5 Things I’ve Learned About Life by Hiking

5 Things I’ve Learned About Life by Hiking

You can download my complete list of HIKING ESSENTIALS CHECKLIST for FREE.

Today is the first day of summer and longest day of the year. So far in 2018, I have taken about 6 hikes near Seattle, Washington. I am planning about 24 hiking trips and training for our longest day hike of the year, a 22mile/35km round trip. Here are 5 things I’ve learned about life through hiking in the Seattle area.

1. Have a Support System.

I thought I was in good hiking shape until recently. We hiked up the steep Melakwa Lake trail with Mr. Right and wow was I surprised! I lagged about 10 or 15 steps behind him for the most of the hike going up. Luckily, he sends only good vibes and he cheered me on during the entire hike to the lake. Several times, I asked him to come and help me as I was afraid of sliding and falling flat on my A** or worse, falling down into the frozen lake. But he had complete trust in me even when I doubted my ability and he kept on saying “l know you can do this. I am so proud of you.” And honestly, for those who know me, I’m not big on recognition or praise, but at that moment, I really needed to hear encouragement.

So make sure that your circles of friends are supportive and encourage you to push yourself even when you are filled with self-doubt. Surround yourself with people who will cheer you on, even when things get tough.

2. Adjust to change. Be flexible and willing to change your course.

Get scared, but learn to push through and get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I am all for being spontaneous. But at times, I find myself being hesitant to change especially when I am not well prepared. When planning a hiking adventure, one needs to be fully prepared and armed for unexpected surprises or accidents. We were still breaking in our new boots, when of course, Mr. Right developed a blister on his feet. Because we were extra prepared, we put on a padded blister bandage, which came in handy. He also developed a headache later, and not by luck but preparedness, we got ahead of the pain because we carried an emergency kit with us. Lesson learned: prepare ahead of time and have the tools that will help you adjust to any upcoming changes along the way.

3. Have the right gear/ The Right Skill Sets to get the Job done.

An important life lesson means having the right skill-set for the job. We weren’t expecting snow on this day hike in Melakwa Lake. We choose to hike to the Lake for its proximity and because it’s an excellent day hike near Seattle.

A few days before this hike, Mr. Right and I decided to go to REI and buy hiking gear. If you haven’t heard of REI or haven’t shopped there yet, I highly recommend it. As I had mentioned earlier, Mr. Right and I are training to do a 22-mile day hike to The Enchantment trail sometime in August 2018. From what I’ve read, this is one of the more magnificent places on earth, a true Alpine paradise in the Pacific Northwest. We bought two hiking boots, trekking poles, emergency kite, hiking bag pack, light weight skirt, yoga/hiking pants, socks, sunscreen, lip palm, water filter and padded blister bandage.

I insisted to Mr. Right that we buy only one pair of the trekking poles instead of two and try it out. I was absolutely sure I wouldn’t need one. But Mother Nature had an interesting way to prove me wrong. We weren’t expecting snow on our trail to Melakwa Lake, but four and half miles in, we had to use the trekking poles, so Mr. Right lent me one of his ☺

Just to give you a little of my background, I’m from the Great Rift Valley in Magical Kenya. I have always thought that I don’t need trekking poles because I have good body balance and coordination and altitude sickness doesn’t really affect me. So, I never thought trekking poles would be helpful. In fact, I thought it was just a hiking accessory that I might not actually need or use that much. Boy was I wrong!

By now, you’re probably asking yourself, Irine where are you going with this? Trust me, there is a point to this. Regardless of what sector or line of business you‘re in, these skill-sets will be critical—communication skills, soft skills, public speaking skills and negotiation skills.

4. Don’t over think the process, just start and if you fail, learn quickly.

45 minutes into our hike we came to a creek, Denny Creek, near North Bend, Washington. We met a couple accompanied by five kids who were trying to cross the creek but the father was a bit hesitant, understandably so.

Mr. Right and I stood there doubting and over thinking this experience. In the past, this creek has never been a problem, we just crossed it. After wasting about 10 minutes deciding whether to use the already sketchy-formed stone pathway or the wobbly block of wood, a group of six people come around the corner and without hesitation, made their way through no problem. Only two of them got their feet a little wet but it was OK.

Mr. Right and I looked at each other and realized we were over thinking this experience, plus we were wearing waterproof boots, so we would be OK. We just needed to be careful not to fall and hurt ourselves. And so we did it without a hitch and made it to the other side safely. Moral of the story: along the journey, you’ll meet people who might lead you to doubt if you can really make it. At this point, you need to just push through and not overthink too much. They might have legitimate reasons for being hesitant but you, my friend, are support-prepared and you’ll be ready to cruise at full speed.

5. Be OK knowing that sometimes you’ll be slow or will move slower.

I admit that I don’t do particularly well with snow. I am extremely cautious not to slide, so I walk slooowly when there’s snow. On our hiking adventure last weekend at Melakwa Lake, a few people passed us. Now, I am a competitor by nature, and being left in the dust is a feeling I don’t particularly enjoy. At some point, we had to scramble our way through snow as we tried to follow the trail. Because I am afraid of heights, I was not only worried about falling and spraining my ankle or hitting my head, but the height of the trail was a challenge for me. So, I had to be OK with my slow pace navigating through the snow. Realizing your capability is crucial. So, whether you’re working on a new project or just starting a new venture, don’t compare your accomplishments or success with others. We all move at different rhythms.

I hope these five tips inspire and motivate you to create, innovate and push yourself toward your dream. Be sure to follow my travel adventures on Twitter or Instagram. Be on the lookout for some cool, amazing hiking pictures of the 24ish hiking adventures l am planning this summer. You can follow my adventure using #travelwithirine. Happy travels.

Share your thoughts and ideas with me and let’s connect on social media.

Follow me on Twitter here #travelwithirine
Follow me on Instagram here @travelwithirine