14. A Reflection on Greybeard Overlook and Big East Fork River Trails – July 14

I got in two hikes this past week.  One was from the Greybeard Overlook off the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Glassmine Falls Overlook.  The other one was a trail that follows the Big East Fork River starting at a lower place than the part of the same river I did last week.  As I hiked along these trails, I was in a reflective mood.  My very dear friend Margie was near the end of her life and did indeed pass away before the second hike of the week.  She was ninety years old and had waged a valiant war against cancer that invaded her body more than 20 years ago.  I spent a lot of time with her after her husband Harold passed away a few years ago and we became very close.  Margie was very inspirational to me in the way she lived her life.  She persevered to live vibrantly and fully up to the end.  She was my greatest cheerleader in my quest to summit Kilimanjaro and so wanted to see me make it to the top.  As I traversed across the trails I noted that each path has its own unique personality and offerings.  While all the trails I have been hiking on are in the mountains of Western North Carolina each one is different with varying flowers, trees, views, streams, waterfalls, and path configuration.  The hike on the same trail can be quite different depending on the time of day and time of year.  In the spring life is emerging with the fresh greenery on the vegetation and an abundance of flowers popping out of the ground.  Summer is dense with the leafed-out foliage, bright with colorful flowers, hot with the humidity and sun, and the waterfalls are refreshing.  Fall brings the vibrant red, orange, and golden tones of the leaves that sometimes seem to rain from the sky and then dance on top of the water as it meanders down streams and rivers.  Winter is often cold and frosty and sometimes we have snow to navigate through.  But with the leaves gone and the crisp atmosphere the cooler weather brings, the views are at their best and one can see much more clearly.  I was reflecting how the trails I travel upon during the different seasons of the year are a metaphor for life itself.  I find myself hovering between fall and winter now and wonder what lies ahead and what I will be able to see as I get into the winter of my life.  But like my friend Margie, I do not plan to go softly into winter but rather meet it full on and find the rewards that remain to be discovered.  

Margie and me about five years ago.

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