Well today, I experienced the second panic attack of my life. 😅 I hiked with a guy named Peter who lived in Durango & he walked me to a trailhead where he suggested I do the Hogsback Trail, as did other people. People out here made it sound like a casual day hike so I went for it.
Helllllll fuuuucking noooo. I was about 100 feet from the top (which was a straight shot up). I got rid of my trekking poles & started grabbing onto bushes & rocks, which were barely holding into the dirt. I was shaking & I went into a panic attack. I haven’t experienced that in years.
I was going to turn around but figured it would be easier on the other side (I was wrong). I was at the top for a good 10 minutes contemplating what kind of situation I just put myself in. I thought about sliding my backpack down since it was weighing me down immensely.
I ended up calling my brother for moral support. I was bawling my eyes out which made it even harder to focus on the trail. I froze several times. I was using the 3 points of contact method but my trekking poles were to the point of snapping. I could already tell if I slipped & fell, I would fall off the side of the mountain or drop down several feet & hit a rock causing something in my body to break. My brother was trying to calm me & his way of doing that was reading the reviews that people left on the trail. Which by the way, lesson learned to ALWAYS read the reviews.
It’s funny how even in the moment of feeling as though I could die & my face wet with tears, I still found myself laughing out loud & making jokes with my brother. I kept thinking, “this life is a movie… there is no way this shit is real.”
So… fun stuff before noon… now, time to hike another 10 miles & then Bubbly will be at the finish line of the CT!!!! 😍
Helllllll fuuuucking noooo. I was about 100 feet from the top (which was a straight shot up). I got rid of my trekking poles & started grabbing onto bushes & rocks, which were barely holding into the dirt. I was shaking & I went into a panic attack. I haven’t experienced that in years.
I was going to turn around but figured it would be easier on the other side (I was wrong). I was at the top for a good 10 minutes contemplating what kind of situation I just put myself in. I thought about sliding my backpack down since it was weighing me down immensely.
I ended up calling my brother for moral support. I was bawling my eyes out which made it even harder to focus on the trail. I froze several times. I was using the 3 points of contact method but my trekking poles were to the point of snapping. I could already tell if I slipped & fell, I would fall off the side of the mountain or drop down several feet & hit a rock causing something in my body to break. My brother was trying to calm me & his way of doing that was reading the reviews that people left on the trail. Which by the way, lesson learned to ALWAYS read the reviews.
It’s funny how even in the moment of feeling as though I could die & my face wet with tears, I still found myself laughing out loud & making jokes with my brother. I kept thinking, “this life is a movie… there is no way this shit is real.”
So… fun stuff before noon… now, time to hike another 10 miles & then Bubbly will be at the finish line of the CT!!!! 😍
