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A lesson in sustainability from a single trail at the end of the world

A stunning Patagonia trail is getting a major makeover so hikers can enjoy the landscape without harming it.

mountain scenery in the fall
Photos by Annie Reneau

The Base Torres trail offers gorgeous views through Torres Del Paine National Park.

Shortly after leaving the Punta Arenas airport, our van driver points out the window and says in a distinct Chilean accent, "That's where the Pacific meets the Atlantic." Gazing out at the Strait of Magellan, which I'd only ever seen on a map, it hits home that we are farther south than 99.9% of the Earth's population—quite literally at the end of the inhabited world. Five hours later, after passing herds of emus, flamingoes and guanacos (a relative of llamas), we reach Torres Del Paine National Park, the crown jewel of Chilean Patagonia.

I live in the Pacific Northwest and am no stranger to beautiful places, but Patagonia is on another level. One person here called it "savage beauty," which is a perfect description—raw and rugged mountains, glaciers, lakes, forests, and prairieland on all sides at all times, with barely a sign of civilization. Torres Del Paine offers up close views of Grey Glacier, part of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, the third largest freshwater reserve on Earth.

jagged blue glacierGrey Glacier, part of the Southern Patagonia Ice FieldsPhotos by Annie Reneau

If there's any place that'll make you fall head over heels for our gorgeous planet, it's Patagonia.



I've come to Torres Del Paine National Park to witness this beauty and to see how Las Torres Patagonia's "10 Volunteers for 10 Days" ecotourism contest played out. Las Torres is a privately owned reserve nestled inside the national park, and as part of their ongoing sustainability efforts, they are rebuilding a hiking trail that leads to the park's iconic granite towers. Las Torres offered 10 voluntourists the opportunity to visit the reserve and help work on the trail. I accompanied the winners during the second week of April—peak autumn color time—to see firsthand why sustainable trail-building matters.

hotel sitting in front of a mountain

The Las Torres Hotel sit s just inside Torres Del Paine National Park.

Las Torres

First, I got to experience the old trail, a 12.5 miles (20 km) round-trip hike to and from Base Torres, the base of the towers. It's not easy, requiring a trek up and down 3,000 feet in elevation, but it is absolutely stunning. Imagine being surrounded by scenery like this with the occasional majestic Andean condor soaring overhead:

mountain views with fall colors

The fall colors in Patagonia were striking against the gray rock.

Photos by Annie Reneau

The hike takes you up mountainsides, through forests, across rivers, past waterfalls and finally up a steep boulder climb.

a river running along a forest

Every lake and river is a different shade of blue, green or gray.

Photos by Annie Reneau

The trek ends at three huge granite towers flanked by a glacier with a bright turquoise lake greeting you like a scene from another planet. This is Base Torres.

large granite towers over a turquoise lake

Base of the towers—Base Torres—at the top of the hike

Photos by Annie Reneau

The Base Torres trail is one of the most popular hikes in the park, and it sees a good percentage of the 250,000 visitors who visit Torres Del Paine each year. The problem is, it was never meant to be a hiking trail in the first place. Carved decades ago by cattle ranchers on horseback, the trail was created before the national park without any real thought to sustainability. Both human use and natural erosion have badly damaged the trail, making it incompatible with the protection and preservation of the natural landscape.

The goal is to make the trail both sustainable and accessible, minimizing human impact on the land while still allowing people to enjoy the park. I had no idea what went into creating a sustainable trail, but there's a lot, from slope to drainage to impact on natural vegetation. Patagonia's weather plays a big role in erosion as well, with strong winds and snowy winters that have to be taken into consideration. The new trail takes a different path than the old one, with a more gradual ascent and more up-close views of the Ascencio Valley and river, and offers a wider and more comfortable climb.

a rocky trail

The old horse trail is eroded and treacherous in places.

Photo by Annie Reneau

The trail rebuild is a huge, collaborative project between Las Torres, the park, international conservation and trail experts (such as Shuswap Trail Alliance and Conservation VIP) and others. For the past two years, both professional crews and volunteers have done the slow, manual labor required to build a trail in the wilderness, and there's still a ways to go.

"It's a colossal job. We need all the help we can get," Las Torres CEO Josian Yaksic tells me. The Las Torres Reserve has belonged to Yaksic's family for several generations, starting as a small, independent farm and growing into a multi-faceted business tied to the national park. Yaksic emphasizes that Las Torres takes responsible stewardship of the land seriously, protecting Patagonia while helping people enjoy it. That commitment becomes more and more apparent the more time I spend talking with the people who live and work on the reserve.

As I learn about the trail project and other sustainability efforts of Las Torres, I'm struck by how their conservation work is driven by two key elements of success: caring and collaboration. Conservation isn't a political talking point here; it's a way of life inspired by caring for such a beautiful place. And that genuine love for the land fuels a shared vision that invites collective action. Back home, we tend to place responsibility largely on the backs of individuals and their individual choices. Here, it's clear that collaborative efforts aren't seen as just nice to have, but rather must-haves in creating a unified system of sustainability.

people using hoes and other tools to build a trail

Volunteers working on the new Base Torres trail (left) and walking the new trail (right)

Photos by Annie Reneau

The volunteers who worked on the trail noted that as well.

"It was eye opening to see how Las Torres along with the other organizations involved took something that is a big task and most hikers don’t blink an eye at, and said this is unacceptable and that they are going to change it," shares Amanda Bjorge, a contest winner from Minnesota. "Seeing the trail that Las Torres and AMA [a non-profit NGO helping with the trail rebuild] are working on, the difference is astonishing. While the old trail is clearly a horse path, the new trail is made with so much careful thought and calculation into not just who will be traveling on it, but the effect that the elements may have on it."

Patricia McGuire says her experience working on the trail showed her how passionate the Las Torres staff are about conservation. "This is the kind of work that requires sharing knowledge and building community," she says. "It’s necessary to spread awareness of why sustainable trails are important in order for the work to continue happening."

"The people of Las Torres know so much about the land and its history, and they’re passionate about it too, which really invites you to immerse yourself in the knowledge," shares Angela Hrari from New York. "A majority of the food eaten at the hotel is grown on the premise to cut down on all the excess waste needed to transport food to remote areas. Every person I met had such deep reverence for the land, ensuring that we were leaving no trace and respecting the wildlife." She adds that the new trail "ensures not only that differently abled bodies are going to have an easier time accessing hikes, but also many people for many generations to come can enjoy this land without the fear of turning it into an at-risk destination."

Jon Moser, from Boulder, Colorado, says it was "amazing" to see the commitment to sustainability in Las Torres's partnerships with conversation groups. "The entire hotel is a sustainability machine, harvesting from their gardens to create their menus, eliminating their use of plastic, and even using glacial runoff to distill their own gin," Moser says. "Because I build trails for a living, this opportunity was obviously an immediate attraction, but getting the chance to be a part of trail construction that has been happening for the past two years was truly special."

Some might wonder: Couldn't people just not go to Patagonia at all and save the tourism impact rather than just trying to mitigate it? Sure. But it's in our nature to explore nature, and we're never going to be able to stop people from traveling to see naturally beautiful places. Sustainability is about balance, which includes balancing human activity with the needs of nature. When done responsibly, visiting and enjoying Earth's wonders can not only nurture a love for our planet, which inspires greater conservation efforts to protect it, but also help us collaborate and learn from one another to improve those efforts as well.


The author was invited to Torres Del Paine as a guest of Las Torres Reserve. Las Torres did not review this article prior to publication.

True


Life can be bleak, so we’re going to be celebrating the small joys while we can—whether that’s a sweet snack that boosts your mood (courtesy of our friends at All In), or a dad joke so epic you'll hurt your eyes from rolling them so hard. These momentary mood boosters are everywhere you look—you just have to be able to find them underneath all the noise. And that’s where we come in.

Consider this weekly web series your cheat sheet to the best of the Internet—not just random memes to make you laugh, but examples of people truly finding something extraordinary in the mundane. Each Friday we'll be delivering five pieces of media that allow you to stop for a second, take a breath, and feel just a little bit brighter among the daily stress—and this week, in honor of Father's Day, it's dad-themed.

Ready to smile? Here we go.

1.The "soulmated so hard" trend

@breezeb3a

I’ll never recover from losing you 💓

♬ The Winner Is... Version - DeVotchKa

This is a TikTok trend that’s both wholesome and, at times, actually jaw-dropping. The premise is this: Pets can be our soulmates, and sometimes we “soulmate” so hard that our pets leave a lifelong impression on us. This trend has people showing how big of an impression their pets have made on them, even after they’ve crossed the rainbow bridge. In one video, user Brianna Kay shares an ultrasound of her baby with what looks like the outline of her dog kissing the baby on the forehead. In another video, an owner asks her soulmate cat to send her a sign from beyond the grave that she is at peace. The response (here) will shock you.

2. Dudes getting flowers

Why is it that men (traditionally speaking) are the ones who give flowers, and not usually the ones who get them? We don’t have a good answer for that, but it’s clearly time to flip the script. This week, our friends from All In are hitting the streets of New York and delivering bouquets to men, and they are absolutely loving it. Let’s make this a regular thing.

3. A new grandpa gets good news  

@ellelauricella In my feels today remembering my dad’s reaction to meeting my baby ❤️ We named his middle name after my father and kept it a surprise my whole pregnancy. This was one of the happiest moments of my whole life. #postpartum #dad #dadsoftiktok #dadanddaughter #grandson #firstgrandbaby #birthvlog #hospitalbirth #momsoftiktok #fyp #firsttimemom ♬ Stuff We Did (from 'Up') - Piano Version - your movie soundtrack

Just in time for Father's Day! There’s almost no better way to honor your dad than naming a new baby after him, which is exactly what happens in this video. It’s almost impossible not to cry (happy tears!) seeing this new grandpa learn the good news from his daughter, who’s already weepy from postpartum hormones. (We’re not crying, you’re crying.)

4. Dad's loving dogs

@aubree.avery I had to make a PowerPoint to convice my parents to let me get her & now she is four years old and my parents beg me everyday to let them keep her. #dogmom #doodle #doodlesoftiktok #dogs ♬ Kiss me Sixpence None The Richer - whitelinesprettybabyy

Speaking of adorable dads: It seems like there’s this universal experience where when someone brings a pet into a household, the dad of the household will refuse to bond with it (at least at first). TikTok has latched on to this truth and is now flipping the script, showcasing dads who initially refused to accept the family pet and are now treating it like their precious firstborn. Search “dads and the dog they didn’t want” on TikTok and you’ll find some hilarious examples (like this dad, testing every couch inside a furniture store to make sure he’s able to adequately rub the dog’s belly from his seat on the sofa).

5. A dog who just cannot handle a prank 

@haleyandthepets spoiler bro got mad instantly #foryou #foryoupage #dogs #fyp #dunkindadawg #viral ♬ snoopy von - joro.mixes

We can never share enough dog content, right? (That was a rhetorical question, because the answer is of course not.) Dogs are adorable. They’re hilarious. And they have some very strong feelings. In this video, one easygoing dog gets his “nose stolen” as a prank, and every time he finds out, he shows his owner that he is absolutely not having it. Give that baby her nose back!

For even more “extra”-ordinary moments, come find us on social media (@upworthy) or on upworthy.com!

For scrumptious snacks that add an extra boost of joy to your day, be sure to check out All In.

Photo credit: Public domain

Maria Von Trapp was not in love with Georg when they got married, but that changed.

The Sound of Music has been beloved for generations, partially for the music (and Julie Andrews' angelic voice), partially for the historical storyline, and partially for the love story between Maria and Georg Von Trapp. The idea of a nun-in-training softening the heart of a curmudgeonly widower, falling in love with him, and ultimately becoming a big, happy family is just an irresistible love story.

But it turns out the real love story behind their union is even more fascinating.

maria von trapp, georg von trapp, the sound of music, love story, historyMaria Von Trapp (left) was played by Julie Andrews and her husband Georg was played by Christopher Plummer in "The Sound of Music."Photo credit: Public domain

The National Archives has collected information about what's fact and what's fiction in The Sound of Music, which is based on a real family in Austria named Von Trapp. The film was generally based on the first section of Maria Von Trapp's 1949 autobiography, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, with some of the details being true and others fictionalized for a movie audience.

For instance, Maria was actually hired on as a tutor for just one of Georg's children, not as a governess for all of them. The children, whose names, ages and sexes were changed, were already musically inclined before Maria arrived. Georg was not the cold, grumpy dad he was portrayed as in the beginning of the film, but rather a warm and involved parent who enjoyed making music with his kids. Maria and Georg were married 11 years before leaving Austria, not right before the Nazi takeover. The Von Trapps left by train, not in a secret excursion over the mountains.

But perhaps the most intriguing detail? Maria was not in love with Georg at all when they got married.

gif, the sound of music, von trapp family, movie, true eventsSound Of Music Flag GIF by The Rodgers & Hammerstein OrganizationGiphy

It doesn't initially make for a great Hollywood romance, but the Von Trapp love story began with marriage for other reasons and evolved into a genuine love story. Maria wrote that she fell in love with Georg's children at first sight, but she wasn't sure about leaving her religious calling when Georg asked her to marry him. The nuns urged her to do God's will and marry him, but for Maria it was all about the children, not him. When Georg proposed, he asked her to stay with him and become a second mother to his children. "God must have made him word it that way," Maria wrote, "because if he had only asked me to marry him I might not have said yes."

"I really and truly was not in love," she wrote. "I liked him but didn't love him. However, I loved the children, so in a way I really married the children."

However, she shared that her feelings for Georg changed over time. "…[B]y and by I learned to love him more than I have ever loved before or after."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The idea of marrying someone you don't love is antithetical to every romantic notion our society celebrates, yet the evolution of Maria's love for Georg has been a common occurrence across many cultures throughout history. Romantic love was not always the primary impetus for marriage. It was more often an economic proposition and communal arrangement that united families and peoples, formed the basis of alliances, and enabled individuals to rise through social ranks. Some cultures still practice arranged marriage, which limited research has found has outcomes identical to love-first marriage in reports of passionate love, companionate love, satisfaction, and commitment. The idea of marrying someone you don't already love is anathema to modern Western sensibilities, but the reality is that people have married over the centuries for many reasons, only one of which is falling in love.

Maria's marriage to Georg actually was about falling in love, but not with him. She loved his children and wanted to be with them. It definitely helped that she liked the guy, but she wasn't swept off her feet by him, there were no moonlit confessions of love a la "Something Good," and their happily ever after love story didn't come until much later.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Ultimately, Maria and Georg's love story was one for the ages, just not one that fits the Hollywood film trope. And it's a compelling reminder that our unwritten rules and social norms determining what love and marriage should look like aren't set in stone. Do marriages for reasons other than love always evolve into genuine love? No. Do marriages based on falling in love first always last? Also no. Should a marriage that starts with "like" and develops into to a genuine, deep love over years be considered "true love" in the way we usually think of it? Who can say? Lots to ponder over in this love story.

But Maria's description of learning "to love him more than I have ever loved before or after" is a pretty high bar, so clearly it worked for them. The Von Trapps were married for 20 years and had three more children together before Georg died of lung cancer in 1947. Maria would live another four decades and never remarried. She died in 1987 at age 82 and is buried next to Georg on the family's property in Vermont.

America's Got Talent/Youtube

Bet you've never heard Adele like that before

The ultra catchy, outrageously flamboyant, and shamelessly fun sounds of 80s hair metal might have just made a comeback, all thanks to a rock band hailing from India.

The group, called Girish and the Chronicles, recently auditioned for America’s Got Talent with an explosive rock-n-roll covers of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” which basically set a proverbial fire to the stage with crazy guitar riffs, insane vocals, and yes, totally bodacious hair-dos.

Girish Pradhan, the lead singer, barely got two (incredibly impressive) notes outs before audience members popped out their seats and started jamming along.

Watch:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Down in the comments, listeners were floored not only by the band’s sheer level of talent, but at the cool cross cultural-ness of it all.

“They came for an audition and gave us a concert.”

“Authentic 80's style hard rock coming from unexpected places!”

“Bringing 80s rock back with a bang! I never thought I’d hear a rock version of an Adele song, but it was fabulous! I hope these guys get the recognition they deserve.”

“You guys are even more solid and powerful than most American bands these days. You've brought back the rock spirit. Wow!"

“As an American i can say he's better than most bands out here. Who knew the American 80’s rock would be back with a vengeance, from India.”

Even judge Howie Mandel noted, "You come from the other side of the globe and do something that is so traditionally American...it was so beautiful."

"You can’t fake the reaction behind us. What we just felt behind us, [from] the audience, was real," added Simon Cowell, just before commending Girish Pradhan by saying, "Your voice is really, really good, by the way."

The band, which has been together for 16 years, previously opened for Guns N’ Roses during their Abu Dhabi show, in addition to opening for Hoobastank, Poets of the Fall, Destruction, Tessarac, and Chris Adler.

But still, they “had been dreaming of performing in America ever since we got introduced to rock-n-roll.” According to Louder Sound, the band shared that, "We had a lot of struggles, but we were also living our lives to the fullest. More than anything, we were a group of four guys without a care in the world, who just wanted to get on stage and rock."

If that’s not the absolute essence of rock, we don’t know what is.

Stay up-to-date with all things Girish and the Chronicles on their Instagram page

Pop Culture

Brit shares the one-word 'dead giveaway' that American actors can't do an English accent

“There is one word that is a dead giveaway that an English character in a movie or a TV show is being played by an American."

via Warner Bros Discovery

Peter Dinklage on "Game of Thrones"?

When it comes to actors doing accents across the pond, some Americans are known for their great British accents, such as Natalie Portman ("The Other Boleyn Girl"), Robert Downey, Jr. ("Sherlock Holmes"), and Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady"). Some have taken a lot of heat for their cartoonish or just plain weird-sounding British accents, Dick Van Dyke ("Mary Poppins"), Kevin Costner ("Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves") and Keanu Reeves ("Bram Stoker's Dracula").

Some actors, such as Tom Hardy (“The Drop”) and Hugh Laurie (“House”), have American accents so good that people have no idea they are British. Benedict Townsend, a London-based comedian and host of the “Scroll Deep” podcast, says there is one word that American actors playing characters with a British accent never get right. And no, it’s not the word “Schedule,” which British people pronounce the entire first 3 letters, and Americans boil down to 2. And it’s not “aluminum,” which British and American people seem to pronounce every stinking letter differently.


@benedicttown The one word American actors aways get wrong when doing an English accent
♬ original sound - Benedict Townsend

What word do American actors always get wrong when they do British accents?

“There is one word that is a dead giveaway that an English character in a movie or a TV show is being played by an American. One word that always trips them up. And once you notice it, you can't stop noticing it,” Townsend says. “You would see this lot in ‘Game of Thrones’ and the word that would always trip them up was ‘daughter.’”

Townsend adds that when British people say “daughter,” they pronounce it like the word “door” or “door-tah.” Meanwhile, Americans, even when they are putting on a British accent, say it like “dah-ter.”

“So top tip if you are an actor trying to do an English accent, daughter like a door. Like you're opening a door,” Townsend says.


What word do British actors always get wrong when doing American accents?

Some American commenters returned the favor by sharing the word that British actors never get right when using American accents: “Anything.”

"I can always tell a Brit playing an American by the word anything. An American would say en-ee-thing. Brits say it ena-thing,” Dreaming_of_Gaea wrote. "The dead giveaway for English people playing Americans: ‘Anything.’ Brits always say ‘EH-nuh-thin,’” marliemagill added. "I can always tell an actor is English playing an American when they say ‘anything.’ English people always say it like ‘enny-thin,’” mkmason wrote.


What is the cot-caught merger?

One commenter noted that the problem goes back to the cot-caught merger, when Americans in the western US and Canadians began to merge different sounds into one. People on the East Coast and in Britain pronounce them as different sounds.

“Depending on where you live, you might be thinking one of two things right now: Of course, ‘cot’ and ‘caught’ sound exactly the same! or "There’s no way that ‘cot’ and ‘caught’ sound the same!” Laura McGrath writes at DoYouReadMe. “As a result, although the different spellings remain, the vowel sounds in the words cot/caught, nod/gnawed, stock/stalk are identical for some English speakers and not for others.” For example, a person from New Jersey would pronounce cot and catch it as "caht" and "cawt," while someone from Los Angeles may pronounce them as "caht" and "caht."

To get a better idea of the big difference in how "caught" and "cot" are pronounced in the U.S., you can take a look at the educational video below, produced for a college course on linguistics.


- YouTubeyoutu.be

American actors owe Townsend a debt of gratitude for pointing out the one thing that even the best can’t seem to get right. For some actors, it could mean the difference between a great performance and one that has people scratching their heads. He should also give the commenters a tip of the cap for sharing the big word that British people have trouble with when doing an American accent. Now, if we could just get through to Ewan McGregor and tell him that even though he is fantastic in so many films, his American accent still needs a lot of work.

This article originally appeared last year.

4th grader wows 'Wicked' star with rendition of 'Defying Gravity'

Even if you've never seen the movie Wicked, you've heard Cynthia Erivo's rendition of the hit song, "Defying Gravity." When the first part of Wicked hit theaters in November 2024, the song quickly became the song of the season. Fans were blown away by Erivo's performance as Elphaba and her knockout vocals. Now, as the Wicked stars and fanbase celebrate the forthcoming release of part two, Wicked: For Good, one pint-sized fan decided to perform the song for her school talent show.

Ava Dargin, a fourth grader from Detroit, Michigan, went viral after her mom uploaded a video of the little girl singing "Defying Gravity" at her school talent show. It would seem Ava was channeling Cynthia Erivo, because such a big voice came from such a tiny body. To no one's surprise, the little girl won first place. Social media viewers were in awe of the little singer's talent, and so were various news outlets. It was The Today Show, thoughthat made Ava's dream come true. She got to meet the Wicked star in person before Erivo performed new music for the show's summer concert series.

@ravinlemar_ And Another One !!!!!! I’m so proud of my babygirl 💕🎶⭐️. #fyp#cynthiaerivo #daas #singing #explorepage #defyinggravity #viralvideo #talentshow ♬ original sound - Ravin Glass

It was clear that Ava was a little starstruck, as evidenced by her not really knowing what to say to the singer even when prompted with appropriate questions she could ask. She quietly smiled up at Erivo, but all the shyness went out the window when Carson Daly suggests she sing a little bit from the song. This suggestion prompted Erivo to go a bit into protective mode by saying the request was putting the young girl on the spot. But it seems that singing is where Ava feels most comfortable because it didn't take any further prompting for her to belt out a line from the song.

Such a powerful voice coming out of a child so small had everyone watching in awe, including Erivo who admits, "I've got goosebumps!" Imagine being the little girl who sings a song so well that you gave the actual singer of the song goosebumps. That had to be a surreal experience for Ava whose classmates wouldn't believe if it hadn't been recorded in front of a national audience.

People are blown away by the little girl's big voice, leaving comments of praise and admiration for the family to read. One said, "Girl. whew. I'm crying! she did so good! Bravo baby! you keep defying gravity!"

Another can't get over Ava's breath control, writing, "The control she has over her oxygen, and vocals is crazy at her age!!!!"

"Girl she has me BAWLING like I’m watching Cynthia Erivo herself… she’s FABULOUS!!!" someone says.

"Just saw her on someone’s page. She is absolutely talented!! Her voice is so amazing and strong! I just know u cried! lol she’s a star. I hope Cynthia sees this," another person chimes in.

"The stage presence isn't being talked about enough bc aside from that beautiful talent she is very composed and uses her facial expressions perfectly. She needs to be on a stage or set," one person admires.

"She is clearly such a sweet girl! I've never been more proud of a complete stranger. you go girl! following and cheering you on from Toledo OH sis," someone else says.

Bet this was not on her bingo card for the day.

Parenting often means using whatever resources you’ve got around you—and that goes double for single moms and dads. For a Tennessee-based single mom named Taylor, being resourceful meant giving her nine-year-old daughter Sophie an impromptu driving lesson.

From a clip posted to Taylor’s TikTok, we can deduce that she had been pulling her truck out from the garage at 6 a.m. when the garage door FELL ONTO THE CAR (how’s that for new nightmare fuel?). Luckily, the rails on top of the truck protected it and the passengers from any blows, but it was nonetheless stuck.

Having no one to come help in time, Taylor taught Sophie how to reverse the car while she stood on her tip toes to hold up the door, and her younger child recorded the whole thing.

@taylorctn423 BEING A SINGLE MOM IS NOT FOR THE WEAK! This morning my garage door came down on my truck. My dad is 5hrs away and I had nobody but myself and my girls. So what did I do? I taught my 9yo how to back up my truck while I held the garage door up. Thank goodness my truck has the rails on top or it could’ve been worse. My days are never boring. On a side note.. I need a new garage door. Where are my garage contractors at? #redvelvet #ginga #girlmom #singlemom ♬ Thunderstruck - AC/DC

While the video has AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" overshadowing any conversation, Taylor recalled her instruction in an interview with Newsweek:

"I told her, 'Your left foot is useless, leave it to the side. Put your right foot on the brake and ease your foot off when I tell you to.'” she said. "Once I got the garage lifted off my truck I said, 'OK, now gently ease your foot off the brake. Easy. Now brake!'"

Honestly, that’s solid advice right there.

The video quickly racked up 7.5 million views and tons of praise for the way Taylor handled the less-than-ideal situation. Not to mention there were quite a few folks who recognized how cool this moment must have been for Sophie.

"Strong women raising strong women"

"With a sundress and tiptoes?! You win the day.”

“You kid waited their whole life for this moment.”

“Oh I just know her lunchtime debrief with her friends is going to be amazing.”

“It will be a core memory for her life”

“You- irritated, overstimulated, annoyed, etc. Your 9yo- OMG THIS WAS SO COOL. Your younger one recording- mom can I do it next time.”

Thanks to multiple requests, Taylor did end up sharing another video, this time without the background music, so that the entire conversation could be witnessed. Let’s just say it paints a very different picture.

@taylorctn423 Replying to @Starbinder the highly requested video without the audio😅 Our 6yo camera girl was supportive towards the end #singlemom #girlmom #trending #garage #ford #girlmom ♬ original sound - Taylor

“Okay, without the music, I can feel mama’s stress,” one person wrote. And they’re not wrong. What the first clip didn’t depict is Taylor having to navigate this while her little one is screaming with anxiety. Fun times. But on the flip side, we get to hear the younger child being very proud of her big sis. So there's that.

As one person quipped, “camera girl was going through so many emotions.”

@taylorctn423 Replying to @Lv2Laf 🤗🇺🇸 my 6yo who took the video! I have been reading the comments to the girls are they are so excited about all of it! #singlemom #girlmom #trending #garage #ford #ginga #redvelvet #ginger #daughter #redhead #taylorswift ♬ NO MUSIC - Sok Baraby

In her video's caption, Taylor wrote, “BEING A SINGLE MOM IS NOT FOR THE WEAK,” and if this video is any indication, truer words were never written. But she’s doing a great job at raising two more strong gals, just like her.

And in case anyone is wondering—Taylor's dad, who lives six hours away and couldn’t help with the emergency promptly at the time, will be replacing that faulty garage door. Huzzah.