Waking up late on a sunny Saturday morning on July 10th almost two years ago, there was no way I could know just how much my life would be changed by a last-minute decision to take a hike. I didn’t know that I would meet the most amazing girl I have ever met, I didn’t know that a year and a half later I would ask her to marry me. It’s incredible and frightening, the complicated order of events, the seemingly random choices and circumstances that preceded our meeting on the same mountain, at the same time.

I hadn’t been planning on going for a hike that day, in fact, it had been a very long time since I had even been on a hike. I was having a slow morning and it took me a couple of hours of contemplation to decide to hike Table Rock, a hike that I had heard about from my classmates while camping in Brevard, NC years earlier that I had always wanted to try. I decided that sweating on a mountain was better than sitting at home all day, plus I was hoping to reclaim the hiking experiences that I had missed from years of scouting. Armed with a dangerous combination of overconfidence and under preparedness, this is how I ended up on the side of a mountain, at high noon, in the July heat, with no water.

When commencing a hike to the peak of Table Rock, all hikers must check in at the office before heading up. The old man at the front office was none too impressed with me, bringing no water, no backpack, no boots or poles. At the man’s insistence, I bought one small bottle of water and started up, thinking I could refill from a stream on the way up, however, it didn’t quite work out that way. Fast forward 3 miles up the mountain on a trail with no shade and no streams, I was covered in sweat and out of water. I was very close to withering away on the side of the mountain and was debating turning back when I heard a rustling in the bushes on the trail behind me. My first thought was “Great, here comes a bear to finish me off”. To my surprise and relief, it was not a bear, it was a beautiful blonde girl charging up the mountain towards me and she stopped right next to me. I did my best to pretend like I wasn’t dying, “Just stopping to admire the view!” I said. We chatted for a bit, and she continued up the mountain, for what I thought would be the last time I saw her. After leapfrogging each other three times over the next five minutes, we decided to hike to the top together. For the next hour, my only mission was not to slow down. She charged up the mountain at a breakneck pace, but I couldn’t show any weakness, so I knew I had to dig deep and push on. However, having no water, I couldn’t keep up forever and after stout resistance on my part, she forced me to drink some of hers, likely saving me from dehydration. I soon learned through conversation that she was not just beautiful but also smart, outgoing, kind, and confident, the embodiment of sunshine. Talking to her felt like breathing air for the first time.

Having summited the mountain and scrambled our way down to beat a small rainstorm, Jade convinced me to jump off a small waterfall at the base of a trail. Jade insisted on jumping off the waterfall. I was less enthusiastic, but when a pretty girl tells you to jump off the waterfall, you jump off the waterfall. She’ll tell you to this day that I pushed her, but that’s not true, she jumped before I had the chance. After a quick swim, it started to rain. She mentioned she was going to a brewery on the way home and asked if I would like to join her. I didn’t have to think too long about that. We met up at Jocasse Valley Brewing Company where we shared our first beer together and talked about all the things we found interesting, mainly school and travel. This first meeting would plant the false idea in my head that she was an experienced brewery person and thus set in motion our path to becoming brewery people, it even led to me brewing my own beer at home!

We ended up exchanging numbers and took a picture together, as I was sure no one at the office would believe that I met a girl while hiking alone, and we parted ways for what I was sure would be the last time. On the drive home, I had to pinch myself to make sure I hadn’t dreamed the whole thing, and to my joy, I didn’t wake up. A month later, I got a text from the peculiar girl I met on a mountain, “Hey, do you want to go hiking again sometime soon?” We did, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The day I met Jimmy was one of the best days I’ve ever had. It was July 10th, 2021, and for those of you who do not know, we met while hiking at Table Rock State Park, a park in northwestern South Carolina.

But let me back up.

I moved to Georgia in August of 2020, and almost every weekend that first year, I went hiking in the North Georgia Mountains. This particular day, I was looking for a new adventure. My birthday, July 13th, fell on a Tuesday that year, but I still wanted to celebrate somehow. So, on Saturday, July 10th, I was enjoying coffee on my patio, listening to the birds, and deciding where in the world to hike that day.

The downstairs neighbor’s kids suddenly came out, disrupting my peace. They were famous for looking up at me while I was doing yoga and trying to talk to me. I burst into the house before they could see me and very quickly settled on the last hike I had pulled up: Table Rock State Park. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten ready for a hike so fast because I was out the door a few minutes later.

It was a beautiful day for a hike, but it was hot, so I made sure to pack a lot of water! On the way up, I passed a brewery advertising live music later that evening. At the time, I was starting to get into breweries, and since I had decided to have myself a little pre-birthday celebratory day, I decided I would check it out on my way back.

When I arrived at the hike, I checked in, talked with a ranger, and grabbed a paper map. I was ready to hit the trail, but it was already almost 1 PM! I had a timeline, though (the brewery, remember?)! So, in typical-Jade fashion, I started bustin’ it up the mountain.

It really was quite hot that day, 90-something and humid, but I was enjoying the trail immensely. When I finally realized I was breathing pretty heavily, I stepped aside to let some people continue down. A guy said, “You alright?”

“Well, duh,” I wanted to say, but I did realize I was huffing and puffing. I noticed a guy to my left intensely staring off, and at that moment, I also realized that I was close to a pretty overlook that I had neglected to notice because of my ferocious pace. So, I stepped aside, too. Being the chatty person I am, I disrupted his peace to comment on his Clemson shoes.

Now, I am not a Clemson person (can I get a Go Dawgs?!), but I do know a few people from that area, so I figured, why the heck not ask: “You go to Clemson?” I asked.

Startled, he said he didn’t actually go there, the shoes were just on sale, and he thought they looked cool. (Well, I can get behind that. That’s how I shop, too.)

We chatted for a few minutes, and then the conversation died, so I carried on. I decided to slow down and enjoy the view on the way up, so I stopped a minute later to take a picture of some pretty flowers. And up came this guy again! We chatted again and exchanged names.

Enter Jimmy.

But the conversation died again, so I kept going, only to stumble upon the actual overlook not 30 seconds later. I stopped to ooh and ahh and take some more pictures. I turned to step off the platform, and up came Jimmy, a third time. So, we chatted again and took photos for each other, and as we were leaving, I said, “Well, they say the third time’s a charm and we’ll probably keep running into each other, so do you want to hike together?"

“You know what, f*ck it, Jade, let’s do this.”

And that, folks, is my man (my wonderful, sweet, handsome, funny, smart, loving, and ~occasional~ f-bomb-dropping man).

I kept up my breakneck speed the whole way up the mountain, much to Jimmy’s chagrin, I think. He ran out of water at one point, but because I was prepared, I forced my extras upon him. We exchanged stories and hopes and dreams. We laughed, told jokes, and commiserated over the heat. Overall, we had a BLAST. I felt like I had reconnected with some old friend, even though we had never met.

Somewhere along the way, I told Jimmy about the brewery I was headed to after the hike. Ever the gentleman, he politely asked if he could join, and naturally, I said yes. At the brewery, we continued to talk for hours and hours before I finally said I had to go, I had a two-hour drive back home. We parted ways with a hug and a picture. I’m not sure about Jimmy, but I was smiling from ear to ear – I had had the best day and walked away feeling like I had a new best friend. 😊

A few weeks later, I reached back out to Jimmy – I hoped he was well, was thinking of him, and wondered if he wanted to go hiking again sometime. Fortunately, we were able to meet up a few days later – at Clemson Experimental Forest, of all places. We walked and talked for hours, ate lunch on a tree stump, and, after, went to another brewery.

Finally, finally, at the end of our not-date, Jimmy, looking all around, asked, “So, weird question, but would you want to go on a date?”

Man, I thought you’d never ask.

I could go on and on and tell you more about our first year of dating, the ups and ups and ups, or the second year and moving into an apartment together, but then this story would be miles long. I don’t know if I have ever been so excited as the day and time Jimmy asked me on that date, and I have loved being by his side for every second since.

On the day Jimmy proposed, he recreated our second date: We had gone hiking, then to a waterfall, next to a winery, and finally out to dinner (if at this point you’re wondering where you can find yourself a Jimmy, just keep looking, because you can’t have mine). We didn’t go hiking but went to a couple of wineries first. In between the second and third wineries, he suggested we go back to the waterfall. We had to hurry because they were setting up for a wedding, but we were able to get on some rocks with a beautiful view of the same waterfall we had had such a special day at just a couple of years prior. He told me to turn toward the waterfall, then told me he had a question – “Will you marry me?”

Jimmy, my answer is a thousand times yes. I am so lucky to be loved by you, and I cannot wait to stand by your side on September 1, 2024, and answer one last question with an “I do.”

xoxo, Jade