A Hiking High

Keli Gwyn here talking about hiking.

We're privileged to have a great place to walk right here in our community. I've logged many miles on the El Dorado Trail. The sections I walk are striped and paved just like the one in the photo below.

This summer I got a hankering to take my walking to a new level.

My husband retired at the end of last school year. While I've been camped in front of my computer cranking out words, Carl has been heading up to the Sierras to go hiking. He returns with glowing reports of the places he's explored.

Feeling left out, I decided to accompany my guy when I can, using hikes as a reward for getting my words done for the week.

We headed up to an alpine lake a week ago. And I do mean up. According to my Fitbit, we climbed the equivalent of 84 flights of stairs that day.

But oh, was the effort worth it. The wildflowers were in bloom! I whipped out my camera and snapped picture after picture.

Hiking enables me to get exercise, spend time with my guy and enjoy the beauty of our majestic mountain range. Talk about a high!

Do you enjoy walking or hiking?
If so, what are your favorite destinations?

Trust - Carolyne Aarsen

Everyone says that trust is an important part of any relationship. Usually, in the stories I write, it's the point where the hero or heroine finally dares to trust the other that a huge shift occurs in the relationship. Barriers are broken down and secrets are laid bare and the one person becomes vulnerable to the other. In my own, ongoing relationship with my husband, trust is integral. I trust him with my deepest secrets and fears. He does the same with me. But in spite of being married for many, many years, there are times that I still have to learn to trust him for different things.

We went on a hike this summer in the mountains and after hiking up and up for about four hours came to, what I thought, was an impassable creek - a raging, boiling mass of water tumbling over rocks down the mountain for hundreds of feet. One slip and I would have gone down, down, down. That was the point of the hike where I stopped. I'm afraid of heights and not real impressed with water so I was done. Finished. My husband and son had their eyes on the next hill that they wanted to check out. I said go ahead. But they wanted me along because they didn't know how long they would be gone. Besides, the blood we saw on the trail meant there was probably a grizzly somewhere in the vicinity. I was adamant. So were they.

Then my husband crossed the creek and came back. "I can carry you," he said. That sounded even worse than braving the creek myself. We argued back and forth a bit. Then he laid it out. "Don't you trust me?" That was a kicker. I looked at him, then at the creek and said, with great reluctance, "Okay." And I got on his back, closed my eyes and began praying while he began walking. (this has often been our deal - he works, I pray). And next thing I knew we were on the other side.

Even after all the years we've been married, I'm still learning to trust him and he's still showing me I can.