Horizons Study Ablog : Shenetha Sheperd

I went hiking on Mount Olympus today. Before I go on, I want to start by stating that I'm not a very outdoorsy person; I’ve only been hiking once besides today and it was a very thrilling and terrifying experience that I swore I would never do again. Despite that promise, when I was given the opportunity to go hiking today, I couldn’t pass it up. Seriously, how often does one get the chance to go hiking--on Mount Olympus, IN Greece. I had seen the mountain from the plane and I knew it would be even more spectacular up close. And it was. The group of study abroad students that chose to go hiking (which includes me, of course) got to the mountain around eleven in the morning. We were driven to the top and let out to hike down a trail that led to the bottom of the mountain. We started out by touring the ruins of an old church, but eventually we moved on to regular hiking. Everything started out really exciting; my group and I were constantly stopping to take pictures of the clear-as-glass rivers, the unbelievably gorgeous waterfalls, and the view that stretched on forever. About an hour and a half into the hike, everyone began to really focus on the hike (and less on selfies), which was good because focus quickly became a necessity as loose rocks threatened to undo us. We traveled across so many bridges and up so many stairs that exhaustion quickly became a shared emotion among the group. At that point, we were stumbling and screeching our way through the mountain and some of us were getting worried that we’d end up trapped and injured in the mountains with no way to call for help. If I’m being honest, I was one of those someones (give me a break, though, it was my second time hiking). I couldn’t be too scared though, not with my fellow classmates and friends encouraging each other to push on and keeping the mood fun. Matt, who is also a study abroad student, was especially helpful; he came prepared with snacks, extra water, and a first aid kit (which came in handy on several occasions).

The trail itself was encouraging, as well, as each rounded border led to another view more beautiful than the last. The trail, in an effort to torture our muscles, repeatedly changed direction taking us down the mountain and then all the way back up. Eventually, we made it to the end of the mountain, though--slightly worse for the wear, but it was definitely worth it. Mount Olympus was more beautiful than I hoped and I’ve never felt so appreciative to be a part of nature.