So a very special location is the 1/2 way point up the White Dot trail on Mount Monadnock......
Five years ago I did this hike for the first time in at least 2 decades. After years of letting life sideline me from a fitness perspective, I had started a C25K program about a month before and was feeling pretty confident in my new level of fitness (and then ability to run for 10 minutes at a time).... So why not go out and climb a mountain? and a pretty good one at that! I mean I had done it as a kid, how hard could it be? At that time I really didn't know or care about mountain rating systems or heights or degrees of difficulty. I had climbed it as a kid. I was now able to run for 10 minutes straight, so why not climb that mountain??? My daughter, brother-in-law, niece and I tackled that mountain. Although it was difficult, I was pleased with my ability. I was the one pulling up the rear. I was the one struggling. I was the one out of breath who needed to rest more often. But I did it then.
So.... back to that moment, you know, the one I"m having... a half decade has gone by, and that mountain that sooooo challenged me 5 years ago was a breeze and a blast yesterday. The choices that I made back then, while I was struggling; the choices I made to continue, to not give up, to eat healthy, to avoid temptation, to start and explore different types of physical activity have all been absolutely worth it. They say its 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. When I started believing that, when I started following the fantastic nutrition system I credit with fueling all my activities... that's when things really all became clear. I am no longer settling with anything. I'm challenging my limits and still haven't found what they are! Now that's a pretty big moment.... Kinda like a slap upside the head or a big gust of wind comes in and takes your breath away.
And soooo what's next? Yesterday was a kind of test to see if the original 4 who hiked up that mountain 5 years ago could handle hiking up Mount Washington in a few weeks. Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 ft and the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. Wait.... what? Let me read that again! Ummmmm! Washington is double the size of Monadnock and a full day of hiking. My niece who already hiked it 3 times last year will be our leader, and she believes based on yesterday that we can do this. All kidding aside, I believe we can to.
What a privilege to have found a lifestyle that allows you to even think about climbing "the highest peak in the Northeastern US" What a fantastic thing to be able to do with family..... Something that will become one of life's moments carefully etched in our minds to be preserved forever.