Looking Ahead
Two years ago, in November, I hiked to the top of Guadalupe Peak, the tallest mountain in Texas. I got up the next day and did a seven-mile hike. Five months later, I had an abdominal aortic aneurysm repaired. I shut down. I haven’t been on a monumental hike since. Lots of short ones, but nothing like that one year of the South Rim and the Peak. Mostly, I’ve chalked it up to letting my body heal and age, but I hardly ever think of those seven stents anymore. So, that excuse is long gone. I think it’s time to strap on the boots and backpack and get moving.
This isn’t about pumping iron, or CrossFit, or any of the other programs people use to get fit. This is just about walking and hiking. I know there are probably programs I could follow, but for the moment, I’ll do what I did the last time. Start walking. Mostly flat at first, but soon enough I’ll find some hills. My latest stress test says my heart is in good shape and blood flow to my legs looks good, too. Maybe I’ll try the peak again or the south rim, next year, when I’m eighty. Why not. I don’t have to run up them. It’s just a walk.
And I’m saying this because yesterday was a hard day. I took a long training walk in the morning and did volunteer work in the evening that kept me on my feet until late. I was exhausted at the end. But this morning, after a hard sleep, I feel good. My resolve is strong, and so, unlike Hunter S. Thompson, who wants to slide into the grave “..thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow!’ ” I think I want to walk there, see the sights, wonder at the beauty of the world, and feel blessed I got to see so much of it as I sink back into the earth, when my day comes, and become one, once again, with the universe.