The Growing Edge

On Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, I officially started preparing for a hiking trip in July.

Itinerary

Day 1: Fly to Las Vegas, pick up a rental car and drive 5 hours to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Day 2: Hike North Rim trails; camp overnight.

Day 3: Drive to Zion National Park, Utah; hike most of the day.

Days 4-7: Hike the rest of the Mighty 5 national parks in Utah – Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Arches – driving between parks and camping, with an occasional night in a hotel.

Day 8: Drive from Moab, Utah, to Cumbres Pass, Colorado, not exactly a tourist destination, but my most important site on this trip. Which brings me to ...

Why?

Why am I doing this? Numerous bloggers and influencers on the topics of motivation and behavior change tell us that we don't get very far with a goal unless we know our "why." I have several for this trip.

1. Closing a circle. When my son, Michael, trail name Einstein, started his first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail on Jan. 14, 2016, his sister, Rachel, and I were there on Springer Mountain, Georgia, to see him off. He completed that trail (2,200 miles) and, in the years since, he's thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, the Te Araroa in New Zealand, and a few other long trails. During the past year he's been section-hiking the Continental Divide Trail. He's on track to finish his final section – thereby completing the Triple Crown of long trails in the U.S. – at Cumbres Pass at the end of July. I will be there to greet him.

2. Getting seriously outdoors. For about 10 days before I meet up with Michael (and Rachel, if we can arrange it logistically), I will spend much of every day in the elements, dealing with heat, dirt, bugs, sweat, way too much sun, all the uncomfortable things, for the sake of ...

3. ... being outdoors. Seriously. Experiencing the nature of the western United States in all its glory, preserved and protected, however imperfectly, by our national parks. Last January I set an intention to hike in 12 different national parks this year. I probably won't reach that goal, but I'll get six of them on this trip, starting with the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which I've never seen, despite having grown up in Arizona.

4. Growing my edge outward – becoming stronger and more resilient, flexible, and balanced – physically, mentally, and spiritually. I grew up indoors and uninterested in any physical activity other than playing musical instruments. Also, I was notably lacking in strength, speed, and any talent for sports. What reading and writing are for a dyslexic child, P.E. was for me. I was the last to be chosen for any team. Plus, I had a huge fear of falling on my head, so gymnastics was out, too. Then, in my 20s, I took up long-distance running and discovered not only the benefits to my physical and mental health, but also the joy of pushing my edges of endurance and speed.

But my inspiration to grow in more dimensions has come from my kids – Rachel, the stunt double and martial artist, who makes her living being filmed in fistfights, hanging off tall buildings, diving through windows and into every imaginable physical danger; and Michael, the outdoor adventurer and math teacher, with 12,000+ career miles of hiking to date, two cross-country bicycling tours, and numerous other quests.

Sometimes our children are given to us to be our spiritual directors. – Harvey Cox

Don't ask me what planet those two came from; I'm just grateful I got to spend their growing-up years with them.