The stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius famously said “what stands in the way becomes the way.” I was reminded of this quote while hiking Saturday.
We hit the trail at Lake Katherine State Nature Preserve where we blessedly saw almost no human beings but we did see a good bit of standing water and flood water on the lower trails.
So we started down one only to hit a small lake where Salt Creek had flooded the trail and much of its surroundings. So we headed back to the parking lot and down another trail only to find similar results. So we backtracked to higher land and still had a wonderful hike.
It was an adventure and I enjoyed every minute. That’s because we were moving, we were outside, we were surrounded by tall trees, rock formations, and by reminders that real civilization is to be found in a quiet forest. Real civilization is in the quiet. It’s in a brisk breeze through hemlock. It’s in the birds that sing. It’s even in the small snake that graciously moved off the trail after nearly giving me a heart attack when the “twig” on the path started to zig zag toward my foot.
Evidently the shriek I gave off was uncivilized enough the snake went the other way.
Anyhoo, those detours gave us an excuse to see a trail coming and going. They also reminded us of the power of water and how forces of nature can put humans in their place.
I’m sure not everyone would be so thrilled by such detours but I thought it was a good day. Plus, we went over four miles which is my current personal best since developing a leg issue a few months ago!
What stands in the way when you’re determined to have a good day? Not a darn thing!
