Who knew getting lost was a talent?

I have discovered that I have an incredible talent for getting lost and adding miles to my trip. While my Apple Watch’s battery life never lasts a whole day hiking, rest assured I have already added the extra 8 miles I needed to make the 192 mile travel 200. Anyways, as I wrote yesterday, getting lost can help you to find and see things that you never would have if you had stayed on the original path. After my 5th or 6th time of getting off the trail (the blazes on our trails in the U.S. really are a wonderful thing), I sat down in a field with some sheep, took off my shoes and enjoyed the moss beneath my feet. It was so soft and the sun was shining and lovely. That pause allowed my steps to perfectly alter my timing so that (stilllost) I met up with an 80 year old local man who was unsuccessful in his attempts to disuade a group of women, Londoners closr to my own age, from hiking up Dent Hill. There is a major detour around Dent Hill due to major storm damage. which has made the trail nearly impossible to traverse. The next thing I knew, with Phil leading the way, we are trapsing through true Boggs and felled trees and brambles and huffing up a “hill” that led to views so expansive that you could see the Isle of Man, Ireland, Scotland, where I started at St. Bees, many villages, the highest peak in England, and the mountains of the lake region that await me. Pictures could not capture this, but it is etched in my mind. So, when you find yourself lost physically and/or mentally: stop and take a break, have something to eat, feel the earth under your feet, and know that sometimes it is okay to follow someone else’s lead. He or she may take you to somewhere more beautiful than you could have ever imagined or gotten to on your own