10 Things I learned in Hiking the Canyon

1. My husband was patient and positive and encouraging - always.

 When you’re going for a goal, be sure those that you run with are also positive and encouraging, and going in the same direction you are!  Lisa and I are like ham and cheese (or more apropos - Pizza and pepperoni!)  We have different strengths so we compliment each other, but we’re on the same page.

You pack into the canyon whatever you’ll be needing: food, water (it’s heavy!), toilet paper, everything!  (You also pack it out!)  

 Be ready for whatever you’ll need when going for a goal, and the challenges that inevitably come up.  Don’t try to “wing it!”  We have our Plan A and Plan B and are agile enough not to get bogged down by a challenge.  We don’t have time to get stuck - so we’re planning almost a year in advance.

  I was so excited and focused on the beauty and being prepared!  I knew we had to hike 9.5 miles down a vertical elevation change of 4700 feet and back up.  I knew our camp ground was on the other side of the river, just a few miles up.  What I failed to focus on was that I’m terrified of bridges over water, and the one we would be crossing has a steel mesh floor - you can see the Colorado River rushing by beneath you.  I so badly wanted to Hike the Canyon.  I wanted to immerse myself in a beauty that is almost incomprehensible in it’s size.  I just somehow didn’t think about that bridge - because it wasn’t important!  It was just a tiny part of the journey!

In your journey, don’t focus on IF you will be able to meet every challenge or the many ways that you might fail.  Those are only a tiny part of what the journey is about.  Don’t focus on them.  Focus on the exhilaration of new experiences and new people.  Think about the excitement and sense of accomplishment you will feel when you reach your goal!

When I started FCH, I knew how to plan and execute an amazing event.  I had been the Director of Catering at a Marriott.  I got my degree in special ed and  knew how to work with kids with learning disabilities.  I was an effective ballet teacher both inspiring and challenging students.  And I knew how to make a woman feel beautiful as a makeup artist.  (I know… a checkered past!)  I did NOT know about the military and I did NOT know about running a non profit.  But I DID know the importance of what I wanted to do and kept my focus on who we would be impacting.  I was/am willing to learn.

Ok, I had to cross that bridge or I would not reach our camp ground!  And I couldn’t just turn around and go back up!  So I took a deep breath, focused on the end of the bridge.    I just had to walk the distance of the bridge and I would be done!  I encouraged myself because I had already accomplished a pretty incredible hike down into the canyon.  And prayed all the way across that bridge. Evidently, quite loudly.  I thought I was whispering, but Jim could hear me over the river!

Believe in yourself and encourage yourself as you step out of your comfort zone.   Keep your eyes on the prize and don’t forget to look UP!  And keep moving forward.  Don’t get stuck in the middle of the bridge! 

We always get “but how do you get the info to and from the troops!”  The first year, the answer was, “I’m not sure, but I will.”  I figured it out because I had to, even as I was in a culture acronyms and tight security!  I believed in what we were doing, and walked in faith that it would come together.

  (Repeat 4)  I don’t like heights.  I know.  What was I thinking in hiking the canyon?!  I don’t know.  But the paths were wide enough and well traveled.  Most of them were.  Except for one particular bend on the way up.  It was narrow.  And a sheer drop off.  And I had to walk it.  Sooooo.... I did NOT look down, but at the junction of path and rock wall.  And I reminded myself (not as loudly this time) that I had walked the bridge, so I could walk this path.  And I was rewarded by the most magnificent spot to eat lunch, savor the view, and the moment!

Fears don’t necessarily just go away after you do something once.  But you know you DID do something once, and so you CAN do it again.  It helps to address your fears in close proximity because you haven’t forgotten what it felt like to walk through that fear.

I would rather eat worms than to ask for money.  And I asked a former boss at an interview if I would have to talk to strangers.  (I was a teacher - I was good with kids!) But I’ve come to realize that I’ve done a lot of things that I didn’t think I could do and they turned out great!  So the attitude has become the question, “What’s the worst that can happen if I give it my all?!”

The rim is at over 7000 feet above sea level.  It can be harder to catch your breath at that level.  And the last of the hike is reaching up to that elevation!  AND I was tired.  I had NO idea how I was going to make it up the last 1.5 miles.  I wanted to just sit.  Be done.  But I would still be in the canyon, so that wasn’t going to work.  I asked Jim how many steps would it take to walk 1.5 miles.  Approximately 3500.  Ok.  I could walk 3500 steps by just counting them off.  At each 100 steps, I would take a brief stop.  Knocking off 100 steps felt like I accomplished something and was getting closer.  And you know what?  It was about 3500 steps and I did get to the rim!

Make a list of what you need to get to a goal!  Then break it down into bite size pieces by week and even by day.  And then do it over and over again.  

We have done just about everything to raise funds for FCH - just so long as it’s legal and moral.  Some get us a little closer to covering our expenses, other’s a little more than that.  Since we’re running all aspects of the organization from sourcing products, reaching out to troops, cutting the tags and love notes and of course fundraising and more, it would be easy to get overwhelmed.  But we just never lift off the pedal, doing what we can every day.

The constant step up, (yes, they had steps that were about 1 3/4 ‘ high!) my left leg was wearing me down.  So I would be sure to switch up legs as I stepped up, or would take a couple baby steps instead of just one step in between.  I kept my muscles fresher that way.

Use all the avenues of your business.  Don’t rely on just one approach - use lots of different ways to build your business if one area is making you feel stuck!  For Full Circle Home, it’s finding deploying troops by general search engines, Facebook, Linked in, reaching out to past contacts, and asking others to “pass us on”.  It’s the variety of fundraising.  And when needed, it’s a new pizza place to have a meeting!

As we were getting to the top, there were LOTS of people that were doing a day hike from the rim, down a ways and returning.  They were moving a little quicker than we were.  No, a LOT quicker. I let them.  It’s not my nature as I’m competitive at heart.  But this was nonnegotiable.

We’ve been told on different occasions that we don’t do things the “normal” way.  Or that we could make things so much simpler if we did things the way organization X does them.  Well, if we did, we would not be FCH.  There are things we do that ARE a bit of a pain and labor intensive.  They also happen to be the very things that make our packages so incredibly special and unique.  

                                                                                  I looked kind cute as we headed down into the canyon, down Bright Angel Trail.  We took Kaibob South Trail back up.  It’s much steeper, a little shorter, and it has a really windy area as you’re about 2/3 of the way up.  Let’s just say that I wasn’t as cute when I got back up to the rim - looked a little bit more like something a squirrel had dragged along! :o)  But I FELT such exhilaration! Such a sense of accomplishment!  I actually did a little happy dance on a couple of wobbly legs!

As we ran for a new level - adding another program and increasing (actually doubling!) the packages we sent out, we were running like our hair was on fire!  But we would never make a promise to a service member to send a gift home, and not do it.  We do whatever is in our power to get it done.  Not getting it done just isn’t an option.

There have been times that we had to make a few adjustments and let a few things slide and push a little harder in another direction. But when we start getting the letters back from the women, and the phone calls and email come in, it is all worth it.  And we want to do more.

You tend to look down as you hike.  So you...well... so you don’t trip and fall off a ledge!  But the beauty is all around and that was the reason I was there!  Every bend seemed to have a new vista, one breath taking view after another, yet all so very different!

Enjoy the journey.  One of the wonderful benefits to Full Circle Home is all the incredible people we meet - people who want to help, who are so enthusiastic for what we’re doing, and want to help us move forward - people that had a brief but exciting role (look through some pictures on our FB page) and others who have become dear friends.  We’ve accomplished things we never thought we could.  Had I known what I would have been asked of me when I started, I would have told you you have the wrong girl!  And now, I would never change this path I’m on.  I know I’ll still need courage, and tenacity, and need to focus on the why and who to be able to move forward.   But it’s joyful and rewarding, and I still well up when I read their letters. 

An after thought... troops would probably do with with a 150 lb. pack on, and then do it again!  But I'm not comparing...