Rating a hiking experience on a fun scale
Hiking - the word brings forth the therapeutic power of nature, the magnificent mountain views, lakes, human attributes of strength, vulnerability, a sense of community where nothing but kindness prevails, and feelings of joy and accomplishment.
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| Heather Maple Pass Loop, 2021 |
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| Sheep Lake and Sourdough Gap, 2021 |
I started hiking after moving to Seattle in 2017 and the bulk of my hikes happened to be in 2019 when I signed up in multiple hiking groups on meetup.com. While I continued to go on hikes with friends (Twin Falls, Wallace Falls, Rattlesnake Ledge, Little Si, Beckler Peak in Mt. Baker Snoqualmie Region, one other in Mt. Rainier), I did five hikes with different meetups that year including Lake 22, Ira Spring Trail, Burroughs Mountain in Mt. Rainier, Easy Pass (anything but easy), and Maple Pass Loop.
I only have fond memories of all those hikes except the last two, particularly the maple pass loop where I struggled the most. The first time I went to Maple Pass Loop Hike in 2019, I could not summit because of the wrong shoe size which started hurting really bad about 60% into the hike. I remember deciding not to go any further into the hike and turn back but everyone in my meetup group was ahead of me except one person who stayed with me to avoid leaving anyone in the group all alone.
I have run into such people every time I have been on a hike with a meetup group and when I struggled. Feels like God-send.
Last weekend, I decided to sign in again for this same hike (Heather Maple Pass Loop) in North Cascades after a two-year gap from hiking because of the pandemic. Happened to go on one other hike (Sheep Lake and Sourdough Gap in Mt. Rainier) before that. Struggled somewhat even there but I attributed it to really hot weather, a fully exposed trail, and a hiking gap of two years. At the end of the hike, I was happy to have done it and I even drove a total of five hours that day which is unusual for me during hiking. So, overall did not have any serious concerns and was quite happy with the experience. Few pictures.
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| Sheep Lake on the way to Sourdough Gap |
Three weeks later, I came to know of the hiking plan for - Heather Maple Pass Loop by one of the meetup groups. While I had a pretty scary experience on it in 2019 but I am glad that the fear and the hard sentiment of that experience did not sink deep enough to hold me back from doing it again.
In hindsight and being one week into it, I think I am a bit detached from the emotion that I can write about the good and challenging parts of it with a smile on my face.
The good part is that I could summit this time. Yay! The fall colors, golden larches, and views were breathtaking. But the struggle was real even this time. It was different from the last time because my shoe did not cause any issues but there were others that happened out of my personal capacity that got me to the point that I had tears rolling down my eyes on the way down. But talking about the good part, here are pictures from the happy times.
One would imagine that way down should be easy but from my first-hand experience, I can say that it all depends, and here's how.
- For someone who has fear of heights, crossing a long ridge-line with a hefty drop on one end and the trail being at an angle that you better be sure-footed to pass it, can be paralyzing. We came across this right as we started the descent. I felt extremely nervous navigating that.
- Once past that, while I was able to maintain a decent pace for some time but that ended after a while. Given that the hike was a loop, the trail while coming back was a different route - much steeper and that means more pressure on knees. Not having hiked for two years and no regular workouts, that caught me. My feet also started hurting and that happened partly because of the lack of physical strength but most importantly mental exhaustion coupled with fear. My pace went down significantly. At one point, I twisted my left foot and that was the first time when I feel scared to the point that I found myself really helpless and I started sobbing. It worsened the pain I was having on my left foot and the fear of sprained ankle got on my head. I think subconsciously I was being reminded of my 2019 experience as well in my head and running into challenges again this time did not feel good.
- From there on, it was harder and harder. I feel grateful for my group for they patiently waited for me for about an hour and a half both at the summit and then at the trailhead on our way down. I had asked one of the guys in our group to stay with me downhill if I need a hand descending anytime. I was not expecting any significant slowdowns at that time. While I feel sorry for putting him in a tight spot of seeing someone struggle so bad and slowing him down too but I am also immensely grateful for the patience he showed in helping in every capacity he could. Being alone would have only worsened my fear.
- The final fun part happened when I reached back in the city and I had to drive back home from thereon. It was a 10-minute drive only but I found myself physically and mentally drained out to the point that I walked a bit towards parking and I had to immediately sit down. Then once again, out of nowhere, a lady appeared with her daughter who was passing by. They saw my situation and were very kind enough to help me and put an ice pack on my left foot. I ended up calling a friend to help me drive back home.
Had you asked me last week if I want to go hiking again, I may not have responded enthusiastically. But the love for mountains, foresty trails surpasses all of the vulnerable and discomforting experiences.
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