Oh man, do I miss hiking. Dan and I used to go hiking all the time. We both used to go hiking all the time long before we met each other.
For me, nature was always a kind of natural medicine. I’ve struggled with depression for most of my life, but being out in nature… well, that was a different story. Hiking out into the trees, getting away from people, getting away from cars, getting away from noise, it always calmed my soul down. I love the smell of pine trees, especially in the cool air, and the sound they make when the wind blows through them. It really is amazing how fast it can work. I have gone hiking because I was angry, because I was sad, just because I felt the need to, and it is almost always immediate. The second I’m into nature, I start to feel a change. Everything in my body relaxes. My breathing slows and deepens. My brain actually shuts off and focuses for once. I feel relaxed and happy.
Unfortunately, POTS has taken hiking off the table of options for now. I can’t walk long enough to hike comfortably, not without focusing on how painful my chest is. I also can’t do inclines. That’s the thing about Colorado: there aren’t really any wooded areas that aren’t hilly (or mountainous). The hikes I’ve done here have always been fantastic, but challenging. There are lots of hills. Dan can do long hikes with tons of hills just fine, but I can’t. I used to be able to try, but now I just plain ole can’t. Hopefully, I can soon though. I am doing better, but the long distances and hills are still difficult. Hopefully over the winter I can work up my cardio so that Dan and I can go hiking in the spring and summer next year.
Just staring at this photo makes me smile slightly though. I can smell and hear the pine in my head. The girl in the photo even has hair that is almost the same color as mine. I miss the forest. Maybe when Dan and I go out to California for Thanksgiving we can go hiking somewhere. At least in California I won’t be fighting altitude on top of the distance and hills thing. I know my hiking boots want to get out and walk around, and I don’t blame them, it’s been a while.
Assignment four for Blogging U Writing 101.
Today’s prompt was to write a post inspired by the image.
Finding Life's Silver Sun 
I miss the long walks, especially in nature. At least I’ve got my faithful mobility scooter now. I collect leaves, berries and things in its basket. 😉
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My sister used to collect stuff in her pockets! (When she was quite young.) Apparently laundry was always an adventure 😛 I tend to collect interesting rocks, but mostly I just collect photos! I used to collect tons of rocks, but I never had anywhere to put them.
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Maybe you can make something out of those rocks? A wall, a bowl, jewellery? 🙂 I keep meaning to go blackberry picking with John, we haven’t yet. They grow wild along the road here and down in the sand dune valley (we live on the east coast of England).
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That would be so fun! I want to go to England very badly, as well as the rest of the British Isles. Every time I see photos I get the urge to hop on an airplane! Picking blackberries sounds like so much fun 🙂
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Hehe, I love to see you if you ever do come here. We could be a group of blackberry pickers 😉 By the way, I notice Colorado is very mountainous, whereas where I am in Norfolk, it’s very flat!
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Is it hilly there or just completely flat? Colorado is definitely mountainous, and I live about 5500 feet above sea level!
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Wow, I can’t imagine that. We really are the flatlands here; old marshes still here although sometimes drained. We’ve lost medieval villages to the sea. We’re prone to flooding in the area. Where my Dad lived in nearby Great Yarmouth there were the horrendous floods of 1953 (I believe something like 8 feet of water). After 13 years away I’m back in my childhood home. Dad made sure to buy a house that is somewhat elevated from the North Sea though. So no worries there.
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Isn’t it amazing how different two places can be?! We have flash flood issues here too… but they are very fast and unexpected, and definitely not that deep. Flash floods are from it raining a few inches very quickly near a canyon, quickly enough the water doesn’t absorb so forms a sudden, and often deadly, river. Definitely different from the kinds of floods you have!
Flat marshland area sounds very uniquely pretty. I’ve seen swampy areas around here, but they’re just messy looking because no where I’ve been in the US has as much precipitation as the British Isles. At least you don’t really have to worry about your house!
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I love to hike too. It is my therapy andin Illinois no hills.My son has DS and had a hard time in the mountains this year. He just did as much as he could and seemed OK with that. Good Luck finding no hills as thery are everywhere in Colorado
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Yup. Luckily my husband understands that it’s really hard for me. Even before the POTS my asthma made it difficult, so he’s used to checking in with me. We were given a foldable stool (camping chair style) recently though, so we’re thinking that might help me.
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