Having printed out some information about the parks in Big Sur, I knew my first stop would be at the Julia Pfeiffer Park, which promised great waterfalls and hikes with views. I arrived and flashed my National Park card for the first time and, like a secret club member, was ushered through the gates. I parked, noting the location, then I realized that I would likely be the only green van with purple mushrooms on it in the parking area. I threw on some shoes for a mile round-trip journey up to a viewing area. Six miles later, I stumbled into the parking area thirsty and hungry. You see, at the viewing area there was this small path and I hardly ever fail to scramble up a small path. The small path joined a larger one, called The Loop, where I was quickly rewarded with beautiful terrain as I weaved around the mountains and across cliffs that dropped into the sea. I also learned lesson #37: When you enter the wilderness and are easily side-tracked, bring the backpack with snacks and water.

I don’t know what it is about small paths that intrigue me, but I find that I am defenseless against their call. When I’m skiing on a wide-open trail, executing arcs with controlled perfection, a small side trail into the woods will attract my attention and away I go, stumbling through the woods, nearly smacking into trees and losing control. More often than not, however, I will encounter something interesting or, at the very least, improve my tree skiing a little bit and I always come out pleased with the effort.

Small paths can really deliver the biggest bang for the buck and I like the sense of adventure they offer, where everything is beyond my control and nothing is known. Perhaps that is their draw—we spend a lot of time, as humans, making sure everything is the way it is supposed to be, of having a sense of control, and it’s exhausting and not terribly rewarding. Small paths, conversely, offer the opportunity to leave everything to chance, to abandon the wheel and let someone else do the driving and just sit back and enjoy the ride.