Irony? Fate? The universe telling me to SKIP THIS HIKE? Or the universe challenging me and pushing me to see just how far I’ll go? Or just a string of crappy events? Or a way to write the largest number of blog posts about a hike that hasn’t even been completed yet?

For reasons beyond my control, my big redemption hike, that was scheduled for 2 1/2 weeks from now, that has been blogged about ad nauseam, has been cancelled. Or at least tentatively rescheduled. Possibly next month, possibly next year, again depending on factors beyond my control. (Yes, I hike solo, and I’ve backpacked solo, I could do this one on my own, except that I previously failed on it and I’m legit afraid of this hike, and also I failed with my hiking partner Right Turn, so I’d really like for us to conquer it together).

I was heartbroken. I’ve been training for this for months. I’ve been thinking about this trip for two years now. It causes me stress, but is also huge motivation for working out and eating right. Every gym class I go to, every hike I do, I think about this trip. And now it isn’t happening, at least not for a bit. I had to mourn that.

Luckily, I bounce. My dear friend has called me “Chumbawamba” for a reason.

I don’t want to lose motivation. I have more training to do. We will do this hike, be it September, or 2022 or who knows. The mountains are always there. I have other mountains to tackle in the meantime. Postponed trip means more time for training. More weight to lose. More trail time. More time to conquer my fears of ledges and scrambles.