Lessons Learned from the John Muir Trail: An Adventure of Professional & Personal Growth Part 1

As I mentioned in the introduction newsletter, I am an adventurer at heart and I am a lifelong learner. That's why this newsletter is titled Expand & Thrive.

And in my last letter, I said that expansion doesn't always feel good all the time and I talked about why our company 9Q Solutions chose to hike the John Muir Trail as our company offsite last year. This adventure definitely did not feel good all the time. It started off fantastic! If we were graded for our preparation we would get an A+ for sure. See those happy smiles on the photo above? Yes, we were ready and excited, certain we would have inspiring insights about ourselves, our company and where we wanted to position ourselves for 2023.

With our car 221 miles away (211 to the top of Mount Whitney then down the trail to the parking lot at the trailhead), we woke up at 4:30am, said goodbye to the comforts of a hotel bed, bathrobe and bathroom and picked up our backpacks with everything we would need for our adventure. I imagined the serenity and joy of immersing myself in nature, the bursts of insights I would have that would drive my personal and professional life in the following years and the hours of creative brainstorming and strategic conversations I would have with my partner.

Did you know that the official beginning of the John Muir Trail (JMT) when going Southbound is Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley? We were fortunate winners of that Golden Ticket and now I know why many people skip this section all together. In our first 15 miles we had an elevation gain of over 5000 feet. That's a lot when first starting out! Let's just say the adrenaline was driving me upward and I felt strong and hopeful for the adventure. But just like starting a new business, transforming an existing one or making any major change professionally or personally, at some point challenges arise and the momentum seems to slow down.

We hiked about 12 hours that first day, taking breaks to rest and eat. I was beginning to accept that we wouldn't be hiking as fast as I had anticipated and that this was a long game not a short game. Maybe there is a part of me that likes striving for the challenging, knowing that I can reach that achievement if I work hard enough. I like to push hard and I get frustrated when things don't happen as quickly as I'd like. Starting and growing a business is like that. Things just don't always go according to plan and they often take longer than you expect. Maybe I would have had that insight on Day 1, but I was too busy grasping for oxygen as we slogged uphill.

Was the nature stunning? Absolutely! Did I frequently stop to take photos and videos? Yep. Did it inspire fresh thoughts on my life and our business? Not yet. Were my partner and I sharing strategic ideas about the future of our company? No. We were each zeroed in on getting to a place we could camp for the night, focused on taking each step up through the dirt, the rocks and around the trees. Falling asleep that first night I felt my muscles yearning to rest and my heart beating faster than normal as the altitude and that past 15 miles forced it to work harder to bring in the oxygen. My Garmin watch kept track of this entire journey and it definitely has a story to tell.

The next few days took me extreme highs and lows. The highs ranged from swimming in the cold waters of Cathedral Lake with a family of deer standing by, the feeling of success at practically running (if you were watching it would look more like a painful lunging) into the Tuolumne Meadows store 5 minutes before closing and devouring a strange combination of junk food and junk drinks, the beauty of Lyell Canyon and the relief of a shower, a root beer float and a hamburger at Red's Meadow. Check out this short video with a video montage of Day 3 (no sound yet, just created my YouTube Channel):

And the lows? The lows ranged from a stand off with a bear, setting up camp in the dark wondering where the bear was, crying on the side of the trail worried I couldn't do it, the longest miles EVER and William Poett, PKE MBA , my partner falling down a hillside and wondering how badly hurt he was.

If you read the last newsletter you know I had ChatGPT AI help me write some words on the potential values of an extreme adventure off-site so let's check in on how things were going at this point in the journey (words in quotes are from ChatGPT):

1. Is the adventure "a powerful way to build teamwork, communication, and leadership skills"? Yes, even at 5 days in the level of teamwork this adventure requires is intense and we are nailing it! Communication, at least when we have the oxygen to talk, is leveling up. Getting clear about what one needs and communicating it effectively is necessary. When I had my worst day, I wanted to give up. My partner asked me what I needed and as a team we decided to end that day's hike early and have a more leisurely dinner and downtime. As for leadership skills, as co-founders we are mindful about who is leading an initiative, conversation, meeting and we applied that our on the trail. Each of us had moments when we led and when we followed. Communication and teamwork help us navigate these transitions.
2. Have the "natural beauty and awe-inspiring views provided a powerful way to reinvigorate creativity, innovation, and problem-solving"? That is the hope, but it hasn't happened yet, unless you include innovation and problem-solving specific to the adventure then we are doing it.
3. Is the "immersion in nature fostering a sense of connection and unity among team members and helping to build a stronger sense of community"? Yes, although our differences in how we prefer to hike (specifically what rest time looks like and how long it should be:-) can challenge us and at times, we chose to hike solo for periods of time, the trust and sense of connection is definitely growing stronger.
4. Are "skills being developed and honed in a real-world setting, providing opportunities for personal growth and leadership development"? Oh yes! Although we each had skills that we had developed previously, the JMT required us to build on these skills. At 5 days in and I had to cross a simple plank bridge with no railings (never my favorite activity), in darkness (we had been night hiking under the full moon) I built on my growing bridge-crossing skills by crawling across on my hands and knees and not caring how silly I looked while doing it. What an opportunity to be ok moving forward in my own unique way:-)
5. Has this "unplugged and unfocused time been an opportunity for team members to disconnect from work and distractions and focus on building relationships, learning, and growth"? Yes to relationship building and new learning and growth. Although my expectation had been to have more conversations around company strategy for 2023 and be inspired by the space and beauty most of our focus has been figuring out how to best get through each day safely and as easily as possible.

As I read what I just wrote, I realize that maybe I was too hard on me and on us. Just because it wasn't going according to my expectations doesn't mean there wasn't value in the process. The same thing happens in business and if we learn to continually check in and assess where we are, what's going well as well as what needs to change going forward, we can take any experience and turn it into a valuable learning.

We had planned to take two weeks for this adventure, but it ended up taking us 19 days for many reasons. I will share how our adventure progressed over the next two newsletters and then we will venture out to other experiences, stories and insights that might lead us to expand and thrive even more in our lives.

Until then, I'd love to hear how any of your adventures or planned off-sites in nature have impacted you or your team.

And if you would like more video detail about the mileage, food, experiences and insights about our adventure on the JMT I plan to share videos on my new YouTube channel so you can check back there in the next month or two as I edit and upload them.

I'm Laura Ciel and I empower leaders and their teams to thrive, in an often chaotic world, while making a positive impact. If you're interested in learning more about private or team training and coaching, check out my upcoming Thrive Together Women's Cohort , our website or DM me on LinkedIn so we can discuss your particular needs..