and traveled home to rest peacefully through the night and through today 🙂 This includes our two pups who have barely moved today, LOL.

Trips through nature always help to calm my inner stresses. I feel much more at peace today, and while I am quite sore, I know it was good to get my body moving. This first trip of the season has got me pumped for coming trips as the weather warms 🙂

I think it so important to disconnect from the daily stressors and re-connect with the beauty around us — So good for the body and mind 🙂

Do you like to hike? Taken any trips to spend time in nature? Do you find it helps you too? I would love to hear from you.

Peace to you 🙂