As I was hiking with my husband up the side of the mountain to Mary’s Rock in Shenandoah National Park, I wanted to give up.

It was just the two of us on the trail that day. Our daughters were hiking the Old Rag trail, which we knew would be too challenging for us (and scary, with steep trails and a “rock scramble” to maneuver over). This trail was only about 3 miles round-trip, but I hadn’t realized how vertical it is.

We weren’t very far along before my heart started beating out of my chest and my face was beet red–and I’m not talking about the pretty, delicate “flushed” look from romantic novels. A family passed us, and the mom said, “Nothing like a trail that starts going up right away!” After several stops to catch my breath as my patient husband waited by my side, I had positively decided that I was too old and too fat to keep hiking. My hiking days were over…forever!

At the top, we weren’t sure where the trail to the summit was. The same family that has passed us at the beginning of the trail was starting to go back, and pointed us in the right direction. I didn’t want to miss the view after all that work! The summit, of course, was beautiful and breathtaking all at once. Did this view change my mind?

No.

Especially since we had to go back down, which I know from experience can be harder than the way up. Going down involves using different muscles, knee pain, and fear of slipping and falling. I had already fallen on the way up and gave myself a good knock on the shoulder.

We made it back down the mountain. My face calmed down and became a normal, skin-tone shade. We picked up the girls from the Old Rag trailhead, and later that day, had a nice dinner and watched the sunset from our cabin.

The next morning, I took up hiking again.