Wednesday Wins - How lucky are you and how do you measure it?
There are many ways to figure out how lucky you might be: some people win the lottery, others instinctively choose the quickest line in the grocery store; many find and marry the right person; if you have a certain set of genes, you might have a full head of hair. The list is endless, and definitely subjective. No matter how you look at it, luck is something we probably can’t control or predict. Moreover, we can never have enough of it.
Today’s win only goes back a month, and it’s about my July vacation. This vacation started off like many of my previous backpacking trips over the last seven years: with a lot of planning, preparation, and packing until the last minute. We did change our destination the week before because of the unusually wet conditions of the High Peaks Wilderness area in upstate New York. Instead, our group decided to hike the Connecticut section of the Appalachian trail. It was the best choice for the weather conditions this summer.
Life is a gamble at terrible odds—if it was a bet, you wouldn't take it.
~ Tom Stoppard
Like many people, this year I’ve been juggling several things on my mind. I was looking forward to getting on the trail and disconnecting for a week. At the same time, I was wondering if this really was a good time to be away from home. For the last few months, my mother has been in a nursing home, having health issues.
Meanwhile, one of my Marine sons was on his way to the Persian Gulf on a peacekeeping mission. To be honest, I did not feel as mentally or physically prepared for this hike as I wanted to be. The weight of my backpack was nothing compared to what I was carrying emotionally on this trip.
However, once we were on the trail, my concerns slowly melted away with each step I took over the next few days. The weather was nice, the scenery was beautiful and best of all, I was out of the office with my friends.
Like many things in life, change is inevitable, especially on the trail. On this hike we were able to receive intermittent cell service. Usually, we don’t need cell service on the trails, but it was very helpful to get weather updates during this time. Halfway through the week, during lunch, we started receiving reports on heat advisories, flood watches, and severe thunderstorm warnings. Each one of these threats is dangerous, all three together can be a recipe for disaster.
Being from New England, we all know how unreliable the weather forecast can be and we try to go with the flow as long as possible. However, we decided to cut our day short and make camp at the next site three miles away. We would arrive close to dinner time, but still have time to set up our gear, eat, and prepare for the weather. That was our plan, anyway.
This is how I typically set up my campsite. You can see there is plenty of space between the trees to hang the hammock with my rain tarp supported by my hiking poles. I utilize something similar most of the time.
We were all settled before dinner, but before eating, I needed to obtain (and filter) some extra water. The stream was a few minutes away and I wanted to be prepared for the following morning. So, after setting up my site, I walked away. I left the camp area and passed by a couple of my friends as they we finishing up their setup. After refilling my water bottles (which took around 15 minutes), I returned to the campsite to find all of my friends milling around my hammock waiting for me. I was stunned, and for a few minutes unable to comprehend what happened.
Shortly thereafter, our adrenaline levels were almost back to normal, so we started talking, trying to piece together what had happened while I was gone.
We figured out that two people did not see me leave to get water. They thought I was lying down or standing under the tarp. When they heard the tree limb break, they turned their heads and were horrified to see it fall on my site, thinking I was still inside. All five of them rushed over and only then did they realize I was not in there.
There was a profound sense of relief which multiplied when I showed up a few minutes later. For the moment, that was good enough, and my friends helped me get my gear out from under the limb and set up in a new location. Other than a few holes in my tarp, everything was in working order. The rain came shortly after that, and we waited out the thunderstorm for a couple of hours before having a late dinner.
The next morning was clear, so after packing up I went over to the previous site to check things out in the daylight. To say I was startled was an understatement. Over the years we’ve talked about the danger of camping under trees that have “widowmaker branches” hanging off of them. Safety on the trail is not a new concept to us. I’ve learned the hard way over the years that accidents don’t take vacations. We strive for safety on the trails at all times.
The trees my hammock was attached to had some dead branches (two on left side of picture) on them, but the ground was mostly clean of debris, so I felt confident that my setup was ok. What I could not have predicted was another close-by tree (on right) having a limb (not a branch) ready to fall. What we realized was that the tree on the far right of the picture lost a limb and it fell straight down, branch end first, toward the ground. It flipped over and landed between the trees upon which I had hung my hammock (on the left side of the picture). Only then did I realize how lucky I was!
This limb fell with virtually no wind, before the thunderstorm, while I was out getting water. In a million years I could not have guessed that a limb from a tree fifteen feet away was going to end up on my setup. I dare not think about what would have happened if I was in my hammock in the middle of the night and it had fallen on me. I spent 23 years in the operating room, many of them doing orthopedic trauma, so I'm intimately familiar with the consequences involved.
I’m not really superstitious - nor do I believe in lucky charms - but I do believe things happen for a reason. I haven’t won the lottery, but I did meet and marry a special person, have three wonderful sons, have a great career, and more importantly, friends who have my back on and off the trail.
I’ll definitely try to be more careful, but I know life is full of risks. For the moment, I’m feeling pretty darn lucky!
Have a great week, and I look forward to talking with you soon.
Steve
ps. our monthly networking calls are starting next week, https://www.salesplusmvp.com/upcoming-events/