Hikes and feelings

Otago, NZ

Today’s activity: Hiking in Aspiring National Park. Just based on the name, it feels like we should have gone farther than we did but in fact, we cut our itinerary short. It took us 3 1/2 hours to do what was estimated as a moderate, 2-hour hike mostly due to breaks for skipping rocks and having big feelings.

Leo found a really good walking stick, but Ari didn’t have one. I spotted a fairly tall and straight stick, which Ari used for awhile. Leo threw his into the crashing waterfall at Bridal Veil Falls. We traced its downward route over the boulders, through the pools, under the bridge we were standing on, and along down the side of the mountain. Ari decided to throw his in, too, but it ended up circling about in one of the higher pools, as if stuck in a spinning washing machine. Losing the unspoken waterfall stick performance battle, Ari got mad, started throwing rocks and sticks, and threatened to stop walking. Eventually, we walked on.

This hike was an up-and-back track, and when we passed the falls on the return, Leo’s new stick again put on a better show than Ari’s. The feelings came out as, “I want to go back home to Minneapolis. I don’t want to travel anymore.”

I get it. I miss our routine, our friends, my own space. We talked about how interesting it is when a thing you can’t stand one day is the thing you miss the very most on another day. Like school.