Ever since school started many months ago I have been longing to "get away from it all". This spring break I had the opportunity to do just that, and just in time as well. In the days leading up to my departure to Shenandoah on Friday I went to crew.
All the practices were fun and coxing varsity was a nice , if a little awkward experience. And the last day was amazing. We went to the fish market and had a great time. On the way back my coach told me to get closer to the middle of the river, so I did. Sadly, it was not far enough. What I thought was a log turned out to be a tree. Although I steered away, our bow ended up going over the tree. As you can imagine this did not please the people in the boat or the coaches. I found that the day was too good for this to bring me down too much. Even so, I felt bad for damaging the boat and stressing the coaches. On the bright side my coaches told me that I could only go up from here and I really hope its true, as I plan on working even harder to improve my coxing skills.
I was glad to leave on Friday. Going to Shenandoah provided me with a much needed break from all the stress. Backpacking, for me, is exhausting and tiring for a large part of the trip and invigorating and beautiful for the other. I spent two days backpacking on Jeremy's Run, falling into rivers, spotting many a lot of wildlife (including a black bear and a large rat snake),and overall enjoying myself.
Now, a month later and that crew has ,sadly, ended, i realize backpacking is a lot like life, specifically crew. It can suck and sometimes you just want to stop and give up but the great thing about backpacking is that you can;t give up because then you'll never get out and that is great motivation. With life and crew its a bit harder because it doesn't seem as simple as backpacking where you walk until you're done. In life you dont know whats going to happen in the end and for me there is no end nearby. But like backpacking, there are moments amidst it all that make it all worth it, winning a race or seeing a black bear. The moments where you forget about everything else and simply enjoy, the best ones ever. It just goes to show that when you dont give up and keep on working on something, eventually you will succeed( and finally get to take your pack and damp hiking boots off)
