Snap Out Of It Girl

Day 179

Monday September 17, 2017

Miles: 1819.4 - 1827.0.   Completed: 7.6

Weather: Partly cloudy and warm

Tented at Garfield Shelter & Campsite

Yesterday’s 2.7 mile hike was hardly a warm-up back to the trail.  Re-entry into some of New Hampshire’s toughest terrain did a number on our daily mileage average. Today we were content with 7.6 Miles. 

I love the ruggedness of the trail. Pushing myself to do things difficult is a high for me. The harder the better. Sometimes I pay for it in the end but during the challenge I soar. It’s during times of stretching ourselves when we see growth no matter what area of life. 

I soared mentally and physically over 5 - 4000 plus footers today which included Mounts Liberty Springs (4283), Little Haystack (4800), Lincoln (5089), Layfayette (5263), and Garfield (4458). 

Black Bear on top of Mt. Liberty, NH

My emotions were just as rocky as the terrain. If it wasn’t for the challenge of the trail keeping me focused on the task at hand I would have been a sobbing fool. I was completely engrossed in the hike and my feelings were flip-flopping from one to the other as the trail allowed.

I finally snapped out of another one of my putty-parties when I realized Shortcake was hurting. Our two week hiatus was more of a break then she bargained for. I could tell something was not quite right so I asked how she was doing as I did most days. She isn’t like me, I wear my feelings and ailments on my sleeve. One never has to wonder what’s going on in my world. It’s usually obvious. I’m an open book most of the time. Not Shortcake. She’s locked tighter than Fort Knox. But today, she confessed, “My lower half feels like it is in a coma”. I can usually pick up on subtle cues but today I was so wrapped up in my on pain of losing Dad I hadn’t noticed earlier how much discomfort my friend was in. My heart ache was more than I could have ever imagined. Once I got my focus off me and projected on Shortcake I felt a relief. My pain seemed minor.

It’s funny how that works. We get into our own little situations big or small and they seem to drown us in misery. But as soon as we look outside our tears and put that energy towards another person with love our pain subsides and even vanishes for awhile. It’s so much easier to wallow in our own self-pity but it’s more rewarding and less painful if we can rise above that to reach out to help another.

Happy Hiking.