Laura

Trail of Tears

Daily writing prompt
What brings a tear of joy to your eye?
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Uhhhh….

Wow.

I feel like I’m going to sound a little insane or crazy with my answer.

But nothing, really.

Don’t get me wrong – there have been moments in my life where this has happened. Usually after a hardship is relieved or maybe an illness is cleared.

I’ve got that shield up. It’s not to say I don’t have tears, I definitely do.

But they’re usually for sad reasons. With joyful feelings, I’m more happy than anything.

I dunno. I guess I’ll explain one time that I remember more vividly.

There was a hike I was on that was particularly treacherous. I was wholly unprepared, like an idiot. No extra water, no decent supplies, not even really good hiking shoes. The weather was bad. Hurricane-like, even.

I kept on.

I stumbled on rocks, fell. Angry I was out this far and couldn’t turn back. Too late now.

I kept on.

I was hungry, tired, the sun was setting, I was wet, the wind was blowing violently. There was fog too (this was in Ireland) and I couldn’t see anything.

I kept on.

Of course, I had never done this hike before, and the trail markers weren’t great. Apparently, the trails shifted quite a bit during the seasons, and many of the rocks would wash away, leaving the path unformed.

I kept on.

I slipped constantly as I continued my ascent. I was muddy. Like I was playing some kind of tug-of-war with life and death.

I kept on.

Finally I reached the end.

The summit. It felt like a huge accomplishment.

And I couldn’t see anything. Dang fog.

Let’s be honest, I was pissed.

Whose idea was it to go hiking in October?

Oh right. Mine. 🙄 Happy birthday, you fool.

Then I had to descend. That went faster, but it wasn’t without injury. I hiked in the dark, by the time I made it out and back to the car it was nearly pitch black.

I remember thinking how crazy I was and that I was happy I was alive, hadn’t slipped and busted my head open. That some rescue crew didn’t have to come and bury me out of the rubble.

A week or so later, I read an article about hikers in the same spot that had to be air-lifted out due to life-threatening injuries. One of them had broken their leg slipping on the wet rocks on their way up the ascent.

Tears of joy?

Perhaps more like tears of madness.

I’ll still go on challenging hikes.

But I’m much more aware and prepared now.

I’m not too proud, too much of a daredevil thrill-seeker to ignore when conditions are dangerous and above my level of skill.

Even when doing fun things, tragedy and hurt can strike at any moment.

And even if nothing happens, the view at the very end could be crap.

But still, you made it to the top.

I guess that’s a very hard lesson in life, isn’t it?

Happy September! If you read all this yammering, thank you!

57 comments

  2. Wow 🤩!! Isn’t it Amazing Laura, that Hike has resulted in this post for many of us to understand “What to expect when you hike on a foggy day or evening better say”.. and here you are 😇 Guess Some one 1️⃣ Saved you and at the same time gave you this laughable moment right !!! God bless you Laura !! Love your posts as I always do 🥰

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  3. Awwe… I would have been angry too! Getting through all of that, just to have a foggy view at the top. But… as you said, you did it, you made it… something worth being very proud of 🙂

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    • Thank you 🙏 I suppose the lesson is I should be happy I made it unscathed haha mostly, anyways. It was an accomplishment but it made me examine things a little more carefully instead of just throwing caution to the wind…no pun intended lol 😆

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      • Haha! Puns sometimes just work themselves in there.

        You did! You made it! And back down! Amazing adventure! Maybe next time a little less crazy and more photo ops 😉

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      • I have the photos somewhere! I have to dig, dig into the memory cards lol 😂 if I find them, I will post them. I didn’t take many however, well cause….it was a little crazy hahaha 😆 and thank you 🙏 it was a pretty intense adventure

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  6. Talk about lucky, huh? A guy around here was just found dead on a nearby mountain because he didn’t think it would be that cold at higher elevations in August. He died of hypothermia. Thankfully you escaped mostly unscathed in comparison to what could have happened.

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    • Yeah, unfortunately you hear about that all the time. I went hiking at Mount Rainier National Park in September of last year and it SNOWED on the mountain while I was hiking it. Definitely being unprepared for that type of weather is a big life or death situation. Believe me, I am thankful. It was an amazing experience in a profound way, but not something I’d wish to repeat. Whew! 😥

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    • Definitely was, Liz. I love my hikes and nature as you know, but the elements can certainly play with us, with no mercy. Appreciate you reading 🙏 hope you are having a good Sunday 😊

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      • I have not been to Ireland myself, but with living in the UK I am aware from hearing from different people or reading about it that Ireland can have bad weather and it can change just like that.
        There are areas in the UK just like that too when it comes to hiking that you have to make sure you’re prepared for changes to the weather..
        Yes, I am having a good Sunday, thank you. A relaxing one. 😊 I hope your Sunday is good too. 😊

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      • It’s been good 🙏 thank you 😊
        Yes! The weather there was super temperamental, I guess I’m kinda used to it from living in Florida but it could be hot and sunny one moment and rainy and humid and all sorts of different things the next. When I set out to first do the hike, it wasn’t a great day, per se, but the weather got so much worse while I was up there. So yes, it does indeed change at the drop of a hat

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  10. I understand your desire to hike and take the risks. I’ve done it. There’s something to having been challenged and succeeded, and the good feeling of exhaustion from giving it your all. Last year in Greece, a group climbed a volcano in 90 degree heat. The more climbers who dropped out, turned around, and went back down, the more I continued. What I’d forgotten is after reaching the top, how difficult the climb down could be.

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    • It really does give you an accomplished feeling! I think that was it, I just wanted to keep pushing ahead. Oh wow, the volcano in Greece sounds amazing! Definitely one I’d love to do! Good job 👏 getting through that Mary, that sounds intense! And yes, that descent is always the killer.

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  13. Great ‘messier/ style here, and *felt* it all! I’ve never had this harrowing of an experience, but we did get stuck in a major storm at Discovery Park without proper clothing. It took us hours to get back to where we needed to be and was so exhausting! So I feel like I’ve had just a slight taste.

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    • Haha! 😆 it was about 5 years ago? But still feel like yesterday. I have to see if I can find the photos. Being caught in a major storm, anywhere, unprepared is no joke! Glad you were ok from that experience. It definitely taught me something

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      • So scary, and I can imagine it’s hard not to think of all the people that do get stranded and worse when in that situation, iow psych oneself out!

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      • It’s insane! There’s so many rescues daily too it seems. I think people just don’t understand so many things can go wrong, EVEN when you’re prepared. Mother Nature sure is destructive when she wants to be!

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