Balk: a ridge of land that stops movement suddenly and forces it to turn around and go back in its footsteps, as a man or horse does going up something so steep. It is not a slope or a climb or a rise but a stumble. Once you’ve experienced it, you don’t attempt it again. You “balk”, because the balk is within you now. You go around. It’s always better to move forward towards something in your face, rather than watch it recede from you as you move backwards, away from life.

Kálfslárgil, Ísland