10 Minutes to the Top

Georges Highland Path, 10 Minutes From The Top

This post was originally published January 25, 2024.

Growing up in the woods led me to love hiking. I romped through the woods beyond my backyard and would walk the roads and railroad tracks nearby until I had explored every inch of my town. When we could, my father and I would seek out new trails to explore. One year, we set a goal to hike at least one mountain every month. We climbed Parks Pond Bluff, the Beehive, Camden Hills, and more.

Most of my hiking lately has been short and flat. I’ll slowly meander along a river or through a park. I think about longer hikes up mountains and through valleys, but I’ve always hesitated because of my flare up in pain over the past few years. One summer day though, I just couldn’t help myself.

After driving past the beautiful mountains and lakes towards Rockland numerous times, I finally stopped at Georges Highland Path trailhead, and set out into the forest. There were a couple problems. One, of course, being my high pain levels, and the other was a strict deadline that I needed to be back at home, sitting at my desk for a meeting in just over two hours. With a drive back that would be nearly an hour on its own, I was looking to speed up this mountain.

I didn’t speed hike it on account of my first problem. My hip just wouldn’t allow it. The first mile wasn’t too bad, but by the end of the hike, I was hurting in a way that told me I’d be spending the next week laying on my back, rotating heat and ice on my aching joints. But the day was beautiful. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the trees were green and gorgeous. It wasn’t hard to remember why I wanted to go hiking. It was a return to the nature I came from many years ago.

Using an app on my phone, I was able to track my progress along the trail. I had started the ascent and, as a result, my pace slowed considerably. I checked my phone. I checked my watch. I did the math over and over again, calculating how long it would take me to get back to my car, so I could make it home in time.

I climbed higher and higher until I surpassed the treeline. I could see the stunning lakes and mountains that dropped my jaw every time I drove past them. My app told me I was ten minutes from reaching the top. My logic told me I was ten minutes away from turning back.

It feels a little silly to say I was ten minutes away from summiting a mountain but never made it to the top. I don’t regret the decision though. At some point in my life, I realized completing a goal wasn’t more important than enjoying it. I sat down on the warm stone and gazed out at the winding road below me, the freshwater near it, and the ocean in the distance. I sat there for ten whole minutes, enjoying how far I had come.

I think about that hike a lot when I finish my day with an unresolved to-do list or pondering what my five year plan should look like. Sometimes I don’t reach my goals, and all I focus on is the crushing disappointment that I never made it instead of realizing how far I came. I suppose I could go back to that mountain and climb it again until I reached the top, but I don’t feel the need to. It was a good hike. I saw the world from a new angle, and I knew it to be beautiful.

That was enough.