In It Together

Wednesday, March 4 on my marathon hike in Laguna Wilderness Park, I noticed a man, about my age, stopping and seeming to struggle to get up the last bit (or so I thought) of a rugged, really steep knoll. I stopped and talked with him a bit for about 5 minutes to see how he was. He lived inland and had hiked in the Park before though he had not done so in over a year. I had my 9.5 mile hike and exploration all mapped out and knew I had to keep moving to get it done. He assured me he was okay; I assured him he was close to the top. I set off at a brisk pace and several minutes later rounded the hill and BAM! We were NOT close to the top. In front of me was a very steep, rocky, loose dirt trail. I stopped and gulped. The man had tennis shoes on and no stick to help stabilize himself. Blake’s aura of kindness washed over me. Yep Buddy. I hear ya. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the Blake thing to do. I turned around and walked down to greet the man. “Why don’t we do this together?” And we did.