Pat’s Big Adventure

November 22, 2017 — Pat Bertram

In April, when I moved into my current rented room, the desert across the street called to me, especially the trail I could see in the distance, but I had to ignore the siren’s song. I’d just had surgery on my hand, multiple drugs had been pumped into me, and I had a hard time finding my equilibrium. Even worse, the thought of falling panicked me.

Today, finally, I followed the trail over the hill. It wasn’t much of an adventure as compared to climbing Mt. Everest, but it was a huge milestone for me.

As it turns out, it was a good thing I waited. I needed to use both hiking poles (which I couldn’t have done six months ago) because the trail was rocky, and in some places, I had to pick my way carefully through narrow rocky paths.

At the best of times, I’m not much of a hiker — I’ve seen people clambering hills as sure-footed as a mountain goat, but not me. Still, slow and steady keeps me going and gets me home safely. Despite some briefly treacherous places, the worst thing was entering a gated community from the back side, and not being able to get out. Luckily, I only had to wait about ten minutes until someone drove through the gate. I had to scurry to get through before the gate closed, but I managed to exit the neighborhood.

One great thing about getting out in the wilds, even if it’s only the wilds across the street, is being able to get a different perspective on life. For example, in this final photo, the city between the boulders in the foreground and the hills in the background looks like just another field of scattered rocks.