Growing pains: the walk

Theme song: Give yourself a reason by Noah Kahan

They say that before embarking on the path, you must define your “why.” What will be your answer to the question you ask yourself during thunderstorms, sleepless nights, alpine hailstorms, and 30-mile water hauls in the Mojave Desert?

Why am I hiking the Pacific Crest Trail?

I did not come into this world brave; All my life I have stumbled upon unnecessary apologies and an internal compass that depended solely on the judgment of those around me. I have flouted the line of my comfort zone for the past 26 years; I admire the view on the other side, but I never take the steps to immerse myself in true discomfort for the sake of growth. So… that’s what I’ve decided to do; I’m going to take some steps, 2,650 miles to be exact.

Of all my fears on the trail (rattlesnakes, high-altitude thunderstorms, sounds outside my tent when camping alone… to name a few), I firmly believe that the fear of waking up one day, from an expectation-induced fog of routine, and realizing that I let my dreams pass me by, far eclipses all of my trail-related fears. Lihat yfbr untuk info lebih lanjut. My hope is that at some point in the midst of searching for my perceived limit, I can push past it and come across something I’ve been searching for my entire life.

It seems silly to go on a journey like this to “find bravery,” as if it were some elusive creature you might find hiding on a mountainside or under an overturned rock. However, I believe in that possibility, because I know that, alternatively, I will never find it in the monotony of routine, waking up at the same time every morning, eating the same lunch while watching the same online videos posted by people who were brave enough to step out of their ordinary lives. If I wait for the perfect moment, I’ll be limping to the southern tip when I’m 80, remembering a lifetime of almost taking the necessary steps to follow where my heart calls me.

Why am I hiking?

I’m doing it for all the versions of myself over the years that sought validation, trust, and approval from those around me, overlooking the opinion of the one person I should have been looking for all along: mine 🙂

I do it for the suffering, the triumph, the loneliness and the community. I do it because I refuse to get lost in the monotony of routine. I do it scared, I do it alone, and I do it even if it hurts; After all, they are just growing pains.

I’ll see you on the way

ada 🙂

Hall of Fame, 2025

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