Ah! mountains, hiking, and white water kayaking!

It was the late 80s, and I was nearly 40. I had buried both of my parents that same year and ended a horrendous marriage. I had a friend who kayaked and another friend who wanted to learn how. I, myself, had no idea what a kayak was!

A most unlikely candidate for white water kayaking, I generally only exercised in a gym to stay in shape. The rest of the time I was dressed and made-up to look quite feminine. To look pretty, if you will. I wouldn't go out in public without my makeup, nice clothes, jewelry, etc.

But my two friends insisted that I go kayaking with them, first in the Harpeth and later to the white water of the Hiwassee in Southeast Tennessee. I was scared. I wasn't a swimmer, didn't like being under water, and didn't really know how to do much more than dog paddle. I didn't like being without my makeup; at first, I even wore eyeliner and lipstick on the river!

I had never camped in my life. And of course, white water kayaking meant camping beside the river. It meant a tent, a sleeping bag, and camp fire cooking. So many new things to learn all at once! I didn't take to camping right away, but eventually, I became comfortable with it. Though I still prefer a bed and breakfast most days, I can appreciate the stars coming out at night and the sun coming up in the morning and the river or creek running nearby and the quietude of nature all around that only "true" camping can give us.

And so I went and went and kept going kayaking (and camping). And eventually it got in my blood--white water kayaking. I was often afraid on the rivers, but still I kept going for some reason, and they and kayaking saved me.

Right before I got into kayaking, a marriage therapist had asked me, "What do you do for fun?" I was still married to my drug-addicted and philandering husband, still caring for our small child, still receiving long distance phone calls for help from my unhealthy parents, still carrying a full teaching load, and still trying to keep a perfect house and be perfect myself.  And I answered the counselor, "Fun? What is that?" Was life supposed to be fun? I never knew.

And so began my foray into kayaking in the rivers and hiking in the mountains of western North Carolina.

“Nature never did betray the heart that loved her,” Wordsworth tells us. I had been a lover of nature when I was a child, playing outside long into the evenings with my little friends. My mother would call me to come in for dinner, and I would guiltily pretend that I didn’t hear her. Still later as a preteen, when there was trouble at home, I would hide away in the woods, climbing up an old maple tree and sitting on my special branch, where I felt safe.

So in my 40s, I was rediscovering my love of nature. I was rediscovering fun!

On this latest kayaking trip to western North Carolina this past weekend, I met my old friend Bobby the first night at Lost Mine Campground in a campsite surrounded on three sides by a mountain stream, and we roasted hot dogs on the camp fire and caught up with each other. Then the next day we joined Paul, Dick, and Jonathan on the Tuckaseegee River. That evening we all gathered around for a delicious spaghetti dinner, with sauce filled with fresh green zucchini and yellow summer squash and baby bell mushrooms. Then the next morning onto the rollicking Nantahala River, where we enjoyed a spontaneous picnic by the river. Both days were the most perfect sunny September days, filled with friends and fun.

Some people love to go to the sea; they love the sandy beach and the salty waves. But I prefer the mountains and the trails and white water rivers that they create. I will continue to white water kayak and hike as long as good health and Spirit will allow me.

Nature is a wonderful teacher. A few of the things that she teaches us are to slow down, to be mindful, to accept the seasons (of our lives, too). Also she teaches us to live simply, for she never takes more than she needs.

Emerson writes in his book Nature, in nature we experience “the perpetual presence of the sublime.” Nature can “awaken a certain reverence” in us that allows us to clearly see the hand, the mind, and the heart of God. “In the woods, we return to reason and faith,” according to Emerson. In the woods, a person can “cast off [her] years” and become child-like again. In the woods, one can discover that child-like faith that Jesus speaks of, and one can have fun once again.