A Love Letter to Life
I lay beside Rines Hill, a rock climbing spot that’s nestled in the woods about half a mile from the battered dirt road, somewhere in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. I’ve found my balance on a slanted rock, underneath a canopy of trees. I’m definitely not wearing enough clothes for this weather, so the only thing between me and the decaying pine needles is my used, red flannel. I thought it was summer, but it’s actually really brisk out. There’s a chill about the wind that hits right in the chest. In that way, it’s different from a summer breeze. …
I’m sitting in the car, watching the trees blend together like a bunch of blurry pixels as the speed increases. The soft light of dawn is spilling in, stealing the remainder of the night, and coating everything in its golden hue. This is the only time you can look right at the sun and not get blinded. Mornings have stolen my heart. Everything has such beauty before the sun rises to the center of the sky, acquiring the ability to turn my skin bright red like a geranium (the color before it cools to a tan). And how everything is quiet and all the bodies that rush past me on the sidewalk in the afternoon are still asleep. …
Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is an extensive collection of trails through the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps. It runs around the base of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe. In July of this past year, I thru-hiked 130 miles of rugged terrain, which included 30,000 feet in ascent.
When my father first proposed the idea of doing this, I agreed, but never actually thought I’d follow through. I even told him I wasn’t going a week before the trip. I wasn’t anywhere near being ready to put my body through something like that. Then a few days before the scheduled flight, while hiking in Bear Mountain NY, I discovered how good hiking made me feel and how it affected my mentality. …
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