The story behind flourishingadventures. The word Flourish is one of my all-time favorite words. Some of you may have heard me say this, but I’ll say it again that “in order to flourish we must first place ourselves in healthy environments to grow. We must allow Christ and life’s adventures mold us into who we are made to be.” My Grandma Arlene, who was one of my biggest advocates for all my adventures, passed away December 12th 2020. My Grandma consistently encouraged me to go have fun. She herself, was such an inspiration to me and spent most of her Friday nights out square dancing and being active in the great outdoors. When I was in school, I used homework or studying as an excuse not to go have fun, but she was persistent and would remind me that I needed to take a break. During my first year as nurse, my grandma was very wise when she said these encouraging words to me only months before she passed, “You’ll get stronger with each setback (I’ve had many) makes us tough and all the more determined to go forward.” Grandma was right!!! God truly uses every opportunity as one to help us Flourish.

When my passion for hiking began, I started on short and easy trails with friends. I completed my first backpacking trip with camp friends in the summer of 2015 and absolutely fell in love with trail adventures. Eventually, after I started going to counseling, I realized how calm and happy I was after a day on the trail. This began my passion for solo hiking. I had taken time off from working as a Certified Nurse’s Assistant (CNA) at a nursing home to hike the entire summer of 2018. Little did I know that this would be one of the best decisions I made that year.

I started off on trails close to home where I felt the safest. Little by little, I started branching out. I was very intimidated at the thought of hiking by myself. My biggest fear was not the animals on the trails but the “sketchy looking” men. I learned the hard way about keeping my identity safe while out hiking. I hope my mistakes will inform you and keep you safe on your outdoor adventures.

On my very first solo-backpacking trip (three nights/four days in the middle of Idaho) in the summer of 2020, I met a “sketchy looking man” who came to the same lake I was staying at for the last night of my trip. From the first words he spoke, something alerted me to the danger of this man. Not wanting to be rude and making him leave to hike another two miles to find the next lake to stay at, I agreed it would be okay for him to stay even though our tents would be too close together for my liking. Once he set up his camp, we chatted for the last hours left of daylight where he asked many personal questions. Questions such as: what’s your name, where are you from, where are you headed, what is your profession, do you have a boyfriend etc. At dusk, I told him I was headed to bed, and he responded, “oh really, I thought we could share this beer together.” My mind was screaming at me to pack up and leave right then, but my body was so sore and tired that I couldn’t muster up the strength to leave; so instead I went to sleep. At midnight, I woke up to his voice talking rather loudly. To clarify, he was not inside my tent but was walking around outside throwing more branches on the camp fire. This guy was drunk and high on whatever he was smoking and get this, talking to himself. I was so FREAKED OUT. Unbeknownst to him, I had my 9mm Walther with me. I took it out of my holster and was ready to use it if he dared step inside of my tent. For clarification, I am am a big advocate for firearm safety and only took my firearm out to defend myself. I slept only a few hours, so by the crack of dawn, 0438 to be exact, I was more than ready to go home. I packed up all my belongings and hit the trail, but not before I heard him say, “Miriam, aren’t you going to eat something for breakfast?” I turned around to see him poking his head out of his tent and I said, “no” (him eyeing my Walther now visible in my holster unlike the previous night when it was concealed under my coat) to which he said, “—oh okay.” I left and didn’t turn back until I knew for certain he hadn’t followed me and was far away from him.

I had returned home safely from my trip and didn’t think he would remember anything I had told him, only to find out he had found my Facebook profile and friend requested me. After that experience, I now use a “trail name” and background story to protect my identity. Yes, you heard me correctly, I do lie to people on the trails and tell them some half-truths about myself in order to keep my identity secure. I would rather play it safe, rather than be placed in that same situation or worse. Currently, when I go out adventuring, I carry one or more of these safety essentials to protect myself; my phone, my Garmin In-Reach device, pepper spray, bear spray, a buck knife, and my 9mm Walther.

I have come a long way since that trip, but still learn something new each and every time I’m out and about. My hope is to share my adventures and the lessons I have learned along the way. I pray that my stories inspire you to take that leap of faith and go do that big or even small adventure that you have been too intimidated to complete. Just remember we all have to start somewhere and there will be times when you feel like a failure so don’t feel defeated. Always remember to get back up and keep adventuring.