I don’t remember exactly when the idea of taking my hike started, but it has definitely been part of my journey for quite some time. For a while I have known it was going to be later this year. It was originally going to be August and then got moved to October. Plans were made, plane tickets were purchased and hotel reservations made. Then there was as accident. A mag light flashlight rolled off the dresser landing directly onto my 4th toe on my left foot. The pain was absolutely unbelievable. It was bleeding terribly. After 8 hrs it was still bleeding and swollen horribly so I went to the doctor who sent me to urgent care to get it xrayed. Not only did I break my toe, but I shattered the bone in the tip of my toe. It happened 3 weeks ago on August 27th. I finally have an appointment with a specialist on Monday September 13th to see if I will need surgery. Because of this I have had to postpone my hike. It was absolutely devastating to have to make this decision, but I knew that there was no way that I would be healed enough and even if I was I would get no exercise and hiking in during this time. When I make this hike I want it to be successful and for me to be healthy so that I can focus on enjoying the moment and being able to enjoy the accomplishment and what that hike truly means to me. After consideration I know that waiting until I am healed and physically trained is the right thing to do. In fact, having a great friend helped me to realize the positive side to moving this trip to next year. By next spring I will be even that much closer to my goal weight and will have ample time to keep hiking the beautiful Carolina mountains and get my body physically ready.
Sometimes making a hard right turn is the best turn that we can take. Sometimes that redirection can be a positive for our individual journey. That is how I chose to see this change in direction. And the great thing about taking a right turn is that we may see or experience things along this detour that can make us a better person or benefit our journey in ways we couldn’t have anticipated. Throughout my life I have learned that things often don’t go according to plan. I used to let get me down, derail me more than necessary, and become depressed and bitter. I am thankful for where I am in my life now that I can look at these detours and accept them and even look for the good in them. If I fall (and I have literally fallen a few times! LOL), then I get up, dust myself off, and keep plugging along. On a recent hike with one of my kids, about 10 mins into a 2 hour hike I tripped on a tree root and face planted in the dirt. I quickly got up, dusted off the dirt, took assessment of my injuries and had to make a split second decision on whether I was going to turn around and go home or press forward. My injuries were minor. I scraped my hands, hit my knees and one ankle was hurting just a bit. There was no blood! I wasn’t going to give up. I was not going to keep letting things get in my way so I pushed forward. I completed that nearly 2 hour hike with my 9 yr old son and even cut off time from when I had hiked that very trail the week before with my 7 yr old daughter. Now, I definitely hurt the next day. I jarred my shoulders and bruised my knees pretty good, but the pride I had because I pushed through and did what I had set my mind to was immeasurable!
The plan now is to move the hike to the spring because hiking on a snow covered mountain isn’t something that I want to do! HAHA. I am more determined to get this toe thing taken care of and get back on the trails and get back to exercising so I can get my body into peak physical condition. In the meantime I am working on strength training for my legs and upper body. I purchased a Teeter FitForm Home Gym and I am really liking it so far. It gives me the ability to get some type of exercise in even though I can’t do what I had been doing.
I don’t have a date yet. I am working on researching when the snow will be gone from the mountain and I will get my hike rescheduled. I am excited and will use this extra time to get even more ready and keep working on me and enjoying and learning from this journey! Thanks for all that have hung on this long with me and keep encouraging me and sharing in my journey.
My Journey to the Mountain 