On Tuesday morning, I woke up at an abnormally early hour (considering it's summer), washed my face, got dressed, had me a hearty breakfast of yogurt + almonds + granola, chugged a big glass of water and headed out for a hike with two wonderful ladies.
In retrospect, the day was a day of refreshment. Even the drive there was a peaceful one, forests of green that called me to ponder and meditate and pray.
As soon as I walked into the forest, it was like a strip from Calvin & Hobbes. (I've had Calvin & Hobbes on my mind ever since being "required" to read one of the books. The husband is an avid fan.)
Okay, this may not look very high but this was a big moment for me: overcoming my fear of heights with baby steps.
What we had thought would be a 2-3 hour hike turned into a 5-hour epic adventure. We made sure to take periodic breaks and filled them with lots of chatter. We talked about education (all three of us are educators!), church, food, life. We breathed in the fresh air, the lush scenery and basked in the glory of creation.
Bliss.
Then we took on the "Boulder Scramble" and "The Giants Stairs" head on. We didn't really realize what we were getting ourselves into, but maybe it was better that way. We found motivation as we envisioned the hike as training to be like Kacy Catanzaro.
Celebrating after conquering the Boulder Scramble
The Giant Stairs. that kept going and going.
At the top! Victory!
Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a variety of cold noodles - soba, naengmyun. All in all, it was a glorious day and we plan on making it a monthly (?) tradition.
Note to self: Make sure to stretch better next time and to stretch my entire body.