The Waterfall

I went on a hike last year and started out with not really knowing where I was going. I knew roughly where I was going, like the first hour, but after that it was just adventuring about in the woods. I got to the part where I had turned around not so many days before and kept moving. Pretty much was making up where I was heading as I went. I didn’t go off trail, yet, but was still on a maintained trail. The trail was covered in snow at this point because I was getting higher and higher in elevation and under relative tree cover.

On maintained trails, there are maps or signs every now and again to help you out. I came across one of these signs and decided to figure out where to go next. I saw on the map that there was a waterfall and decided that was where I needed to be. So I figured out how I would get there, it wasn’t that far away.

When I got to the fork where I thought it should’ve been, I turned right and came to a dead end. Or it would have been if I didn’t do what I did.

This dead end had three options. Go right at an angle and kind of climb up this cliff/steep hill, go left and do the same thing, or turn back around. I decided to go right and it was a solid choice, just not for my arms, turned out to be a lot of thorn bushes during this adventure. At one point my foot gave way and I reached out to a nearby plant to try and not fall. That plant of course was a thorn plant and I spent some time after that pulling thorns from my hand.

After some nervous spots, I made it to the top. The first thing I did was marvel at the view and look over the trail that I had taken. After some time though, that got boring and I turned around to see a rock that was even higher up.

I climbed to that rock, and had an even better view!

From this rock I was able to see the ridge where the top of this mountain was and decided to go to it. The snow was getting deeper up there, and when I made it to the top of that mountain area and saw the other side, I decided to head back.

The way down was tough and slick. The entire time I was thinking how I missed the waterfall but how I had this amazing adventure instead. The thought that this hike mirrored life so much was fascinating, but let me explain this.

I had a general idea of where I was going. I knew that there was more after, but didn’t know how much . With this I started. I would go until the supplies that I had would run out and turn around. There is enough experience under my belt to be able to judge that. I found my first goal that directed me on a certain path. That goal was not reached but led me towards newer goals that allowed me to reach the top.

I made it back to where I turned off the trail from, that dead end. I ended up coming down the left option and headed back the way I came. Not very far onto the trail I saw a sign pointing down for the waterfall. Overjoyed I headed down and found this amazing, partly frozen waterfall. It turns out I missed the turn off when I was looking for it, and just passed it.

With the day complete I headed home. In holding with the analogy to life here, when you make it to the top, you can come back to the goals that you missed out on at first. You just have to keep moving.

have fun,
Christopher Fox