The Mountain

When my therapist suggested I try hiking, I laughed. I was thirty-five, overweight, and hadn't exercised since high school. But I was also depressed and anxious.\n\nSo I bought hiking boots and drove to a nearby trail. Rated "easy." I made it about a quarter mile before I had to stop, gasping for breath.\n\n"You okay?" A woman passed me, moving easily up the trail.\n\n"Fine," I lied.\n\nShe smiled. "It gets easier. And the view from the top is worth it."\n\nI didn't make it to the top that day. But I came back the next week. On my fourth attempt, I made it to the summit.\n\nI sat on a rock at the top, looking out at the valley below, and I cried. Not from exhaustion — from relief. From the realization that I had done something I didn't think I could do.\n\nI've climbed seventeen mountains since then. My depression is still there, but it's quieter now. Manageable.\n\nThe woman on that first hike became my hiking partner. "Remember that first day? You could barely walk a quarter mile. And now look at you."\n\nI looked at the mountains around us. "Yeah," I said. "Look at me."