Nature Lesson 001

This summer I have the honor to join The Warriors Keep organization for their Freedom Peak 2020 expedition that will take 15 veterans to the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It will be the largest group of all veterans to ever summit the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. Each month we get together to go on a training hike to strength our bodies and our relationships with other for this life altering team challenge.

This past weekend the team headed to Guadalupe Mountain National park to summit our first mountain as a team, the tallest peak in Texas, Guadalupe Peak. It was inspiring yet humbling. It was terrifying yet exhilarating. It was challenging yet achievable. It was, in a word, life...

 We woke up at about 0400 in the morning and started breaking down camp. The weather was nice and cool, but there was also a prediction for 60+ mile per hour winds. We headed to the trail head by 0530 and it was still pitch black outside. We started hiking by headlamp, and the first one and half miles felt like it was almost straight up. We started off as a group, but that group quickly spread out. I am not going to sugar coat it, the first mile was HARD. 

After the first mile, we hit our stride and the trail began a little more of a gradual ascent to the peak. The team started closing the gaps, getting closer together. Storied flowed of hikes we had done in the military, missions we had gone on that seemed to be never ending, and how our lives post military seemed to be going. You could see the sun starting to peak over the horizon, and at that moment the 0400 wake up became worth it.

I have a firm believe that most of life's most difficult challenges have an answer in nature, if we look for it. Just like the mountain, starting something new in life is always challenging in the beginning. We can't always see the path in front of us, we take large steps on faith, the ground moving beneath us, we struggle and wonder if it's worth it or not. We have to turn on our internal headlamps, trust the plan we laid out, and know it is going to be rough in the beginning but the view from the top is worth it. 

You can be a part of giving #veterans the opportunity to get back outdoors by supporting an organization near to my heart, The Warriors Keep. They take veterans from all branches, eras, jobs, and get them back outdoors to climb mountains and enjoy nature. Opportunities to learn things like I just shared, first hand. If you want more info of how you can get involved, join a hike or become a sponsor, comment your send me a message! #warriors #leadership #worthit