Maple Pass promised alpine lakes and fall colors. What I got was 7.2 miles of realizing I'd been hiking away from my problems for months. The switchbacks were brutal. My legs screamed, but my mind was louder—replaying every reason I'd driven 3 hours to be alone on a mountain. Again. At the pass, surrounded by larches turning gold, I finally stopped moving. The view was stunning, sure. But sitting there, catching my breath for the first time in weeks, I understood something: I wasn't finding myself on these trails. I was just... running. The descent was different. Slower. I noticed things—how the light hit the rocks, how quiet it really was. Not Instagram quiet. Actually quiet. Sometimes the best view isn't at the summit. Sometimes it's when you finally stop climbing away from everything. #Travel #HikingTruth #TrailTherapy