12/24/2024
18 months ago, I asked my hiking buddy to marry me on the edge of a cliff in the Italian Dolomites. As I stood up from one knee, she leapt into my arms and bear hugged me, her way of saying YES, completely ignoring the thousand-foot drops around us. My hiking boots saved us with the slightest bit of traction, setting the tone for our adventure-filled engagement.
Leading up to the trip, I rehearsed what I’d say to Cara during sunrise on this bucketlist hike. All I could think about was what could go wrong, I might forget my speech, it could rain, we could get lost, or lose cell service and miss the photographers. But one thing I wasn’t worried about? Her saying no.
The night before, I texted our photographers the coordinates where they’d start following us and prayed the rain in the forecast wouldn’t show. We hiked to a mountain hut with 60L packs and checked into a shared bunk room with hikers from around the world. After a communal dinner, we put our bags on the top bunk and squeezed into the twin-size bed together, naturally.
At 4am, our alarms went off. Half-asleep from a mix of excitement and claustrophobia, we brushed our teeth, laced our boots, and started hiking in total darkness. By sunrise, the sun’s hues lit the sharp peaks of the horizon. “We’re here. This is happening,” I thought as we sprinted to the vista, like we always do at the end of hikes.
At the top, I grabbed Cara’s hands, and she immediately knew. “This is actually happening, right now?” she said as I dropped to one knee, pulling out the ring I’d protected like my life depended on it.
I told her I was certain of one thing: I wanted to spend forever chasing our dream to see the world from mountaintops, with the one person who’d hike again a million times just to watch the next sunrise together.
We spent the morning dancing, laughing, and crying in disbelief that life could get better. Now, we’re 8 months away from making it official, and I can’t wait to see you on that day.
Thanks for being my forever hiking buddy, Cara Joe
♥️ Tristan
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