Following The Trail: Part 1
A few days ago, I had taken a wrong turn after work and found myself at Cabella's. On a whim, I went inside to see if I would be inspired to buy any last minute supplies for my trip. Medium story short, I bought a map of Moab. I didn't actually think I would need it, because phones and GPS and Trail Apps and all that, but it was there and I was there, so I bought it. I figured it would be a good souvenir.
Fast forward to a very large national park, no cell service, and my souvenir map becoming my best friend. Throughout the park there were several signs leading to all the big landmarks, but I was sick of the crowded trails. So I pulled over and decided to go back in time. I took out my map of Canyonlands National Park, picked a tiny trail at the end of the road, and drove to what ended up being my favorite hike of the weekend. The parking lot was abandoned which meant I was the only person for miles.
As I started down the "path" I realized quickly that there was no real path at all. Unlike the other trails that had posts in the ground, millions of footprints, and crowds of people telling you where to go, this trail only had the occasional stone tower. The picture included this week is one of the ones that guided me on my way. The thing with the towers though, is that you can only see one at time. So one by one, I would walk to a tower, look around, find the next one, and walk a little more. I kept doing that until one moment when I couldn't find the next one. So I stood there, middle of no-where, no trail, and a map that was too big to give me the details I needed. I had no real guidance, just a large rock in front of me and a hunch that the next marker was at the top.
As I stood there, feeling suddenly very alone, I started thinking about how I wish I had more of a path. That's what we all want, right? We want to see a path forward for miles. Something bright and obvious. Like a lighted jetway that guides our plane in, we want the lights. Shoot, often lights aren't even enough. We can be so unsure sometimes that we want the runway, the radar, and the people standing with the lighted wands telling us exactly where to go. We want the sure thing because putting yourself out there on a hunch is scary. When you’re following the trail and the trail isn’t clear we will always worry that we chose wrong. We'll always fear the failure that comes with the unknown but the best we can do for ourselves is to take a deep breath, start climbing, and pray we chose right. As I scaled that big rock that day I thought, 'well, if I'm wrong, I'll have a good view and then I'll climb back down and try again.'
Every step we take in life doesn't have to be a winner. It doesn't need to be the road we walk forever. Maybe it's just a view to enjoy for a bit. Or something we'll learn from and then we'll move on. But we'll never know if we don't climb.
Fortunately for me, this step was a winner. I found the next tower and made my way up to what is now one of my top 5 moments of my life. I don't know what led me to Cabella's but I'm sure glad I bought the map, that led me to the trail, that led me to the moment I had to step forward without a clear trail. The moment I had to challenge myself because it was the challenge of it all, the uncertain future, that made it a moment worth remembering.
Now that I think about it, maybe I don't want the runway after all. Life's way more fun without it.
