Mr. Blue Sky

Looking Down…

Hiking requires a lot of looking down.  Hiking from Georgia to Maine… well, that’s about five million steps, and I don’t want to look at my shoes the whole time!  When out for a trek in the woods, you do have to watch where you’re going so you don’t trip on rocks or roots, slide on leaves, or step in a hole that you barely saw. The struggle is real.

Quite often, a successful hike means no major injuries… no rolled ankles, no face plants, no blood!  I mean bruises and scrapes are one thing—those are our “war wounds”—proof that we are badasses getting out there and living life! But often our greatest accomplishment after a hike isn’t necessarily the mountain we climbed, but that we climbed it without incident—which means we get to hike another day, climb another mountain, bag another peak.

But what did we miss along the way?

Look Up, Look Down, Look All Around!

So much time is spent looking down that we often miss the beauty right in front of and directly above us. I know this happens to me.  I am just hiking, one foot in front of the other, crunching on leaves, often tripping as I go, but purposely placing my feet around rocks and stepping over branches or roots or even the occasional who-knows-what-kinda-poop-that-is on the trail!!

Then my friend says, “Did you see that?”  “No, what?”  “Look up”—and “Wow!!”  There’s a tree that is seemingly being swallowed up by a ginormous rock, or a stone wall that was built ages ago, remnants of a time long past, or that bear munching on berries tucked away in the brush that you had no idea was there.  And what about that amazing sky, or that sunbeam flowing through the tree branches just right, or the moon that you can see in the middle of the day!?  (I don’t know why, but this has always fascinated me.)  Just stopping dead in your tracks to look at your surroundings can refill your low mental-energy bucket.  Breathe it in, soak it up, absorb the vibes and let it refuel you.

And don’t forget to take pics so you can drool over them later (and post them on your social media accounts, of course)!   

 Something Beautiful

Of all the things you do while hiking, don’t let the mileage, mph, or whatever other stats you pay attention to get in the way of your ability to bathe in the beauty surrounding you.  Remember what drew you to the woods in the first place.  Immerse yourself.  Stop and smell the proverbial roses.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to watch your step!  However, if that’s all you’re watching, you might miss out on something beautiful.

*Peep-the hornet’s nest in the tree!