Spring is Here!
I love the outdoors, as you may have guessed based on the photography on my website here. I have been hiking for many years now, but when the Covids started last year, I really upped my game! I’ve spent the past year hiking everywhere up and down Highway 11, “The Foothills Scenic Highway,” which is in my local neighborhood. It’s also been fairly people-free, which has made it easy to avoid the virus and stay outdoors! I feel super blessed and lucky to have had SO MUCH ACCESS to the great outdoors during this year of loss and changes.
Now I am going back through my 2020 hiking journal, and making lists of all the trails I missed. 2021’s goal is to hike all of the missed trails from last year! I generally hike one day of every weekend, unless it’s just pouring down rain all day every day. This weekend, I drove down, with my usual hiking/swimming/adventuring partner, to Oconee State Park to hike the Tamassee Knob Trail, which is only about 2.2 miles and an “out and back” trail, so about four and half miles total. The goal was to hike this trail, and then drive back by Devils Fork State Park for a cold water swim at Lake Jocassee. (Swimming is my true nature love, and cold water swimming is my specialty. So, though the water was only about 52 degrees, it made for GREAT swimming.) My day was perfect!
We really enjoyed the trail, as it mainly flows up and down a ridge line until you hit a final climb up to a nice view out from a cozy stack of giant boulders which make a great place to relax and have snacks. Oranges and trail mix was the menu yesterday. We rain into just 2 sets of other hikers, both groups were of men out hiking. We spoke briefly with them and then set off back towards the car. The most amazing thing about the hike was a solid confirmation from Mother Nature that we have survived the winter! Spring is HERE! We saw trillium popping up everywhere, loaded with blooms that will pop into whole flowers within about 10 days to two weeks, for sure! This has lifted my spirits GREATLY because it’s a beautiful gift to receive at the end of February. The longest, shortest month of the year!
So, if you’ve been struggling with the darkness and the rain and the gray skies and short days, with long lonely nights… I’m here to let you know that they are coming quickly to an end! Get outside and you will see flowers poking up and tiny leaf buds everywhere! We have made it through winter 2020, and Spring 2021 is upon us! Thank goodness.
Sending everyone light and hope. Remember, if you’re struggling and need some perspective, coaching is just the way to get it. Want to give it a try? Email us to set up your free phone consultation!
