I consider the Presidio my backyard, my playground, my church on Sunday morning runs. It's an oasis of looming trees, fragrant dirt, green plants, blooming flowers, ocean views, fresh air, and the occasional curious coyote - dropped right into the crowded, noisy, fantastic city of San Francisco.

While out for a quick hike in the Presidio before the sun went down on another chaotic work week, I paused at the spot pictured above. I always go to the right. The path to the right leads past the Spire, past the Presidio Golf Course, past Julius Kahn Playground, directly home. I had never taken the trail to the left. With a sense of adventure, I snapped this photo and turned left.

It reminded me of that Robert Frost poem, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." 

In this case, my road less traveled dumped me out onto a somewhat busy street. Nothing too exciting. I decided to double back because I wanted to be on the trail, sloshing around in the mud from the recent rains, surrounded by Mother Nature. I quickened my pace as dusk was stealthily approaching and checked myself for annoyance at the detour, but it wasn't there. I tried a new trail, didn't like it where it led, and went back to my usual route. No big deal.

When I got home, I looked up that poem and read the whole thing for, embarrassingly, the first time. I was surprised that the tone and meaning was actually of regret. The poem is titled The Road Not Taken which alludes to sentimentality about that other road, but the famous "less traveled" quote in isolation puts an emphasis on the adventure and individuality of choosing to take a different path than most people.

I'm not exactly sure what the lesson is here. Maybe it's just that I need to read more poetry so that I'm not tricked by the wisdom of those cheesy inspirational posters with famous quotes and overly saturated images. What I do know is that I reserve the right to take a new direction, decide it's not for me, and course correct when needed - with no regrets.