Wednesday night I led a group hike at a local park.You know you need a reboot when something so simple becomes incredibly complex.
I first scheduled this hike for Wednesday in my head, but decided to do it on Tuesday based on weather reports. So last weekend I publish this thing on Meetup.com, and sure enough start getting attendees. So far so good, until I find out that I had a work-related event on Tuesday evening that was a must-attend. Of course it was not in my calendar ... and my dependence on technology these days will generate a handful of blogs later on. So back to Wednesday. A few people bailed, a few jumped over to the new night and a few complaints -- mostly teasing, I hope.
Wednesday started with me driving a sick pet to the vet for emergency surgery. Off to work. I get notice to pick up the ferret at 5 .. hike is at 7. Delays in the office push me to about 5:30. That's when I notice that my fuel gauge is below empty ... to the point where I was hoping for downhills so I could coast to save gas. As I beelined to the closest gas station, sick ferret sleeping in the cage, and my time clicking away ... a bad mix of adrenaline and frustration are building. I find a gas station and roll in with 1/2 gallon in my tank.
It felt like one of those nightmares where you are running in slow motion and getting nowhere! Every bad driver in Dayton was clogging the roads. Every light was red. 40 mph roads were crawling at 20 for no discernible reason. I finally make it home, settle the poor critter in and change for the hike. 6:30 ... my scheduled departure, comes and goes. But I get on the road. And make it to the hike on time! As the leader that is kind of an imperative.
The lot is full. Every single parking spot was taken ... someone was pulling out so I secure a spot but I still have about a dozen cars coming. I have never been to this park where there was more than maybe two cars there. Even on a weekend. A group of high-schoolers are having some sort of picnic. There is a glimmer of hope -- they are carrying coolers and folding chairs. One by one cars start pulling out as one by one my hikers start pulling in. Incredibly every single hikers finds a spot -- and thank you to the group of 4 who arrived in one vehicle!
This led to an incredibly nice hike in a beautiful park. Warm temps but a nice cooling breeze. A fantastic sunset. Fields of yellow spring flowers and smooth dry paths. We do around 3.5 miles in just over an hour, in time to depart before the park closes. Everybody is having fun and lots of locals have never found this park before tonight, so I feel a sense of pride that I have now given them a new place to hike whenever they want.
Most important I set a pace. Some folks would have pushed along faster, but for others it was just right or even a bit fast. I notice that some of my hard work is paying off .. I am not hot, sweaty and winded like I would have been just a month ago. That makes me feel good! And everyone seems to be having a great time.
So lessons learned? Let's not get too wound up ... even the best plans can go awry. Recap? Ferret is OK, car is fueled, the hike kicked off right on time, and I got my miles in while sharing a great experience with friends. Problems? What problems? Hiking as always is the ultimate way to de-stress. Maybe not quite a reboot, but I definitely closed a few applications that night.
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