Every year, I give myself a challenge so that I can try and one-up myself. In 2018, it was just about becoming comfortable with solo hiking. In 2019, it was about leading others safely into outdoor spaces, and in 2022 it was being able to summit Tumanguya, or Mount Whitney, as a day hike on my own.
In 2020, my challenge was climbing Mount Baden Powell, my first solo summit. I was nervous about not only venturing out on my own but also attempting such a strenuous physical challenge. However, somewhere along the trail, I looked up from the rising dust on the mountain and looked out into a beautifully majestic view of a sea of sand that filled the nearby desert landscape. It was then I realized that doing some things scared had its benefits.
I would return to the mountain and solo hike that section of the PCT and too many other trails to count all over the western United States whenever I wanted to become lost in thought, create art, or consider new outdoor challenges to tackle. This challenge significantly shaped how I viewed hiking and wandering into natural spaces.
Hiking is just a therapeutic medium to allow me to run away from all of my problems just to come stumbling back to embrace change and complexity in order to fix my life. Hiking has become my affordable alternative to therapy. Throwing in new challenges or wandering along new trails reminds me that I’m more than capable of problem-solving.