Your Friendly Hise Hikers Tuesday Tip… Feel The Fear And Trust That Support.
I can honestly say, without question and unequivocally, I trust my husband with my life. There are also a couple of other hiking buddies I feel similarly about.
One time that this happened to me, in particular, is when we backpacked to Havasupai 4 months before our wedding. We got to a spot on the trail and I was absolutely terrified. You see, I used to have a debilitating fear of heights. I’ve worked through the mental part and, with the patience of my husband, have gotten a LOT more comfortable being in high spots, leaning over ledges (I’m still cautious though), etc.
So, our group gets to these 2 ladders that are secured into the cliff face and traverses down to a place called Mooney Falls… it’s a spectacularly gorgeous waterfall, by the way.
I got to a spot where I literally was paralyzed and frozen with fear. I told Jason and our group that I didn’t think I’d make it down. I started rocking back and forth and just really had checked out.
It took a lot of discussions back and forth and ultimately, we came up with a plan… if someone could go down in front of me and someone be above me on the ladder, and I could feel or see them, I worked it out in my head that I would be ok.
So we slowly made our way down the two separate ladders and it took a WHILE… and we made it to the bottom, took in that spectacular waterfall, and relished every ounce of joy in that accomplishment and in that moment.
Two lessons I learned in this journey: 1) always tell the truth… and ask for what I need at the moment; and 2) trust the support around me.