Overcome, adapt and pack lots of snacks

Spring has come early here in Ohio. Winter missed the memo and Spring came in with the new year. The warm weather has provided many opportunities for getting out on the trails to break in my new gear and train for the many hikes I have planned for the coming months. This past weekend there was a lesson learned while lost in the woods and I'd like to share my tall tale...

While hiking in the Metroparks I had set out to tackle a half day trek through the hiking and bridle trails that would encompass a good portion of trails in Hinckley. As I was on a the Northwestern loop through the woods I had followed what I thought was a marked trail that lead me right back to the fork in the trail where I had begun the leg an hour earlier. There were blazes on the trees and clear signage from time to time. My survival instincts made me believe that I was clearly on the trail marked on the map.

So on my second trip through that section of the woods I searched for the junction where I'd be able to take another trail back towards where I needed to be. As I approached an area that I thought was the section I was greeted with a "Closed" sign for the trail which forced me to continue to hike the trail for a second time.

As I pushed on I found a clearing, east of the trail, that was roughly 300 yards away, across a stream and over the ravine. After much deliberation I decided to take the chance and I deviated off the trail towards my anticipated location. As I weaved in and out of the trees, crossed the stream and made my way up the steep ravine I became more and more positive with my decision to seek out my own path. When I reached the top of the embankment I came to a well marked path which had to have been the portion of the trail that I saw marked on the map. A bit disoriented of where my true location was I decided I needed to head North to Northeast. Within twenty minutes, and about a mile hiked,I arrived to where I needed to be along the trail.

When I got back to my car I studied the map of the area and realized that when I got to the portion of the trail that through me off, I had begun the right trail but followed a portion of it not marked on the map. Where I saw the "Closed" sign I figure that would have taken me to the trail I later found.

The point: There I am following my course that is set forth, clearly marked and well traveled, but it took me in circles until I realized that it wasn't necessarily that path I needed to be on. Yet, through careful observation and a keen sense of optimism to get back on the right path, I decided that it was necessary to stop, collect my thoughts and plot out a new course. A decision to deviate from my laid out path to ultimately make my own way towards where I should be. And with planning, a sense of adventure and faith in myself I was able to get back on the right path after being lost.

Now, I wasn't in a survival situation, in any kind of immanent danger or anything like that, but the path I was on, although it seemed right, was not where I was supposed to be at all, but with trusting in myself and putting faith what I've been told I was able to make my own way towards finding the path I was called to be on. The path that would ultimately get me home...

How often do we find ourselves along a trail that we think is the right path, only to find out that we are no where near where we should be to get home?

Until next time...

Cold reminders of reality

We've all heard the phrase "you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone." I never really thought about it until this week. Sure I've had break ups where I was done and out, I've visited a place I've always wanted to see and missed it the second the plane took off homeward bound and the occasional friend who lives nearby and then moves away. But it wasn't until this week that I truly thought about what that means that I "don't appreciate what I have until it's gone."

For the past three days now I have planned to wake up early and hike. For it is when I hike that I truly feel disengaged with the craziness that is my life, a life filled with thousands of unanswered questions, doubt of my future and frustrations of the present. Yet, every time I wake up, I am quickly greeted with disappointment and cold reminders of reality.

Just yesterday, for example, I woke up at six in the morning ready to set out on an all day excursion only to find last minute that I was scheduled to be work in just a handful of hours. The best day all winter to go out. Same happened today as I woke to the 10 percent chance of snow, slated for the later hours of the day, that happened to come early for an unpleasant and unwelcome morning wake up. 0-3 sucks in life and even in baseball.

My point is that for the past four days I have been salivating over the fact that the weather called for mid 40s and sunshine, which is not normal for northeast Ohio, only to be disappointed. My other point is that Dick Goddard is past his prime and gets paid to lie...just retire man. I'm pretty sure the man is being kept alive and running on air by puppet strings and voice overs.

As I have been grateful for the weather and looking forward to the spring-like opportunity to hike in January and February I have come to realize I should not be bummed that I've been kept hiking for whatever reason, but should be thankful for the gift of the opportunity to even be considering such a delightful wintry getaway.

How many times doe we get upset or angry over something without even considering the fact that we should be grateful it's even an opportunity for us to be considering...unfortunately we don't always think this way. All I know is I am no longer bummed about my failed attempts to hike and looking forward to the next opportunity. For example tomorrow...because in life there is always tomorrow.

Until next time...