Still squeezing

Thanks to a totally innocent typo (in the email notification) I had the most extraordinary response from my readers. Thus two points are proven: first that the recipients of the email at least have a glance at the title, and second that same recipients have a naughty mind. Now of course my challenge is to find similarly enticing titles for my postings to make sure I keep my readership!

Is it because of my two visits to a counselor, or has enough time gone by for me to finally be able to move forward? Nothing is happening on the outside (yet), but I am getting restless. Not that I am bored or lonely, but it is starting to feel like there ought to be more to life than hiking. I am ready to work, to work hard, to contribute, to learn.

Last Saturday my friends Anne-Marie and Yvan arrived from Neuchatel. They have rented their own apartment - just across the parking lot from my building. So I am rediscovering the easy socializing with old friends. They are not my guests, but we already have gone on two hikes together and shared some meals. As I was hoping, their company allows me to go on new hikes, and hikes that I would not be comfortable doing on my own. On Sunday we went to Val Champagna. I had been pouring over the map repeatedly, wondering whether I should attempt it on my own. It's not very long, the trailhead is at the arrival of a cable-car, meaning that there would be lots of people. In the end though, I decided to wait for company.

It was an interesting day. The trail was indeed quite good, as I had guessed. We saw a herd of ibex (bouquetin, Steinbock) looking down on us from nearby rocks. To our surprise, after the initial hour we were the only party on the trail. And all of a sudden, on a section where the trail traverses the slope, for no apparent reason, Anne-Marie, who is an experienced hiker, fell and tumbled down the slope. I'll spare you the details, suffice to say that she is fine. However, it could have been extremely serious - she was very lucky. Nevertheless, we all were quite scared and shook up. For me it was the confirmation that indeed, I had not been overly cautious: a tumble like this can happen to anybody, any time, any place. And I would not want something like this to happen while alone in a remote area. Lesson learned.

Anne-Marie and Yvan also took me on a gorgeous hike to an area that was unknown to me, on the other side of the Julier Pass. It was fun to be shown a new area, while usually I am the guide. As fun as the hiking was, the most exciting aspect of the week was my inner journey, the feeling that I am now having some options and that I will be able to move forward - somehow. It all is intimidating, even scary, but I have now learned that this is how one grows as a person. I did not choose this path, but I am trying to look at it as an adventure. It still is Lemonade, and with enough sugar it's actually quite good.

Claire and Colin are arriving on Sunday night - I can't wait!