Omayra Acevedo, Peak to Peak. The perfect disguise to my pain is my exterior. Sometimes, however, the pain is too unbearable to hide behind thick skin. These are the moments when I take a hike. Just this morning, three ladies joined me on a hike at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It was a little later than I like to start my hikes, but it was still before 10 in the morning and the weather was perfect.

As we drove down Highway 46, I kept inhaling my worries and letting them go with my exhales. By 9:15 a.m. we pulled up to the parking lot at Slough Pond. Daylight shimmered across the pond, the clouds reflection danced across the water and the sensation of freedom took over me. My shoulders dropped and as I tossed my hiking backpack over my head, my chin lifted and within seconds, the only thing that mattered was that exact moment. 

Though I knew I would be hiking today, I woke up early to get through my Saturday morning exercise routine. It’s one thing to do something good for your body; it’s a completely different thing to do something good for your soul. Nature. Nature has always been good for my soul. Very shortly after starting the hike, you have the option of continuing forward or taking a sharp turn to the right where the trail continues straight uphill. Yep. We took a right. It only took about two minutes for the sweat to start dripping down my neck, my breathing to intensify and the burning sensation in my legs to remind me why it is that I choose to stay fit.

The clouds protected us from the sun, the wind helped cool us down, the smell of pine offered us comfort and the sight of endless wildflowers kept us happy. If you go, take the extra half mile trek and check out the shelter. Once you reach it, go past it and climb on the rocks behind it. The view is amazing!

Beaver trail is a 2.8-mile loop with plenty of opportunities for breaks, photos, views and for me, it was just long enough to self-reflect. In more ways than one, Beaver Trail and the powerful ladies that joined me, was exactly what I needed most today. That’s the beauty of nature. It always provides you with what you need most. 

(Originally published in the August, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)