Lake Serene Wasn’t the Escape I Needed

The hike up to Lake Serene is supposed to be a reset button—everyone says so. But halfway up, legs burning, I realized I wasn’t chasing a view. I was running from the noise in my head, hoping the cold water would drown it out. At the top, the lake was glassy and perfect, but I felt like a ghost in my own photo. I watched other hikers laugh, dunk their faces in the water, and I wondered if they felt as empty as I did. Maybe the real confession is that sometimes you reach the end of the trail and nothing inside you has changed. I still took the picture. I still haven’t posted it. #Travel #TravelConfessions #HikingTruths