(Thank you to photographer Joe Braun for letting me use his images in this post.)
When I was nineteen, a guy friend and I went to Acadia Park in Maine traveling on the Park Loop Trail to visit Thunder Hole. On a whim, we pulled over to the side of the road for a minute and my friend said, "Let's do a hike!"
"Okay!" said I, looking at the lovely stairway to heaven and ignoring the name of the trail. This was 30 years ago and they didn't have the big caution signs on the trail, or images of iron rungs in rocks on the sign leading to the trail. Or maybe I ignored them. I was 19..
When I was nineteen, a guy friend and I went to Acadia Park in Maine traveling on the Park Loop Trail to visit Thunder Hole. On a whim, we pulled over to the side of the road for a minute and my friend said, "Let's do a hike!"
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| used with permission Joe Braun Photography |
"Okay!" said I, looking at the lovely stairway to heaven and ignoring the name of the trail. This was 30 years ago and they didn't have the big caution signs on the trail, or images of iron rungs in rocks on the sign leading to the trail. Or maybe I ignored them. I was 19..
I skipped up those steps
in my Dr. Scholl's sandals.
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| Circa 1977 Ad |
Had I been training to do climbing? No.
Had I eaten lunch and did we have water? No.
Did I have climbing shoes on? No.
Did I mention I was wearing Dr. Scholl's sandals???
Did I mention I was wearing Dr. Scholl's sandals???
We were unprepared. But off we went. The beautiful staircase gave way to a steeper climb, which eventually was iron rungs going straight up the side of a cliff. I remember shaking from hunger and exertion.
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| used with permission Joe Braun Photography |
When we got to the top,
it was exhilarating in more ways than one.
it was exhilarating in more ways than one.
I was grateful for many things,
My life being one of them.
My life being one of them.
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| used with permission Joe Braun Photography |
I know now, as a thinking adult, that this trail can be dangerous if you are not fully prepared. People have died on this trail. It's not funny that I was wearing Dr. Scholl's sandals. I was taking my life in my hands, and I was lucky to have gotten to the top and back down the easier trail.
If there is a lesson here, it is that symbols on flat maps don't always give a sense of the roundness of the world to be traveled. Life doesn't always either. Sometimes you find yourself gripping iron rungs with sweaty hands. You get through it, and you learn from it so you are more prepared the next time.
