Yesterday I hiked Blackhead Mountain with my good friend Justin, one of the required winter peaks for the Catskill 3500 Club. We are doing the Catskill 3500 challenge together.
Great hike… brutal conditions.
Snow, cold, wind, and rain…just enough to keep me honest. I like to think I’m prepared in the mountains, and mostly I was… except I forgot my raincoat. That’s how I ended up wearing a garbage bag like it was part of the strategy. Not my finest moment…but it all worked out.
The descent was the real test. Icy, steep, and technical. The kind of trail where you can’t drift mentally for a second. Every step mattered. It was uncomfortable, exciting, and sketchy…and I loved it.
That’s what mixing things up does. Life gets predictable if we let it. Same routines, same patterns, same conversations. Comfortable…but dull. Chosing to challenge ourselves wakes us up. It forces presence. It reminds us we’re capable of more than the safe lanes we live in most days.
And the conversations in the mountains are different. Deeper. More honest. Nature has a way of quieting the noise so what actually matters can rise to the surface.
Lesson? Don’t just chase comfort. Chase engagement. Get uncomfortable on purpose once in a while. That’s where clarity shows up and where life feels alive again.
