Climbing Mountains
One of my true passions in life is climbing mountains. I enjoy hiking, being in nature, the excellent exercise, and the breath taking views; but most important, I love reaching the summit. Many people have a hard time understanding why I hike sometimes up to 12 hours in a day or longer. My wife thinks I’m crazy because I have literally made myself sick from exhaustion after a climbing trip. But I can’t get enough.
I hadn’t been out on a long hike for quite a while because I had been busy working through some recent changes in my life and business. Finally last week I headed out for a day full of climbing 3 separate peaks located outside of Boulder, CO. When I arrived at the trail head before 7 am I noticed that it was only 7 degrees outside. After a long warm car ride my legs were a little achy and slow moving in the cold weather. There was also between 8 to 10 inches of snow, more than I expected.
About 2 hours into the hike I was really starting to get tired from tromping through the snow. It was much more work than I expected. By now I was sweating even though the day’s high temperature was around 30 degrees. I had ensured I would be warm and dry because I had all the right equipment.
Four hours into the climb I still hadn’t reached the first peak. I was dredging through almost a foot of snow straight up a mountain side in very dense forest more than 2 hours from a trail. I was tired. I stopped for a drink of water and thought to myself for a minute “Am I having fun? Why am I doing this? Do I really enjoy this?”. At that moment in time I really wasn’t having fun. It was hard work. I wasn’t sure why I was doing it, but I knew there was no turning back.
A short time later I reached the first summit. I found a register hidden at the summit. I paged through immediately to see when was the last time someone was there. Only 7 people had reached this spot in the last 2 years. I found that amazing. As I enjoyed the peace and quiet, the beautiful views, and the solitude. I remembered why I was out there.
Almost 8 hours from when I originally left the car, it was back within site. I had done it. I climbed 3 mountains all of which were ranked Boulder County Peaks but most of all I had overcome my fear, weakness, and laziness to reach my goals for that day.
I didn’t know which I wanted more, a cold beer or a nap. But I did know why I was out there that day. I was doing something I truly loved. I accomplished something that very few people ever do. I had spent my day working through my own doubts but because I had given myself the tools and the training to succeed it really wasn’t that hard as long as I stayed dedicated to the goal. And of course the work and emails were there waiting for me when I got home, but all of that was okay to wait while I was out feeding my soul.