A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink.
Gina Carey
This Saturday, I’ll fly out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to walk the Teton Crest Trail. My cardiologist has given me the green light and we have a plan to try and head off any other weird racing heart beats that come to call.
This time around, I’m setting my self up for success by going slower, taking more days to explore, using beta blockers and avoiding unpleasant and unhelpful people. I also have some nifty vagal nerve maneuvers that could help reset the beat if it decides to go haywire again and an Apple watch which can record an ECG for Dr. Z should I have another episode.
Late August is a fabulous time to hike with sunny days and cool nights and this is one of the premiere hikes in the world – and really, quite short.
I will be fine.
That being said, there are so many unknowns, like – can I get a permit at all, will the weather hold (it snowed last week) when and how will I come home? I’ve built in some guardrails to keep myself safe, but I’ll be living a bit on the edge. One friend tells me that’s essentially who I am (can you say, “bad ass?”) Though I don’t really do it alone. The trail has always provides, even in the case of bringing me home to some interesting surprises that I’ll need to share with you in a later post.
For now, off I go, one step at a time to see what I’m made of as well as to discover how walking inside this spectacularly beautiful place effects me.
Til later, my friends, *kia kaha and happy trails!
*Maori affirmation meaning “stay strong!”
19 Responses
Enjoy, Alison. There are always unknowns. Future discoveries and experiences are ahead. “I will be fine,” you write. And you will indeed.
yes, approaching with an open mind!
Good plan Allison!
You are right, it is one of the most beautiful short through trips in the U.S.
I have done it twice, on the back-side of the grand peaks, where the crowds don’t go .
Take a day or two to rest and explore Alaska Basin, which can be described as a two mile long alpine rock garden.
Even with Blue Herons decorating the ponds, and flying around at 11,000 feet.
Wishing you good weather and grand views.
RBS
Thanks for the tips, Robert! I will def take your advice and explore. I’ve built in A LOT of time!
I CAN say “bad ass’…in all the good ways that pertain to you. You are being careful and looking after the details that you are able to. The rest is up to or somewhere in the cosmos, thus not in your control. Never was, never will be. I will put unpleasant, unhelpful people in that category. So you just go do it…your pace, your side trips to explore and to savor. Love from Jojo the Backpack Whisperer
love this! “The future is dark, which is the best thing the future can be, I think,” Virginia Woolf meant not yet revealed – and full of possibility! 🐥
Alison….one careful step at a time….take plenty of pictures….keep in touch with Richard.