Climbing Your Mountain

I just completed the hardest fucking hike of my life.

I know you’re probably thinking “Well it can’t be that hard, she must be in horrible shape”. But I’m not, I promise. I’ve been hiking consistently for the past couple of years and overall I’m at a pretty decent fitness level.

Now I’m not saying that this was the longest hike, or the steepest (though it was pretty steep), but the different emotional phases I went through during this four mile long uphill battle is a reflection of the challenges that every one of us faces throughout our lives.

It made it the most frustratingly intensive hour 1/2 … ever. And yet, left me with the best feeling in the world. Here’s how it went.

0 miles | naiveté

Gentle Incline: This isn’t too bad! I can probably finish this thing in like half an hour.

The most misleading part of this hike was the soft slope of the initial 0.15 miles. Never would I have imagined the awfulness to come.

1 mile | hope

Ascension: Okay… so the gentle slope has turned into a monstrous incline, but that should end soon right? There has to be a plateau somewhere.

There was no plateau. All around me was a winding dirt trail and other exhausted hikers. At this point, the sun was beating down on the trail — no tree cover, of course.

I kept going.

2 miles | despair

Ascension continued: Oh. My. God. There’s no way I’m going to make it. My legs are burning, I’m probably getting sunburnt, I feel like I’m going to puke.

All I could focus on was putting one foot in front of the other and my quads burning. Looking up, there was just more mountain. I was, after all, only half way there. Funnily enough, at this point, I experienced what I can only describe as “runner’s high” but I guess in this case it would be “hiker’s high”.

3 miles | relief

(Relatively) Flat land: Almost there now!!

Just after the three mile mark, the relentless incline of the never ending Stairmaster gave way to a more manageable degree. At one point I looked back and there was a magnificent view of the East Bay — no way I was going to miss the view from the very top.

3.5 miles | the final push

Insane 90 degree incline (I could be wrong — this was just my observation): JUST DO IT! (Nike, I now understand the genius marketing behind this little phrase.)

I can actually see the end of the trail!

4 miles | accomplishment

The end: I made it and I feel amazing! Really though, look at that view…

People say that most things worth having in life don’t come easy. The path to accomplishment (whatever that may be for you) is rough but no matter how difficult your journey, through the despair and hopelessness, there will be an amazing view at the very top, and you’ll look back and think that it was all worth it.