3 Lessons About Goals Learned On a Mountain

It was 2020, the world was closed to pretty much everything. Except being outside. This is when a friend and I started hiking together.

Not the casual hiking you can do in sandals or tennis shoes. But the kind that requires hiking shoes, trekking poles, day packs, water bladders, survival kits and clothing made of specialized breathable, moisture wicking fabric. Hikes with elevations gain hikes that nearly killed me, but leading to the most incredible views.

I’m not really sure how it happened. But I ended up agreeing to hike South Sister with my friend.

South Sister is part of the Three Sisters mountains. These are closely spaced volcanic peaks near Bend, Oregon. They are part of the Cascade Mountain Range that extends from British Columbia, Canada to Northern California. At 10,358 feet high, South Sister is the 3rd highest peak in Oregon.

The hike itself was 12.2 miles round trip. With a 4,898 ft elevation gain in the 6 miles to the top.

It’s a mountain. A proper MOUNTAIN!! And I agreed to hike to the summit!!

Pretty sure I’d lost my mind. But really, it was 2020, who didn’t go a little crazy that year.

We arrived at the trailhead around 6 am that August morning. At first it was a nice walk through the woods. But then the elevation started. I learned quickly just how hard this undertaking was going to be. I was already struggling and we hadn’t even gotten TO the mountain yet!

As we cleared the trees, the path leveled out, and were able to amble along while watching the sunrise. With the mountain ahead of us, it was a beautiful view. I enjoyed this part of the hike very much.

South Sister Mountain Hike

South Sister Mountain Hike

South Sister Mountain Hike

Eventually the real climb started. Hiking up hill, through switch backs, scrambling over rocks and climbing boulders - I was pushed to my physical limits.

Every step took me higher and closer to the top. As the hike got harder and the mountain no longer looked like a mountain, I developed a mantra to keep myself going.

“I can do this

It’s just walking

I can do this

One foot in front of the other

I can do this

God why did you make mountains so high . . . and so steep

I can do this

Don’t focus on where you are going, focus on where you are

I can do this."

South Sister Mountain Hike

South Sister Mountain Hike

It wasn’t until I was almost to the top that the thought “I can’t do this” hit me. We were hiking the most difficult terrain of the whole adventure. Loose red rocks, called scree, had me sliding backwards every step I took. But I wasn’t going to go through all this work and pain to give up now. So, I kept going.

I reached the summit at 2 pm. All my work and effort were rewarded with the most amazing view! The Oregon landscape was spread out before me in all her glory. The biggest surprise of the day was seeing all the butterflies flitting around at the summit.

I’d done it! I was standing on top of a MOUNTAIN! I was at 10,358 feet, the 3rd highest spot in Oregon.

I learned 3 things on this hike:

Focus on where you are and take the next step. When the task ahead is daunting, take one step. Then the next. When I look at the big picture of the goal I’m trying to achieve, it’s overwhelming. I forget where I am, and think I have to do all the things, as if I've already achieved the goal. I overwhelm myself with this way of thinking. When I’m overwhelmed, I freeze and end up not doing anything. Achieving a goal is like climbing a mountain. You can only take 1 step at a time. Focus on where you are and then take one next step.
Progress can’t be measured by looking forward. With every step I moved closer to the mountain, but I couldn’t see it. While struggling up an incline, I could see the top of the mountain. But no matter how many steps I took, it was still so far away. It was discouraging. It wasn’t until I looked backwards, that I could see how high I’d climbed and how far I'd come. Measure your progress not by where you want to be, but by where you came from.
Determination is key. It would have been so easy to say, this is too hard, I’m done. I could have gone home. No one would have blamed me . . . I mean it’s a real mountain! But that’s not me. As I trudged up and up the mountain, I passed a lone tree growing out of the rocks. I remember thinking, “that's a determined tree”. I realized in that moment; I had that same determination and I was going to make it to the top. Goals are hard work, and take a lot of effort. You need to have the same determination that tree had, to keep growing.

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