A Forest Gump Moment on the Trail

Four weeks ago, I headed to Vermont for a casual hike on the Weathersfield Trail. As I pulled into the lot, I knew it was going to be a quiet hike since I was the fourth car in the lot. This is just what I needed for the day, solitude. Changing into my hiking boots, I readied my backpack, locked my car door, and headed for the trail.

I was not ten minutes into the trail when I saw another woman descending toward me. I gave her a smile as she got closer and said what a beautiful morning for a hike. Stopping, she responded by saying that it was a bit warmer than she would like but was happy to be on the trail again. She told me that she had knee surgery not too long ago and was working towards building her stamina and getting her weight back in check. Little did I know this was the beginning of a forty-five-minute soul-touching conversation.

Janet introduced herself and told me that she comes to the mountain three times a week. This is where she replenishes her mind and builds her strength, pushing herself a little further each time. She told me how she lost over one hundred pounds through hiking and making healthier choices with food. I agreed that the trail is a perfect place to heal the mind and body and challenge yourself not only physically but also mentally. Through the years spent in nature, I have come to realize how nature has a way of making all who enter the woods feel at home and comforted. There is a sense of empowerment when you are on the trail, a feeling that you can achieve anything, superwoman powers. On the trial, there is no judgment, Janet knew this and felt comfortable enough that day to open- up and share her life story with me.

Janet told me that she is a sixty-year-old transgender; she did not have to but felt at ease with me enough that she wanted to share her story and I was honored. I intently listened as Janet told me that she knew her entire life that she was a woman within a man’s body but could not do anything about it until six years ago. I felt my heart crack with the pain of Janet suffering needlessly for all those years. I imagined her trapped within her body, screaming in silence to escape, but no one could hear her.

Janet went on to tell me that is also a veteran and volunteers through a local veteran’s organization, she uses her experience to help other veterans in need of support. I could hear the passion in her voice and the desire to make a difference in veterans’ lives. She asked if she could give me a card for the organization and I said yes, but she said they were in her car. I told her to leave the card on my windshield and that I would share the information with any veterans that I know or come across that need support. Just when I thought Janet was finished telling me her life story, she told me something that brought tears to my eyes.

Janet told me that she had been sexually abused as a child but through therapy and nature, she has been healing. Janet’s story inspired me, how someone can go through so much trauma yet still have so much hope and strength. Nature plays a BIG part in Janet’s healing, and it shows. Janet not only helps support veterans, but she is a foster mom for a now eighteen-year-old boy, whose parents were drug addicts. He has been a challenge Janet said, but she has seen a lot of positive changes in his life. I see the love in Janet’s eyes, she cares deeply for her foster son and is a committed loving foster mom. I could no longer hold back the tears as they filled my eyes with Janet’s life story for it has touched the core of my soul.

Janet and I finished our conversation talking about the healing energy in nature and how the energy from the trail flows through our veins, reigniting hope, inspiration, and vitality. We shook hands and said our goodbyes, Janet walking down the trail and I heading to the summit. It was a Forest Gump moment that I will not forget. When I reached my car, there was the card waiting for me tucked on my driver’s side window waiting for me to spread the word of hope.