After my scare in January with the mammogram-biopsy-everything-was-fine-thank-god, I decided to make some changes in my life. One of the things I knew I needed to do was get moving. I H.A.T.E. to exercise. I'm very uncoordinated, so any type of group class is out of the question. I don't enjoy running. Never have. Never will. Walking is so boring that I can't wait to be done, and I usually quit before I go more than 45 minutes. I am awful at sports. Love to watch, but totally can't play. My options for getting my body moving were limited.
A couple of my friends hiked once a week, and I thought it could be fun to get out in nature with them. I could maybe, maybe overcome my fear of snakes to begin to enjoy being on a trail in the woods. I could meet some new people, make better friends, have some accountability...I decided to try it.
The first couple of weeks after I called my friend, Julie, to ask if I could join in, we had snow and really, really cold weather, so we didn't hike. When things finally warmed up, hiking started again, and I was there, ready to move. Only I had no idea that we MOVED!
We drove out to Waverly Park, my old stomping ground, and hiked. Holy smokes! It was cold that day, but after about 5 minutes of trying to keep up with Amy and Sarah, I was huffing and puffing and had broken out in a little bit of a sweat. I had fancied myself in decent shape until that morning. I was wildly mistaken! Those ladies left me in the dust! Not really, Julie hung back with me, and they would wait until we caught up every mile or so, but dang, I had no idea that this was what they meant by HIKING. I texted my sister that I was bringing up the way rear, and she said, "Be the cow tail!" I texted back that it was a long-ass cow!
The best thing about that day was that it was cold, so I didn't even worry about seeing a snake. And I felt proud of myself for getting out there and making an effort. We talked (when I could breathe!) and laughed and marveled at the beauty that I had no idea was Waverley (since I'd never been anywhere but the parking lot!)
I couldn't really move my legs for about 4 days after that, but the next week, I was game for Charlestown State Park in Indiana.
Again, we HIKED, but we did it in segments. The trails were a couple of miles long each but not connected, so we would drive from one to the other. It was a nice respite from continuous hiking. Beautiful there too, with views of the Ohio River and old army depot ruins...a hidden gem!
I was the cow tail again, but like my sister said the week before, I had to start somewhere.
A minor surgery the following Tuesday kept me out for a couple of weeks then a repair to a leaky kitchen pipe (it was actually a big leak in the wall behind the cabinets, but that's a story for another day...) and then yesterday was the next time I could hike. It's amazing what three weeks in spring can do to the woods.
We went to Cherokee Park, close because we all had somewhere to be before noon. We started at Big Rock and hit the trails running (almost). I was able to hang in the middle for most of the hike. There were 3 ladies who were a few yards in front, and a few more ladies several yards behind. I was by myself in the group, alone with my thoughts and my breathing. It was nice.
As I climbed the rocks along Beargrass Creek, I thought of my dad as a little boy playing here, swimming, finding arrowheads enough to fill a shoebox. I could see him splashing in the water, jumping off Big Rock, a child of the '30s enjoying the freedom of a kid in those days. I thought of the native people who had camped here for thousands of years before the settlers arrived. I looked for remnants of their existence, an overlooked arrowhead or a charred mark on the overhang. Didn't find anything but had fun looking.
As we crossed over roadways and skirted neighborhoods, I looked at the mansions that border the park. I considered the people who live there now and wondered about the original inhabitants, what they do/did to have such a beautiful residence. I imagined Daisy Buchanan gazing out a window after Jay Gatsby; or the well-heeled Louisville society people sipping after dinner drinks on the patios of an evening.
We hiked on. We passed a meadow being converted into a bird sanctuary, blooming with wildflowers. Skirted I-64 and the Cochran Hill Tunnel, cars zipping by not 50 yards away, the drivers oblivious to the half dozen or so women sweating it out on the trails above. Saw box turtles (2) and a deer resting in the dappled shade of the deep woods. I was able to tune out all of the noise of the cars and the neighborhoods and concentrate on the birds warbling in the trees. The woodpeckers going to town on some half-rotted tree trunk full of bugs. The sound of Beargrass as it fell over rocks. Who knew all of this was within 5 miles of downtown Louisville? It was amazing!
And in all of this, I did think of snakes, but we were moving too fast for me to look for them. Unless one was on the trail right in front of me, I wouldn't have seen it, and that is a good thing! Plus, you can imagine that all of us together make quite enough noise to scare away any animal that has sense enough or speed to get out of our way.
So, I will continue with the hikes. I do slow down once in awhile to take a picture or two. It is part of me capturing my journey, both on the trail and in my life.
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