A friend recently asked me how I manage hiking with limited vision. I have actually been thinking about writing a post about this since I started hiking again. I thought it might be something other people wondered about as well. How the hell can a blind woman go hiking? You have to remember, I am blind but I can see. It is probably less confusing if I refer to myself as VI (visually impaired), but I am legally blind.
During, and for months after my mobility training, I felt both empowered and restricted by Zelda (my white cane). I was trying to be positive about the lessons and see her as a tool for independence, but I also started creating a list of things I could no longer do; hiking was one of those things. I told myself that a VI person has no business hiking, that it is too dangerous, so I joined the gym. I hate the gym. I tried to get excited about it, made playlists and bought new shoes, but I rarely went and was wasting a ton of money, so I cancelled the membership. I stopped exercising, started drinking more, gained a ton of weight and entered into a very confusing relationship with Zelda (a post for another day).
I was depressed, and when I hit the floor of my depression, I decided that I needed to move, to get out of my head and into my body, so I made a new playlist and headed for Runyon Canyon. I knew I needed to stop limiting myself, to stop taking things away that didn’t have to be taken away. I needed to feel like the person I once thought I could be, to feel like I was more than just my disease. I had allowed myself to become afraid and that fear immobilized me. I needed to remind myself that I was capable and that I had some control over my own life.
Runyon is about a mile walk from my apartment, but once you get to the canyon, the danger of cars is gone. There are several different trails, but the path I take is the safest for me. It is a paved path, about 2 miles, uphill. There are no cliff edges, no rocks in the path, no uneven ground to get tripped up on; it isn’t beautiful, but it is a damn good work out.
I am not a natural exerciser. I prefer the comforts of home, the couch and a good book or tv show, but I actually like hiking and I didn’t want the one exercise I actually like, to be taken away from me. So, I took it back. Runyon is a busy spot with lots of people and dogs walking or running up the hill, but I still find hiking there to be a wonderfully solitary experience. I don’t have to talk to anyone and it is free. Kind of perfect really.
Although there is no threat from cars in Runyon, there does exist a possible danger that exists for me everywhere I go. Collisions. I am really good at navigating the world with limited vision, but collisions still happen, and I knew I was going to have to extra vigilant at Runyon; it is filled with people who are focused on working out or on their dogs or friends and aren’t really paying attention to where they are walking. The path sort of does that for you, unless you are VI. I wear headphones when I hike – I can’t do any kind of exercise without music – but they are not noise cancelling and I don’t crank up the volume. I need my ears when I am hiking.
On my return to Runyon, I realized how honed my hearing has become. Even with the headphones on, I can hear someone approaching behind me long before they have reached my point on the path. I can hear dogs running up or down the path, their footfalls and panting, minutes before they come into my field of vision. I can determine how many people are in a group and how fast they are walking, so I can move out of the way if necessary. I am constantly scanning my surroundings with both my ears and with the usable vision I have. I make it work and I feel empowered by that, by taking control over something in my life rather than giving over to the RP. I may not be able to do it forever, but for now, the fucking trail is mine!
May 25, 2018 at 9:34 am
I am so happy that you are able to do what you enjoy! Bless you dear friend! ☺❤
May 25, 2018 at 10:16 am
Thank you, Walt!!!
May 25, 2018 at 1:48 pm
My pleasure 🙂
May 25, 2018 at 9:36 am
What a wonderful statement about resiliency! I’m with you as well on the preference to stay curled up on the couch. Maybe hiking would be a good compromise for me too:-)
May 25, 2018 at 10:18 am
Thank you, and yes, why not give hiking a try. I am sure you have the most beautiful places to hike!!!!! I find it is the only exercise that gets me out of my head and doesn’t feel like pure torture!
May 25, 2018 at 9:46 am
Good for you! I obviously am not visually impaired, but have to be on the lookout for collisions all the time. People are oblivious where ever they travel, particularly if they have a phone in their hand. I have become very adept at using my yet unnamed cane to ward off potential collision targets.
Be warned that I am going to steal you idea and write about the love-hate relationship I have with my cane, but I need to first give it a name. Maybe I’ll call it Zorro
May 25, 2018 at 10:20 am
I love Zorro!!!!!!! And, I can’t wait to read your take on the cane relationship thing.
May 26, 2018 at 6:46 am
I like Zorro for you! If I do officially start using a cane, mine will have to be called jail time, or senseless, since I am more prone to use it to whack someone and end up in jail…..on a serious note, do either of you have any experience with the walking stick or pole kind of cane? I am looking for pros/cons…
May 26, 2018 at 8:04 am
I am sure that if you whack someone, it will be deserved! I am sorry I can’t help with the cane stuff; I only have experience with the one kind.
May 26, 2018 at 8:44 am
I like jail bait myself. No for me on the walking stick. I not sure what a pole style cane is. You saw the one I use, a derby style. I think they are all basically the same if they have a handle
May 26, 2018 at 7:56 am
Zorro is perfect! And I was gonna say what Steve said, but Steve said it already: even without visual impairment collisions with folks not paying attention are a real thing! You have to be ultra-alert, and use them compensating senses (you Daredevil, you!). Good for you for not ever letting life win!
P.S. I love “Senseless” for Grace, too! 😂
May 26, 2018 at 10:07 am
Thank you!!! Daredevil!!!!!!
May 26, 2018 at 10:35 am
😁
May 27, 2018 at 5:53 am
oh I like that!!!!
May 25, 2018 at 10:14 am
It is yours. You are a trailblazer, Susan. Never lay anything cause you to don’t that.
May 25, 2018 at 10:20 am
Thank you, Wulf!!!! Saw you on MP!!!! So excited for you!!!
May 25, 2018 at 10:22 am
Thank you SO much, Susan. Your encouragement and support have meant so very, very much to me.
May 25, 2018 at 10:14 am
This is great, thank you for sharing it. Have you heard of Bill Irwin?
“In 1990, Bill Irwin, with his Seeing Eye dog Orient, became the first and only blind person to have completed the 2,168 mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine without human assistance or companionship. He had no maps, no GPS, no compass back then. Hiking alone with his amazing dog guide Orient.”
May 25, 2018 at 10:22 am
I didn’t know about him – thank you so much for sharing! What an amazing story!
May 25, 2018 at 10:33 am
You’re welcome. Hiking and backpacking are a huge part of my life so I am a big advocate for people getting out and walking in nature.
May 25, 2018 at 10:36 am
It is the only thing that has ever really gotten me out of my head; I feel so much better now that I have re-embraced it.
May 25, 2018 at 10:41 am
I totally agree. It’s such a simple yet incredibly important thing for people to get out and reconnect with something that so many of us are so far removed from in our every day lives.
It grounds and resets me. If I wasn’t able to get out on a regular basis I would lose my mind.
May 25, 2018 at 10:41 am
Awesome!! A couple of years ago I too faced my fears to get hiking back in my life, a past time I used to enjoy so much but had stopped, and it’s been great. I’m so glad I pushed myself to get comfortable with it. Getting out into the woods and hitting the trails is good for the soul.
May 25, 2018 at 5:02 pm
I am so glad you re-discovered it! It is so good for the soul!
May 25, 2018 at 11:34 am
You are phenomenal ❤️❤️🍾
May 25, 2018 at 5:03 pm
Thank you, my friend!!!! xoxoxo
May 25, 2018 at 1:46 pm
You are so incredibly brave! Wow wow wow. This post makes me so happy and gives me such courage!! Thank you dear one!
May 25, 2018 at 5:05 pm
You are the reason I decided to write about it!!! You know the rest!! xoxoxo
May 25, 2018 at 5:05 pm
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
May 25, 2018 at 2:37 pm
Glad to hear you are taking back your own. Kick ass, take no prisoners!
May 25, 2018 at 5:06 pm
Yay!!!! Thank you, Bruce!!!!!
May 25, 2018 at 3:23 pm
This makes me so damn happy, Susan!! It’s so wonderful you’ve returned to what makes you happy.
“…get me out of my head and into my body” – I understand this so well. I’m so happy hiking does this for you. I am also not a natural exerciser, and live with anxiety and depression, and finding the thing(s) that motivated me to get off the couch after gaining a ton of weight was tough. It still is tough, but outdoors ALWAYS has played a part. I began by walking. I walked hundreds of miles. I began to focus on what made my body feel good and did more of that, because it also made my head and heart feel good. I’ve gotten lazy again, and my whole self has suffered, so I am spending the summer getting acquainted again with the outdoors, and getting out of my head and into my body!
Thank you for this. 💜
May 25, 2018 at 5:09 pm
You have just totally inspired me to keep at it Angela; your words will stay with me, reminding me why we get outside and move. I am going to have your words in my head when the couch is having a strong influence on me. Thank you!!!!
May 25, 2018 at 5:50 pm
And you’ve done the same for me! I needed it, and I appreciate it so much!
May 25, 2018 at 7:51 pm
i enjoyed this. Hike on.
May 26, 2018 at 7:51 am
Thank you so much!!
May 25, 2018 at 9:18 pm
You go, lady! Look with your ears and take the fucking trail back! So pleased you are doing what you love again. You are so awesome! ~Kim
May 26, 2018 at 7:52 am
Yay!!!!! Thank you Lovely Lady!!!!!
May 25, 2018 at 11:40 pm
It so it.
This is precisely one of the reasons I love hiking- solitary experience. I don’t have to talk to anyone…
Plus, you’re out there in the nature. What more can one wish for?
May 26, 2018 at 7:57 am
Absolutely! The Hollywood brand of nature comes with trees and the occasional flower, and also hikers in gold shorts and heels, spider women slinking up the path and people running backwards down the hill. Never a dull day!!!! I really need to write more about it!
May 26, 2018 at 3:59 pm
Yes, please. Don’t forget the wild cats, please. Be careful, dear.
May 26, 2018 at 1:48 am
i’m so happy you took your joys back. Blindness steals our sight, but it should not get to take our lives too. You faced your fears, but you also empower other blind people. Thanks for sharing, it’s good to be reminded that there is still hope.
May 26, 2018 at 7:58 am
Thank you so much! This means more to me than you know. My main hope in writing is that I can somehow help, inspire or reach other people. You are so right, blindness does not have to steal our lives!
May 26, 2018 at 7:10 am
Im glad you “got out of your head” and challenged yourself, and am even more excited that you wrote about it. Your words and actions are very motivating Susan.
May 26, 2018 at 8:06 am
Thank you, Grace!!!!! I am so glad! You help me see that I need to be a bit more kick ass and a bit less getting my ass kicked.
May 27, 2018 at 12:47 am
Such a brilliant, beautiful inspiring post.
May 27, 2018 at 6:12 am
Oh, this makes my morning. Thank you so much!!!
May 27, 2018 at 6:27 am
You’re very welcome
May 28, 2018 at 9:59 am
Good for you! I honestly haven’t been hiking (I grew up in the mountains) since the diagnosis (26 years ago). Now I live in the Northern Plains where everything is pretty flat, I’m tempted to try hiking again.
May 28, 2018 at 10:17 am
I know it can be scary, but if you love the outdoors, then I say go for it. After all this time, we know how to be careful and watch out for ourselves. I have found it to be really liberating.
May 28, 2018 at 2:09 pm
I read a book about and by Bill Irwin, Blind Courage, several years ago ( https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Courage-Bill-Irwin/dp/0941539865 and I’m thinking, well, if he can hike the App trail all the way from Maine to Georgia, then I certainly can!
May 28, 2018 at 2:20 pm
Definitely!!!!!
May 31, 2018 at 8:09 am
Thank you Susan, I read it to my son Aravind and he really appreciated it. There are so many challenges in life. Regards.
May 31, 2018 at 8:12 am
Lakshmi, I am so incredibly touched that you would read this to your son. It is an immense compliment! Thank you!
June 1, 2018 at 4:08 am
Reblogged this on Santa's Reindeer and commented:
such a beautiful post about overcoming odds…. it is so inspiring…
June 1, 2018 at 8:42 am
Thank you so very much! I am incredibly grateful!
June 4, 2018 at 12:13 pm
This is a very welcomed post. I hope it reaches people in a similar circumstance. You have basically taken this massive challenge and rather than giving up, as if it was a wall, you worked around it. Well done and keep being creative! Hiking is fantastic, one of my favourite things. 👏✌️
June 4, 2018 at 1:09 pm
Thank you so much!
June 8, 2018 at 2:02 pm
Good on you. Keep hiking!
June 11, 2018 at 9:51 am
Good job on taking back control of the narrative you tell yourself. VI, RP, or whatever, sometimes the biggest challenge is combating our own defense mechanisms. Happy hiking!
June 11, 2018 at 11:36 am
Thank you, Dylan!!!!