I was so excited when I started receiving the weekly hiker emails. I have loved the outdoors all my life and now that I was retired I looked forward to spending a lot more time in the mountains. I loved spending a whole day with like-minded people and sharing the adrenaline rush with coffee and ice cream afterwards. I saved the emails in the my travel folder and used the info to take my friends on hikes .Now I knew exactly how to get there and what the hike would entail.
Then, two years ago the emails included another piece of information- updates on COVID 19 restrictions. Slowly the emails went from good news to bad .No more hiking in groups, no carpooling, finally no more driving unless it was an emergency. It looked bleak. Fortunately the emails took on a personal feeling. They still came weekly and they contained information about future hikes and adventures. Then they started to speak directly to me. The author showed concern for us all in our COVID communities and asked us to share ideas about how we were getting through. They were filled with information on the importance of community and how even though we weren’t hiking together we were still a community and still there for each other.
Now they are back with the hiking information but they also include a few personal details on conversations and book titles. We are hiking together again but it will never be the same. The freedom to spend time in community in nature feels like one of the best gifts I’ve been given after the isolating and confusing past years. I am deeply grateful for those weekly emails.
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