There are no trails in the Faroes, only the ones carved into the mountainside by sheep. I am not used to hiking without a trail, or signs at every intersect and/or markers to show the way. All I had was snow covered rocks, a really steep hill to climb, and an unknown view to anticipate from the top. As I crested the peak I was presented with this view, ever changing as it is depending on the winds and weather, but here is what it presented to me. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough. I knew the sun was going to disappear sooner rather than later. The winds picked up, and my fingers began to freeze as I was finding the setting I wanted to capture this raw beauty of a landscape. 

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This photo is one of my favorites. I like the light, and the warmth of the photo. 

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Same photo as the one above, but the light has changed. The warmth is gone and this picture represents more of what I felt on my body...icy, chill, frozen, windswept and raw.

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After my first hike, I spent a few moments warming up in the car with a cup of hot tea, contemplating whether or not I should get out in the cold to trek up the other side of the valley. The wind had died down, and with only a few clouds in the sky,  I felt confident that walking along a ridge would be safe. I went for it. I was chilly when I first stepped out of the car, but not too soon after, I warmed right up. I followed the sheep fence up along the ridge line, one because the fence worked as a tripod (see photo below), and two, I could use it to hold on to, if a strong wind came my way...

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There's the ridge line...up to the first cluster of rocks I went. Stumbled my way around figuring out where I wanted to go, feeling like a trespasser, or maybe just a tourist. There were no sheep to greet me at the gate looking for food, no trailhead to direct me onward, just a vast open wild landscape all for me. I couldn't help but feel giddy. At one point, I started to just run and jump and say, "Seriously!? Is this for real?" without a care in the world, I continued upward along the sheep fence. With no cell phone to check, no backpack to carry...just me, alone, in the world. I was grateful and for the first time, in a long while, I felt alive. 

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At this point in my hike, I had realized that I had never hiked alone before. What a realization...I had been hiking for the last 10 years, and I had never gone on a hike alone. I smiled. I was happy that I could move at my own pace, without feeling like I had to wait or keep up. I was happy to stop and take all the photos I wanted without the fear of disappointing anyone. I was happy alone. For the first time in my life. I was alone. I was content. I could breathe and feel and love me. This is a moment, that I will always remember.

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I could feel a shift happening. The winds were changing...I decided to head back down, but before I did, the sun peaked through the clouds to remind me to stop, enjoy the moment, capture it, look around, breathe deeply and continue moving forward, which doesn't always mean up, but it means in whatever direction you need to move to get where you are going. Which is exactly what I did. 

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