This past weekend I set off on a backcountry camping trip with 6 amazing, make-it-happen women. Our destination: Lake Luellen, Banff National Park. Trail guide reports 32.7 km round trip – 16 km, plus change, one way.
Hiking in.
5:45 a.m. came early – as it does. Three hours on, we landed at the trailhead: 2 cars, 7 women, 14 poles, two nights camping gear, enough food to eat well, and a few luxury items (hello pillow!). Our kit was splayed out on the tarmac and we collectively redistributed the weight ~35/40 lbs per person. We reloaded packs, shared a cheer to our pending adventure, and were off.
Within minutes my mind began picking out the discomfort of the close-to 40 lb burden I was lugging into the backcountry. And the thoughts rolled in… I already feel tired. We have only just begun. This is going to be a sufferfest. Keep going. I got this. Keep going. This pack is heavy. Are we there yet? My shoulders hurt. I think the skin over my hip bones is rubbing off. Keep moving the feet. Each step counts 1…2…3... This does not feel nice. And on and on, for the next 8 hours.
Here are some of the ah-has I arrived at along the way…
Fitness matters – willingness to be uncomfortable matters more.
As I surveyed our crew it dawned on me that this group of ladies had various fitness levels. We all had a base, but some were more fit than others (not it). Even more important than fitness was what we all had in heaps – an understanding of the challenge, awareness of what it would take to succeed, and a shared commitment to achieving the goal. In the background of our minds, each of us, in our own way had made friends with the discomfort of backcountry hiking. We chose instead to fixate on the joys of the journey. We each held the knowledge that despite the discomfort, our bodies are capable tools, able to go the distance.
Without clarity of destination, discomfort can erode into a mindset of suffering. Nip this in the bud.
At km 17 we were still slogging it out. The terrain was getting harder; we were climbing more than expected; streams to hop, bridges to cross, roots and rocks to navigate (trip over). Was the pack getting heavier???
Where once we held a steady pace of roughly 3 km/hour, we now crawled along at maybe 1.5.
Why were we not there yet? This thought loomed in everyone’s mind. Doubt was creeping in. Discomfort was bordering on pain. We endured. Luellen, we’re coming for ya!
Who you choose to journey with matters.
Not once did a member of this mighty crew give into complaint. Collectively we stayed positive and shared words of encouragement to lighten the mental burden for each other. With a different group of hikers, the journey could have felt much different, unbearable even. Our name said it all: we are Sisters with Blisters. Slogging it out with these ladies made it fun to be in the slog. We endured with delight.
Sometimes you go slow to go fast.
We stopped whenever anyone needed it. We made certain to take breaks together. Hydration and eating were prioritized and so were words of encouragement. No one was left to go it alone. Even when the mind thinks your “done” the body is capable of more. We reminded each other “you got this.”
Hold expectations lightly because something different than expected will likely come to pass.
The trail guide said 17 km. The actual distance traveled was 21. Those final 4 were beyond uncomfortable. The final leg was hard, but also most meaningful because…
The steps that feel the hardest are typically the ones that land you at your destination.
The weekend was amazing – discomfort and all.
Honourable mention goes to the dehydrated, rehydrated crème brûlée. To quote one of my magnificent Sisters with Blisters “Luellen, you were a stormy bitch at first, threatening us with your thunder and lighting, then quietly softening with the sunrise.”
Purpose + Discomfort = Growth & Achievement!
So far, 2020 has delivered more than its fair share of discomfort. That is putting it mildly. As I spent this past weekend making friends with the physical discomfort of backcountry hiking, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities with this experience and the passing year and how this experience also reminds me of my work as coach; coaching my clients as they make friends with their own meaningful discomfort – the discomfort that opens the door to achieving their goals.
The experience reminded me that even more important than where we are going is how we choose to weather the journey that gets us there and what we learn along the way.
A few questions that you might play with to coach yourself even further towards who you desire to be.
· What is the destination you are aiming for and why is it important to you?
· What discomfort might you need to make friends with so that you move forward faster?
· What becomes possible when the discomfort is invited in as part of the joy in the journey?
May we all land at our desired destination surrounded by good people and a delicious meal to celebrate the achievement.
And what else? Hire a coach!
Partnering with a coach is a great way to get curious and clear about the destination we most desire and the discomfort we might make friends with in getting there.
