Hitting a dead end?

Cheryl and I set out for a hike in the springtime. We hadn’t seen each other in quite a while, and we both needed some outdoor time exploring and getting our bodies moving.

Our first juncture was whether the dirt road that led to the trailhead was clear of snow. Luckily, I had four-wheel drive, but deep soft wet snow would make maneuvering hard. As we winded our way through the mountains, we came upon the T junction. An orange cone sat in the middle, yet we also saw tire tracks.

We looked at each other and said, Hummmm. Should we move it? Looking dead in each other’s eyes, We yelled out – YES! The worst that could happen is we turn around. We laughed!

It was approximately four miles to the actual trailhead on this dirt road deep into the forest. One mile in, another vehicle drove by on the other side. We both stopped. The gentlemen said all was clear to the trailhead except for one easily manageable part. With a quick head nod, we thanked him and continued on. Cheryl and I high-fived each other and laughed again. Woohoo! We’re on a roll!

We hit the small parking lot, gathered our gear and backpacks, and headed up the trail. The fresh smell of pine trees tickled our noses; the cool air from recently melted snow in the high country delighted our skin from the ordinarily dry air. Our legs began to feel the burn as we ascended higher and higher into the backcountry.

We reached the tree line and came to a grassy clearing. The path faded fast. Cheryl and I looked at each other and wondered where to go. We decided to keep hiking up so we could get a better view of the terrain. Upon reaching a rock outcropping, we could see the lake in the distance. It looked very far away. We pulled out the topo map and could see where we were, but there was no visible trail.

We headed in the direction of the lake, hoping we would pick up the trail again. Thirty minutes later and nothing. We hit a huge gorge. We scrambled around the side of the rock and continued on. Then, another deep gorge. Boom, stuck again! WTF?

At that point, we decided to call it. We could still see the lake in the distance, but there was no safe way to traverse another rock. We had been hiking for 2.5 hours at that point, so we were definitely getting our exercise in. In fifteen-plus years, I’d only been lost hiking once before. We giggled, laughing about our adventurous day.

We had our bearing and slowly made our way back the way we came. We laughed and joked the whole time. We descended into the forest a bit early this time and came across huge pikes of snow that hadn’t melted yet. I took one step and plunged right into the snow all the way up to my thighs. I laughed again! Now, snow was inside my boot, tickling my ankles with coolness—what a day. Slowly, we made our way around and found the trailhead back to the vehicle.

Our most significant moment was getting curious to see if we could find another way to get to the lake. We loved and enjoyed our moments talking and laughing even if we didn’t reach our destination and end goal. Yet, we also realized when enough was enough.

Sometimes you realize that you hit a dead end and need to re-evaluate what you’re doing.

Where in your life, career, or relationships are you hitting a dead end?

Can you recover from what’s going on?

Do you need to adjust?

Do you need to let go and move on?

Adapting is knowing when to keep going, adjust, or move on entirely. Imagine yourself on the mountaintop, looking down below for the trail. How can you look at your situation from a different perspective?

Sit down with pen and paper and work on these this week.

Wishing you an abundant, joyful, and prosperous day!

Lora Polowczuk
Chief Energy Officer