GLOBETROTTERS MONTHLY CHALLENGE

When Reaching Your Goal Wasn’t the End Result but the Time and Energy Invested Wasn’t Wasted Either

Hiking in gray and rainy weather down under

The bleating of sheep was following me up the mountain. There were white dots spread across the entire slope. And now and then I’d hear a bird chirping in the bushes or see a bunny escaping in front of me.

It was late morning when the message came in work had been canceled for the day. It was to be expected as the forecast predicted rain and even snow all day.

I asked David what his plans were but as he was still recovering from flu-type symptoms he denied my offer to go for a hike. That didn’t mean I had to stay at home. I strapped on my hiking boots and off I went.

After I finally found my way out of the sheep paddocks, I could pick up the pace. Following the creek up the mountain while listening to the roaring river next to me I set a destination for the day.

The top of the mountain had received a dusting of snow overnight and I was keen on not only seeing but touching snow. I knew it was far but as it was early in the day and I felt strong, it sounded like a reasonable goal apart from the fact I had no idea if the trail would be leading me that way.

There were some pink pieces of plastic attached to bushes marking a trail to the right of the river and another set of blue plastic was leading up the mountain on the left. Not knowing where either of them was leading, I stayed on the well-trodden trail with the pink markers.

All of a sudden a head peaked out from the bushes and I identified some guanacos. If my landlord hadn’t mentioned them just days prior I would have had no idea what animal I was looking at. It was pretty much the first time I had seen or heard of them.

Three guanacos were on my trail ahead and while I was wondering if they spit or kick, I slowly approached them without losing eye contact. Luckily they decided to avoid confrontation and climbed a few feet higher on the mountain slope.

As I continued my way up the mountain I began to feel pain shooting into my right knee which I decided to ignore. I knew it would be even worse once I decided to turn around and walk back down but put that in a category for future-Anne’s-problem.

In a split in the trail, I decided to walk toward the creek on the left hearing roaring water rushing down into the valley. My water bottle was depleted and I was certain I could fill it up right there.

But as I was getting closer to the water, I noticed this isn’t a trail in the Alps where river crossings are secured by bridges and heavy trees are cleared off the trail.

Tree logs as big as nowhere on this mountain must have been stuck here from a time when this mountain was still a forest and were now blocking the access to the water.

Being so close and yet so far, I did not give up so easily and dropped my backpack trying to crawl through the undergrowth and over tree logs with my bottle in hand.

If David knew where I was and how slippery and dangerous this section appeared, he’d certainly give me a speech about what could happen up here alone on the mountain.

I much rather focussed on the positive, holding tight to a branch as I reached the ice-cold river. Taking a sip of the fresh water, I refilled the bottle and crawl back to my pack.

Looking up at the snow line ahead I now realized my destination was slowly but surely melting away. It wasn’t sunny or warm but evidently not cold enough for snow to linger around.

Initially, I hadn’t intended on hiking so far but after setting the snow line as my destination with zero knowledge on how far up the mountain I would get in which time, I did set myself a limit. At 2 pm I would have to turn around which would give me enough time to climb down again before nightfall.

While I was well aware of the dangers of being in the mountains in rainy weather through the experience and knowledge my parents taught me over thirty years of hiking in the Alps, I knew the danger I was now adding in being all alone with no other hikers anywhere nearby.

Not worrying or stressing I just placed one foot in front of the other one thinking positively and always looking ahead while listening to a few birds chirping in the alpine bushes around me.

And just about half an hour after climbing down to the water in the creek, I reached a small streamlet on the trail. Of course.

I decided to sit down and write a few lines while taking a rest. With the first letters on paper, raindrops began to fall.

I got up and continued to walk crossing the small body of water with a big step. The path changed now from the broad farmer’s trail I followed into a narrow hiking trail still used by cattle as I could see looking down. Cattle pou was giving away the animals grazing high up here.

The precipitation falling from the sky was very fine and resembled more ice crystals than raindrops. I was not surprised as the temperature must have been close to zero as I was approaching the bottom layer of the clouds.

The boulders at the top of the mountain had just been covered by a soft layer of snow, were now naked again. The green of the grass was barely visible in the gray soup atop. Mist, precipitation and clouds were creating a very damp feeling. The snow line and those boulders felt within reach and yet still far away.

Reaching what I believed was the highest herd of grazing sheep on this mountain, I did accept I had come to the end of my journey. A swampy area stretched for several hundred meters ahead of me and I had no desire to get soaked up here.

I sat down and put on my jacket overly happy having packed my ski jacket and not the raincoat for this New Zealand trip. An icy wind was blowing off the top of the mountain as I finished my last snacks. I chewed on the energy bar rather quickly as my fingers began to get numb. Time for gloves it was, that is for sure.

And back down the mountain again. Putting on all the layers I had previously taken off, I quickly descended in this nasty weather. A fine drizzle was making my decision easier as I saw more and more of the trail getting soaked.

It had been a gray day regardless if I changed these images to monochrome or not. The sky stayed gray throughout the day. It was windy and cold, the landscape rather dead, still from a long winter and I was alone out there. But despite the weather, I enjoyed the hike a lot.

Later that evening, David looked out of the window and said “I can’t believe you went for a hike in this weather. And then even for such a long one.”

Yes, I did. And I don’t regret it.

This is a writing prompt to Globetrotter’s monthly challenge. Read the submission guidelines below and feel free to join.

And here are two other prompt submissions I recommend you to check out.

I never thought of capturing manholes. I had no idea they looked so different and interesting across the world. Check out the diversity Brad Yonaka got on camera.

And Krasi Shapkarova travels back in time and place for some November feelings. Some small-town vibes from Bulgaria.

Join my email list here if you would like to read more photo essays.

Shutterstock | Instagram | YouTube | Mailchimp | Amazon | Redbubble