Springtime on the trail….always an adventure. Here in Colorado, spring season is notorious for wide swings in weather patterns – 70 degrees one day, 10 inches of snow the next, which melts in 48 hours with the strong spring sunshine. This brings a variety of conditions on the trail – everything from dry trail to mud to slush to snow to ice. The conditions vary widely with elevation and shade – anywhere the sun does not reach will hold the snow and ice much longer. What does this mean? Be prepared for anything, and be able to adapt with each step. I actually enjoy the challenge of constantly changing trail conditions; it is a lesson is staying in the moment for sure, as well as learning to adapt. The mud is the trickiest, as there really is no gear to help in the mud; you just slip around a lot. I have a learned a few tricks:
- Don’t fight the mud, relax your legs a bit and just go with the slide (trekking poles do help with stability).
- Go ahead and get dirty! Really, it is OK to soak your boots, get mud on your pants, and anywhere else it may happen to splatter. Did you ever stomp in mud puddles as a kid just to see what happened? Be a kid again, truly, it is OK, and no one will tell your Mom.
- For extra credit, take your boots off and let your bare feet ooze in the mud, it is a sensory extravaganza! You will feel decades younger in an instant and the connection to the earth is profound.
Life is constantly evolving, we are not meant to stay in a rigid, predictable pattern. Allowing your life to evolve and change will open opportunities for new adventures that may otherwise be missed. Remember gratitude for all of life’s circumstances and look for the hidden gifts.