You can’t hide above treeline. Above treeline means exactly that – no trees. It means if it is a sunny day and you forgot your sunscreen, you’re fucked. It means if it’s windy and your hot and sweaty when you get to the summit, but forgot a jacket, you’re fucked. It means if you forgot to check the weather forecast the morning of your hike and didn’t take the time to notice the chance of afternoon thunderstorms and didn’t plan a bailout route, you’re fucked. It means if you get to treeline and observe that there is zero visibility and 70 mph winds but decide to cross the ridge anyway, you’re fucked. And also stupid.
If you wait for the perfect day to be above treeline, you might be waiting for a while, and may never get the chance to experience the sheer grandeur that is the spectacular Presidential range. But if you’re prepared, if you know what to expect, if you have everything you need to take care of yourself if the unexpected arises, you are not fucked. You are choosing to live your life above treeline, understanding the risks, but refusing to let fear keep you from hiding. You are choosing beauty, freedom, power, and strength. You are hiking where everyone can see you. They can see your skills, your knowledge, and your strengths. But they can also see your pain, your trauma, and your addictions.
But this is okay. Hiking above treeline exposes everything. Yet nothing changes. You are still hiking. You are still moving forward. You’ve made mistakes, but you’re still standing, above the trees, closer to the sky than you’ve ever been, and you have more power than ever. You can’t hide above treeline. And today, I refuse to do this any longer. There are too many hikes to hike and too many moments in life to miss by hiding inside my sleeping bag just because the summit of the mountain is a little fucking windy.
I don’t want to hide anymore. I am tired of secrets. I am tired of pretending. I am tired of holding myself so tight just so I make sure that the stuff that makes my life real doesn’t squeeze out by mistake. I am tired of trying to show the world that I have all my shit together. Because I don’t. I want the people around me to understand the person that makes me the person that I am. And to do that, they need to understand not only where I’ve been, but also where I’m going. Hiding helps no one. Transparency is the treeline of life.