We picked a cool and breezy day. July in Arkansas usually makes a sauna seem like a refreshing cool-off, so the change in weather all but demanded we take our planned hike out to the waterfall at Lake Catherine State Park, where we camped for most of the week. Neither my husband nor I have been there, but we saw the tv spot I mentioned last week, and I’ve had several friends tell me they thought I was capable of hiking the trail.
If you happen to watch the video, and you’re not familiar with the trail, you may make the same error I did. While I did a fair amount of hiking in my youth, I am admittedly not familiar with how trails are classified, and this one is classed as a moderate trail. I expected some elevation changes, narrow paths, and the occasional more challenging section, based on the video. After all, they didn’t show the whole thing. I felt pretty confident that it wouldn’t be an issue. Hubby also does a lot of walking and I figured it would be about the same for him.
What we didn’t know was that there’s a common section of the trail that goes right back to the waterfall. Not knowing any better, we went the other direction. It looks nothing like the video; it’s a narrow trail that winds over creek beds, past rock outcrops, through gullies, up and down rock formations. In short, it was a lot more challenging than either of us expected.
The beginning was somewhat deceiving, but fit what I expected, with small bridges over the creek, some ups and downs over tree roots and smaller rocky areas. Further in, though, we had to make wise choices and use a fair amount of teamwork to navigate passages that were steep, wet, long rock descents (for us, they were long!) that were rock “steps” but much higher than an average step. Both my husband and I are on the short side.
At the top of the waterfall, we ended up going down a steep boulder section with narrow gaps; I slid down this on my butt. I may have new knees, but the rest of me is original equipment, and I had no interest in making it that far, just to injure myself. About 1.5 miles in, we arrived at the waterfall, complete with our small pack of water, water shoes, and a towel.
The water was cool and clear; other people were there as well, and we spent a little bit of time enjoying ourselves at the waterfall before following the rest of the trail back out to the campground — realizing quickly that the way back was far easier than the way in. So much so that it seemed like a completely different trail; flat, we could walk side by side, the trail surface was smooth, root-free, and gently curving in places, instead of zigging and zagging both vertically and horizontally.
Had I known that, beforehand, I admit I might have chosen the easier route. I was interested in both hiking and the waterfall, but the waterfall was the goal. Instead, the sense of accomplishment I felt in being able to successfully conquer the challenges of the trail was just as much a reward for the effort as the experience of reaching the waterfall.
When I started this weight loss journey, I often dreamed of the easiest route to get to the goal. Who among us, that has dealt with weight issues, wouldn’t want to just wake up the next day, thin? I used to think that quite often — like waking up from an obesity nightmare to find I was at the perfect weight and it was just an ugly figment of my imagination.
The challenges are there to teach us. The easy route bypasses those lessons, and while you can certainly reach your goals in a variety of ways, the one that yields the most rewards is often the one that’s also the most challenging and, frankly, scary at times.
Chasing waterfalls? I’m not about to stick to the rivers and lakes I’m used to, thanks! Not when goals are in sight and the journey has great rewards.