Solo Adventures

To reset I need time in nature, preferably by myself so I generally try once a month to get out on a long hike.  It’s important for me to to push myself physically and mentally.  The physical can often be done just by sheer distance.  The mental part has been through either camping overnight alone or being in remote areas with very few people.  My risk taking isn’t that high but it’s enough to get me on the edge a little. Of course I take my satellite phone which gives me some comfort.

The meadows at Three Fingered Jack

The time alone allows me to have uninterrupted thinking time.  Something I need to process things from work, home, relationships. Most hikes I start with all sorts of jumbled thoughts and by the end of it I can concisely communicate either what’s bothering me or outline the solution or direction of a problem.  I come home and my body is so much more at peace.   My notebook often gets pulled out to write down ideas for work and I find the log jam preventing progress is gone.

Everyone processes in a different way but it’s so important to find a way to get the time you need to rebalance.

That beautiful blue sky didn’t last and I got caught in a hail storm with no rain gear. A rain jacket and dry socks are now part of my essential hiking gear.