A couple of years ago, my sister and I were invited by a group to hike to the top of Mount Diablo, a mountain located in northern California. We were very excited to go, but due to some unfortunate circumstances with the members of our group, we were unable to reach the summit. This was a very disappointing turn of events for us, and so we swore we’d go back one of these days to finally hike to the summit. Well, “one of these days” turned out to be last Thursday, and that hike was quite an experience.
We started the morning early, getting up around seven in the morning to get dressed and get on the road. In the hectic morning routine, our brother got swept up in the mix and ended up coming with us, an unexpected but welcome surprise. We finally got to the mountain and proceeded to put on several layers of sunscreen, since I have the color of a piece of Wonderbread and my siblings are fair as well, and we started our hike up the mountain’s side.
In life, there are certain lessons you learn after you’ve experienced something. But sometimes, there are lessons you learn mid-experience, and those lessons are the hardest one’s to face. For me, hiking up a mountain after two years of slacking in my physical fitness taught me a very important and needed lesson: Dear God, woman, you are out of shape!
Before I continue, let me explain this hike so that I can retain some of my dignity. This is what the trail we decided to take was like.
On the map showing all of the trails for Diablo, our hiking trail was listed as “strenuous.” Had we known this, we might have chosen a different trail. However, we were ignorant and foolish, and didn’t pick up a map of these trails until after we were done. Another lesson to learn: know your trails and how hard they are. It might just save your life.
Anyway, we started up our trail, stopping a moment to stretch out and admire the beauty around us. Because it’s spring and California actually received some rain, the trail and mountain were beautiful. We had to take several pictures.
This is my sister in this picture.
This is my brother.
The first two miles were good. It was pretty flat with the occasional hill to ascend, but it was nothing difficult. We were smiling and laughing and having a great time. We listened to the streams of clear water rush by, the sounds of birds chirping, and the wind rustle the leaves of the trees we’d pass. It was an enjoyable time.
But like all good things, our easy trek had come to an end, and now we were faced with an uphill climb I was ignorantly confident that I could handle. The first few sections of incline were fine, but after 10 minutes, I had to stop. My legs were burning, my heart was racing, and I was breathing hard and shallow. It was here that I realized that I was more out of shape than I thought.
I began to reflect on the past two years, and saw how my exercise routines had dwindled as writing papers and studying for college began to increase in demand. It’s something you often don’t think about, really. As a 20-something year old, it’s easy to assume you can exercise later and that you’ll be fine if you skip a workout just today. That your health will be fine as long as you exercise every now and then. That you’ll be fine. The mountain made it clear that I wasn’t fine.
My sister and I took the mountain slowly, both experiencing heavy breathing and burning thighs. At one point, we all stopped at the top of one of the curves on the mountain, and our brother pointed out that we were high enough that we could now start to see the valley below.
As we looked, I realized we had made it farther than we previously had with our other group, which made me happy. It was taking us a while, but we had made it farther, which is what I ultimately wanted. As we continued to climb, we saw more and more of the valley, helping to push us further along.
We finally made it to the halfway point, where we stopped to take a break and eat. The view was amazing, and we all loved sitting and taking in the beauty of the valley below and the mountain around us. It was a quite a site:
I wish this tale ended with me saying we made it to the summit and showing you an amazing picture of the view from the top, but unfortunately, it doesn’t. We had to hike back down from that halfway point due to several issues, which meant we left not completing what we wanted to complete: hiking all the way to the top. But, that’s OK because this was the lesson I ultimately learned from hiking Mount Diablo: you might not always accomplish what you want to accomplish the first time around, but try until you do. It’s such a simple lesson.
We didn’t make it to the top, but we made it farther than we did the first time, and next time we’ll make it farther than this time. We just have to keep trying and preparing, and eventually, we’ll get there. It’s a lesson we’re often told, but one we forget easily in a society that seems to expect perfection at every turn. We beat ourselves up for the little shortfalls we have in life, but it’s important to remember to not let those moments define and embarrass us, but rather strengthen our resolve and improve us for the future.
Remember: no one is perfect and no one gets everything right on the first try. Just try again, and keep in mind that we all are in need of extra chances.
