Failure is not an Option


Or is it?

What constitutes failure?

This morning we packed our lunches and headed into the Cherokee National Forest for a hike. It was a short one; 3 miles, round trip. But, in that 3 miles, we climbed 1,000 feet in elevation. We were supposed to go to 1,600 feet, but we failed. 

We failed, we failed, we failed. 

We just went unprepared. Lunches, water, fruit, boots, layers, even dog food, but we were unprepared. We did not bring hiking poles. Some of the trail was up, up, up, and I did it on hands and feet, creeping like a toddler. Some of it was down, down, down, and I did that on my tush, slipping as sliding so as not to fall. Poles would have helped, and we would have gotten to the top, where we are told there are “magnificent views.”We finally turned around when Molly started hacking and coughing. I think she got some pine tar in her throat after cleaning her fur. 

We don’t feel like we failed, although we didn’t finish. We had a lovely day in the woods. Well, wait. We WERE a little nervous. 


Do you know why that tree looks like that?  John asked me, to make sure I did, and I did. There were grubs in that bark, and a bear wanted dinner. We saw more trees like that, and it made us nervous enough, especially with a dog along, to chatter away as we walked. Eating our ham sandwiches was especially tense, but we never saw any critters of any kind. Actually, that was kind of weird. I’m glad I didn’t think about it then!

(By the way, did you notice the offering another hiker left for the bear?)

We earned our beer today. There’s always one after a hike, but we earned this one. 

Bonus shot of the Pigeon River, because it’s pretty. 



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