Originally Posted by
jefals
I'm not sure what a miracle is, but I think they can be just little things. Here are some that I experienced on my recent backpacking trip:
1) After a long day of hiking, I had my tent set up, it's getting dark, I crawl inside, empty my pockets -- and my keys aren't there. Feel all around, can't find em. So, thoughts start running thru my head -- "you dummy, you KNOW you should have secured your keys and your wallet when you left the parking lot!. Now I'm gonna have to call AAA, or probably a Hyundai dealer -- who probably won't even be open"...
About an hour into thinking thoughts like this, I rolled over -- and, within the recesses of my air mattress, I felt the keys!". So, that was a lesson. After that, first thing in the morning, I secured the wallet and the keys!
2) One of my goals on this trip was to see how good I could stay on this trail. And for the most part I was doing really good. But I was walking for hours without anybody else around. The one time when I wasn't sure which way to go -- I heard somebody behind me. Turned out to be a forest service person, and she pointed out the ducks and where the trail was! ( I may have seen them without her if I kept looking, but maybe not).
3) Just the fact that I made it back to my car ok! After I discarded my pack, I wanted to walk across the street to see something called Inspiration Point, overlooking Emerald Bay. But there was a lot of traffic on that road, and I didn't trust my legs that were really aching at that point. So decided against trying to walk across.
Then drove about 90 miles home, and when I got there, I found my right knee was in bad shape. It's getting better now, but it's amazing to me that it held up long enough to get me out of the woods!
I know we all have these kinds of experiences -- not just in hiking, but different areas of life in general. And they could be just small things we appreciate and take for granted. Are they miracles? maybe...?