EXTENT

Nikon D90, Inca Trail, Andes Mtn, Peru

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So it begins..I took only two photos of the trail on the second day. I was told the second day on the Inca Trail would be the most difficult.

Here is the first one. It speaks volumes for me. I cross the small river, up the small hill and pass the small wooden gate.


I begin my ascend, 4 hours uphill, along a path that measures 3 feet wide. It's made up of stone stairs and dirt terrain. It twists and turns, each step is thought out. It's an uphill thought process.

It is recommended to pay a "porter" to carry your gear the 2nd day because it is so difficult. These men have been hiking the trail every weekend for years, they carry tents on their back, they carry propane tanks and bags of potatoes.

Before we left, we had a meeting. The trail guide David, looked me sternly in the eyes and said:"Mi Amiga, you will want help."

I laid in bed, knowing I made the right choice.
The second day on the trail was the first sunday of June. One of the greatest fast sundays of my life, was spent in the Andes Mountains. It was also two days after Josh's birthday. How was I supposed to celebrate his birthday, without him on earth, with him here on earth without his body?
It's the first birthday since he has been gone. He loved hiking. He even made me go in the snow! It felt like a day to commemorate his birth, his life, his love and in some ways his tender passing. I still think about him todos los dias.

I have done difficult things in my life, but they have been placed into different categories.. College soccer was trying physically..but took me to completely new levels.
And Josh's passing...... is still doing a number on me mentally..

But those forces combined,, The Inca trail, was a combined trial in it's own way.

I did not hire anyone to carry anything I could not carry myself. I wasn't worried about the weight, I was more worried about staying ahead,pushing myself, pushing my pace and doing things to the EXTENT of my capacity.

and so it came to pass that through my own ascension up these rocky stairs, I crossed my small river, I climbed up my small hill and passed that small wooden gate of mine.

As we do the EXTENT of what we need to do, we diminish the ability to go backwards.