Obstacles

Sometimes life puts obstacles in your way. You can turn back or find a way through

One of my favorite hikes in Harriman State Park is the Arden-Surebridge Trail. Park the car at the Elk Pen, bypass the too busy Appalachian Trail and make the first left. A red triangle on a white background. The trail gets pretty steep, winds along a cliff face, and goes past Island Pond. Snow, rain and, I think, beavers, have raised the level of the lake so that the trail is impassable near the lake.
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Impassable, that is, if you’re not willing to think differently, not willing to wade through knee deep water that was frozen two weeks ago. Yes, it was cold, but fish were waiting on the other side. (They’re still waiting) Besides, this almost guaranteed I’d be the only one at the old Conservation Corps. cabin. So, I waded through and almost didn’t get my pants wet.

​I was pretty proud of myself; I’d outsmarted mother nature. I outsmarted a beaver. I improvised, adapted and overcame the watery obstacle. Sometimes you just need to give a little extra effort to reach your goal. Of course, I still had to wade back, but --- I can do it—Hoooah!

Just as I left the lake and headed back to the impassable trail, I met an old couple going the other way. Well older than me. The man and woman had backpacks, each had two hiking poles and they both had dry pants. How did they get up here???

A quick look at the trail map when I got home shows there’s another, newer trail, that goes around the “impassable” part of my trail. Maybe I didn’t need to wade through freezing water.
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Maybe there’s more than one way to overcome obstacles.
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