Koko Head Crater was one of those places I admired from afar. The view looked fantastic from everyone else’s photos, but I didn’t have a deep desire to go see it for myself … until I was invited for a romantic sunrise hike. 

Two reasons held me back:

1. 1,000+ steps 
2. the bridge that was suspended several feet above the ground.

But it’s amazing what I can accomplish when I have trust and a loving supporter at my side as we hiked up and down the bridge. We made it. 

I don’t always go head first for the road less traveled. Sometimes I chicken out. But I’m glad I didn’t this time. 

It was dark when we got there. We had a flashlight and each other.

Although I could take my time, a part of me treated it as a task that needed to be completed before sunrise. I didn’t want to be running up the last part of the trail as the sun was rising. My goal was to be comfortably seated ahead of time so I could peacefully watch the sun do its thing. 

I couldn’t see all of the steps at once since it was so dark. That might’ve been a good thing for me since visual impressions can be a powerful influence. 

We hiked, we climbed and we laughed on the way up. We got to the top in about 50 minutes, with a lot of time to spare before sunrise. I was beyond excited. Not bad for my first trip to the top of the crater.

Not seeing what was ahead of me on the trail is like my future. I can’t see it. I can only imagine what it’ll be like. It may seem scary and dark at times, but like the sun, there’ll be brighter days of sunshine and happiness. If I always let fear in, I might just miss the beautiful sunrise waiting for me at the top of the crater.