Life is Enchanting
- Adelaide McCormick
- Nov 9
- 4 min read
Yesterday, I did something that scared me in a good way. I took myself on a hiking day trip. I wanted to connect more with nature so I did. I listened to what I wanted and it was totally worth it!
I got up at 6 in the morning , got dressed, and did my Bible study. This week has all been about prayer and that you don't have to make it a formal thing. You best believe that I was sitting there telling God that I could not end up on an episode of criminal minds because we both know there are too many people who would use it as an opportunity to tell me that they told me so. I grabbed my water bottle and walked out the door.
I haven't left the city since my break-up and to actually physically move into a different location was hard at first. I have been fighting becoming stagnant because growth can't happen in comfort, but it has felt both good and bad to many times walk the same paths and experience the same feelings. Literally leaving the city forced me to confront the fact that time is passing with or without me...I can be me or I can be wishing for change that I am refusing to let happen. If you are going through this, I will say that a beautiful and relaxing drive is sometimes the best possible option for changing something.
I drove for about an hour and a half to get to my hiking spot of the day, Enchanted Rock. I got there pretty quick after the gates opened (which if you are visiting, earlier is better because there was a 30 car line to get in when I was leaving) and there were a couple of families checking in. It is only $8 per adult, so if you are in the area, you should definitely check it out. I drove down to the parking lot and grabbed my water bottle to head out.
Turns out I picked the furthest parking lot from the rock itself and my hike started with a bunch of mini hikes through parking lots. Not extremely magical, but did reassure me that I wasn't doing anything crazy as every other group had at least 1 child under the age of 4 and 1 adult over the age of 80. I'm a healthy 25 year old, so the climb would be fine.
Enchanted Rock is such a peaceful climb. It looks steep, but it isn't that bad. The best part is that there really isn't service, so you can take pictures, but I couldn't do anything with them there. It made it so that everything I did, I did for me. I was completely in the moment. I could take in the landscape without worrying about distractions or thinking about anyone other than me. That also meant I was forced to check-in with myself in a much more intentional way than I had before. As I climbed, I had to ask myself how I was, who I was, and how to get to the life I want. What I realized is that I need to be much more present and do more things that are just for me. I need to feel content with myself and find things, like hiking, that ground myself.
When I got to the top, I sat up there for a while. It is a great place to get some sun, but definitely bring water because it was about 10 degrees warmer at the top. I really got to tap into my inner lizard while sunning up there. I walked around and eventually stumbled on what is marked as the highest point (but I think its now like 3 feet to the left of the marker). Then I had to go back down.
Remember how I said it isn't that steep? It feels a lot more vertical when you are looking at going down. I didn't have to slide on my bottom ever, but a few times I thought about it. I get why mountain goats are always sideways, because it felt so much more secure to zig-zag all the way down.
After making it back to my car, I decided to stop by my parents' house because what type of daughter would I be to be a town over and not swing by. I ended up staying the night which is such a big perk of my parents living close to me.
If you are near Enchanted Rock or want a fun place to visit, I would highly recommend going for the day. I also want to keep hiking around different parks in Texas, so if you have any recommendations, let me know!
Love you big!
Adelaide
Comments