Everyone Should Own a Pair of Hiking Boots
New post by our very own Trips 2017 Counselor, Ben!
When I bought my first pair of hiking boots, I
could take on the world. I could walk through the thick mud of a wet trail. I
could trek across hills and roots, through scratchy branches and thick brush –
I could stand in a rocky stream, across the jagged and unsteady ground with my
head held high. I began to gain bravery and fortitude in what I previously
thought was the uncertainty of the outdoors. The sounds of nature at night were
no longer scary but comforting. The trees swayed gracefully in the wind instead
of loomed overhead. My hands got dirty, and I embraced it. I became nature’s
friend.
Before I led the trips programs at Mystic Lake in
the summer of 2016, I had not realized this transition I made – until my
campers and I began packing. They took out their backpacks and quickly realized
not all their luxury items were going to fit! “But Ben, I can’t go a week
without all my hair products,” one camper told me. Other comments I heard were,
“We’re sleeping on those mats…?” and “I’m not sure I can spend a week in a
tent…” As I reassured them that it would all be fun, we prepared for the week ahead.
We laced up our boots and trekked on.
We trekked on through the woods to see the
beautiful sunset on the open waters of Lake Michigan. We trekked up and down
the sand dunes of North Manitou Island. We trekked through muddy trails on
South Manitou Island, making trips to fill up our water while the sky let a
torrential downpour upon us. We trekked on through nights of sleeping on
inch-thick mats protecting us from the cold, hard, ground. We trekked on with a
fire keeping us warm as we cooked rice over outdoor stoves. We trekked on with
everything we needed on our backs. Through many days of rugged living, we
trekked on, and, by the end of a week, these campers transformed. They were
strong. They lived in the outdoors. They ate “backpacking food”. They slept on
mats. And that camper who needed her hair products, she ended the week with
disheveled hair, free from those luxuries. We became nature’s friends.
I think everyone should own a pair of hiking
boots. With a pair of hiking boots, we can become strong. We can become
nature’s friend and trek through difficulties, embracing the beautiful things
that the outdoors offers us. Those boots protect our feet from mud, but they
also develop in us a fortitude to be courageous and adventurous. So lace up,
and let’s trek on.
Mystic Lake Trips 2017, here we come!
