Rejuvenation Through Nature

This past week my family has been on vacation in North Carolina. We are hoping to move here one day, but we’ve never actually been, which seemed like an oxymoron. I was craving a cheap vacation, and after some brief discussions, we planned this trip. In some ways, this trip is a bit of a stake out (which you can read about here), but after some research I really wanted to head west to see some of the mountains.

We were only in Asheville for 2 days, and unfortunately, they were going through a bit of a cold rainy period when we were there. The second day was forecasted to be completely rained out, so we decided to do our mountain exploring on the first day, when the sun would be out.

Seeing it was the first day of our trip, we had a super long travel day the day before, and I slept poorly. Like really poorly. I woke up exhausted, with a terrible headache. We got a slow start, didn’t get to breakfast until around 10, and instead of enjoying my first day on vacation, I ended up falling asleep on the couch (we booked our accommodations through Airbnb) during my son’s nap. I was dreading going out, I didn’t want to do a hike or any strenuous activity. If rain hadn’t been in the forecast, I would have done anything in my power to convince my husband to explore the mountains on a different day.

But I really wanted to see a waterfall, and I knew I’d be disappointed if I didn’t. So I took some meds, and sucked it up.

We spent about 3 hours roaming one of NC’s state parks, called Chimney Rock. We saw Hickory Nut Falls, a 400 ft waterfall, after a short 0.5 mile hike. We opted for the elevator instead of the 500 steps up to the top of Chimney Rock to see a spectacular view of Lake Lure and the mountains behind it. And before we took off we took a small 0.5 mile wooded trail so my son could enjoy a small hike without us having to be worried about the trail being next to a cliff (he rode on my husband’s shoulders to and from the falls for this exact reason).

And guess what? For 90% of the time we were out, I completely forgot about my headache and exhaustion. It was still there, lingering in the background, and sometimes it roared its ugly head at me, but being outside, in nature, enjoying all that was around me, lifted my mood so much that my measly little headache didn’t matter anymore. Instead of getting impatient with my son, which I have been doing far more than I care to admit as this pregnancy progresses, I was able to enjoy him, be silly, and laugh with him, which made both of us happier and better off.

By the time we had finished dinner and returned where we were staying, my headache was gone. I was still exhausted, but more because hiking pregnant while out of shape is exhausting, rather than because of poor sleep the night before (or maybe a little of both).

As I reflect back to that moment, I am reminded that sometimes rejuvenation doesn’t always come in the way you expect it to. It might not be sleep, reading, or your special “me” time. It might just mean getting outside, enjoying nature, and having someone to laugh and be silly with. And if we aren’t careful, we’ll make excuses to get out of doing the things we most need to do.

So the next time you need a refresh, and your glass has drained empty, trying simply getting outside. For a walk, to a park, or, if your situation allows, to the trails to get lost in the woods. Nature is one of the simplest and often under-utilized forms of a pick-me-up you can find. As I finish off this vacation and head back to work, I’ve decided I’m going to try to incorporate the outdoors just a little bit more in my every day. How about you? What are you doing to get outside more?