Once Again, I Am Humbled

  There must be a cosmic message trying to get through to me because I am being slammed by inspiring women left and right. I know that I am supposed to be continuing on training hikes and I swear, there's more of that coming but I need to share this.

 I received an email from a woman who found me through google (and hope she doesn't mind my sharing this). In short, she wants to hike but questions whether she is fit enough to start and is a bit intimidated by the fact that she's never hiked before. I am so impressed with her for reaching out with her questions and concerns. And to a complete stranger. Way to go, M!

 Pile this on top of what my mom wrote a few days ago and I am just completely in awe of these women who take the proverbial bull by the horns. They are adventurous and open-minded and not afraid to seek support in being who they want to be. We all need it. We should all work to provide it for others.

 This is a great reminder to reach out. There are women who would love nothing more than to find a community of supportive women to include them. In fact, we were ALL that woman at some point. I have heard many of you lament about the competitive nature of women you know in work, through your children's school, in sports etc. You have then remarked at what a wonderful community of women you have found in the Real Chicks. A group that supports one another no matter what. Solidarity, as MJ put it. But we all started with a blip of inspiration, a friend who took the time to invite us along. We were presented with an opportunity and jumped on it. We are now all reaping the benefit.

 I would challenge you to reach out in the month of August. Find a female friend, co-worker or stranger and invite her to be part of what the Real Chicks has to offer. Our message stops if we don't include new women. We our the best friends, mentors, support and teachers for one another when it comes to the outdoors. We learn more about nature and ourselves when we teach it to another. Help another woman dream big...plan an adventure. She may have never received that gift before. We need to be there to convince women, like M, that they are every bit as welcome in the outdoors, with no experience, as those of us who discovered the lifestyle years ago.

 And for you Omaha ladies, I challenge you to bring a new friend to the chicks hike in August. It's a great place to start.

Hiking is a Spiritual Journey

We interrupt our scheduled programming on training hikes for this special message from my mom. I swear I didn't ask her to say all of these nice things about me. My mom came out for a visit last week and truth be told, she inspires ME. The first time she came out, struggling with altitude and an aggressive trail, we made it about halfway up Nine Mile Mountain. The next time, she reached that peak. This time, she was a hiking/running/walking machine! While I had to work much of the time she was here, she didn't waste much time kicking back. Nope, she threw on her fancy footwear, grabbed her pack and hit the road. A lot! I took off last Thursday and we attempted the summit of Sheep (Snow) Mountain, which is comprised of 5 peaks in a row. The trail between 1st and 2nd is a killer incline, no matter your fitness. Steep is steep. We made it 1st peak in an hour. An hour after that, we made it to 2nd and opted to turn around for exhausted legs and lungs. Mom, being the trooper she is, immediately decided that on her next trip out here, we would conquer this peak...or at least get to 3rd. :) She is a great example of taking small steps to achieve a big goal. There is no age limit or fitness prerequisite for adventurers. She is a real chick hiking. Go get 'em mom!

"I’ve just returned from five days visiting my daughter, Jessie, at Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby, CO. We talked and laughed, hiked and climbed. Jessie inspires me, and when I’m with her I find that I push myself just a little harder. Last week was no different. Boy did I push – about 2,000 feet upward to Second Peak of Snow Mountain. But for as hard as it is for me to get to the top, it’s just as hard to come down.


Author Paulo Coelho, in his book, The Fifth Mountain, writes that the Lord often has his prophets climb mountains to converse with Him. Coelho’s reasoning for this is that only when we are on high can we see how large the world really is, and everything else becomes small. “Our glory and our sadness lose their importance,” he writes, when we see the world from the top of a mountain.

We are small. Consider the ants. As I lean over on the steep inclines to catch my breath I notice them. They never rest but continue to climb, unquestioningly carrying the weight of a single grain of food. They don’t complain, as I am wont to do on the trail, of the toll the climb is taking on their legs, lungs, or heart, but faithfully struggle upward doing the work God has put before them.

On the mountain I know I am small. I am smaller than the ant. I can’t climb without stopping to rest; sweat dripping into my eyes and onto the ground. I struggle to breathe, my body aches, I stop mid-stride in an attempt to slow down my heartbeat. Eventually I begin asking God to flatten the path before me, to move the mountain out of my way. I want to reach the top but I want my journey to be easy.

Still I climb; fighting, pleading, rationalizing, negotiating with every step. My physical limitations give way to my mental limitations until finally, depleted of my strength, all my inadequacies exposed, I abandon myself to the trail.

And He moves. Not the mountain; He moves me. And I look up to find that I’ve reached the top.
It’s hard to come down from the mountain because I know I will be leaving a piece of myself, my weakness, behind. Maybe that’s why I climb; to get a glimpse of how much larger the world is and to remember how small I really am."