Twin Mountain

I think of all the outstanding views in the Catskills, that Twin is my favorite. The hike up to the Jimmy Dolan notch was muddy and slippery. There was debris everywhere from the heavy rains, and it kind of reminded me of a teenager's messy room. But once you get into the notch, you start seeing the beauty again.

My favorite part of the hike was that moment you see the golden glow of the sun on the trail and you know you're about to hit the viewpoint. The first thing you come upon at the clearing is my favorite tree in the Catskills, which has almost a bonsai quality to it. Then, you look upon a view that makes the mountains seem like they go on forever, and you think to yourself, "Wow, the Catskills really are not to be underestimated."

There are two things that when I have doubts, always make me believe there is some higher power at work: the beauty of nature and synchronicities. Last fall, two people from my past directly contacted me the same weekend after I had been talking to the universe about them during a hike. I thought it was a sign to let them back into my life and practice forgiveness, but I learned the hard way that it wasn't. These two people recently came back into my life again indirectly through other people. I have been trying to figure out what the lesson is I'm not learning, so I looked at what these relationships have in common.

I think I have a pattern of getting into relationships with people who love things about me in the beginning (like my skiing) and then they change their minds about my worth and the activities I love. But something that has made me leave these relationship has been when people pull me away from the community of people I've come to adore in the skiing and hiking world. I guess that if I still need to do more work on self worth, at least I value my connections with others enough to draw the line there. It's just another way that skiing has added to my quality of life.

No beer today, but I will grab some of the Catskills finest IPAs soon.