well its a long time coming, i have wanted to go back to the place where i broke myself (my back) but yet at the same time saved my life. i asked freeman to go with me on the hike. i remember it to be a beautiful peaceful stroll in the woods with lots of long uphills, waterfalls, wild flowers, wonderful views, a rolling up and down single track trail, being in mid air, seeing a tree, and then... well not much after hitting the tree. i believe that this tree broke me and in the same instant it broke me it SAVED ME. it was strange, and weird, and perfect being back. this time not on a bike and this time not coming out of it totally hurt and delirious, but with a better sense of how precious life truly is. 
freeman and i
after a long uphill we came to the "SPOT" my "TREE" i knew it when i saw it, everything about it looked right, and it was. after six years i came back. i kissed the tree, i hugged the tree, i had a moment of silence, and i smiled, knowing my life has never been the same, but at the same time, knowing my life is still going, im still breathing, im still walking, im still laughing and crying (sometimes in the same moments) im still experiencing what i love the most. life, nature, sunsets, time with family, and friends. feeling the wind on my face, the sun on my back, the hard things in life, the simple moments of joy, the feeling of BEING ALIVE...
the down tree im standing on is about 3 feet up from the ground. i hit the tree with my head first about 7 feet from the ground, (yes i was in mid air) and my bike second about five feet from the ground. i have always wondered if i would see any markings on the tree from my bike chain ring...
and there they are. what i believe to be chain ring marks. after sharing a few moments there we continued on, the rest of the hike which was totally unfamiliar to me (since i was totally out of it, getting off that mountain the first time i was there).
looking back at that day, some moments i wished it had never happened, and other moments i realize that its okay, im okay, move forward, learn, grow, BE HERE NOW.
(details about my back injuries are in older posts ((if your interested in knowing))
the water fall
at the end of the trail, there was quite a bit of beaver activity. lots of tree's that had been cut down from the beaver, this one i thought was amazing to see the difference in the heart wood color. the trail had been washed out from spring water run off. we took our shoes off, rolled up our pants and hiked through the water and mud up to our calves. it was awesome.
well thanks freeman for coming with me, it was great seeing you and spending time playing in the woods together.
2 comments:
I hadn't heard much about the incident before, I'll have to look back at older posts, but I am also very glad that you are still around. By the end of this life, I don't think many of us will leave unbroken or unscarred. Thankful that we all have our own to deal with and that we are strong enough to keep going and still find joy in life.
Kandis, you are so beautiful! I loved the picture of the redwood forest the most. I think that is one of my favorite places. I have two weeks left till this BABY comes! Sure love you,
Cami
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