A Chance to Triumph Fear

Triumph

You’ll have to excuse me…I just got home from leading an exhilarating hike to the Pali Puka this morning. I’m still coming down from that high!

If you want info on the Pali Puka Hike itself, here is my blog post from a previous time of hiking it: Pali Puka-the Ultimate Precipice

We had a great group of 14 hikers today! The Pali Puka is one of those hikes that is not for the faint of heart! Can we say ridgeline? Drop offs? Wind?

Today, we upped the challenge even more with less than perfect weather conditions.

It had been raining off and on over the past 24 hours so it was almost a no-go. I considered cancelling it for safety reason. This is just not a good hike to do with the slick mud because of the steep climb in some places and the sheer drop offs in other places. But, they were all very eager to give it a try. So, we decided to go for it. We all agreed we would just turn around if it got too sketchy.

Luckily, nothing was too bad. So, we were able to complete it!

None of the hikers besides myself had done the hike before. We had a range of hiking experience and we each had our own fears going into today: some were afraid of the heights, some were leery of the weather conditions. As the lead, I’m always nervous about someone getting hurt etc.

In spite of the fears we all harbored, we all encouraged each other and pushed on til the very end.

As the leader, I was the first one to reach the end. It was so gratifying to watch everyone’s faces as they stepped out of the trees and back onto the pavement. To witness the proud look of triumph they all had made me so glad we decided to give it a try today!

It was like watching the end of a marathon. We had our arms raised up and we all were screaming, “yay! We did it!” And, “way to go!” It was such a neat moment of strangers coming together to face our fears and overcome them! I’m so blessed to have had the honor of leading them today.

Today, was a good reminder to me that it can be fun to step out of our comfort zones and be adventurous. I’m so proud of these hikers and their persistence to not give up!

What have you done lately to push yourself? I encourage you to try something new today. Push yourself to experience something new…you might just love it!

Please like, comment and share 🙂

With Aloha,

Lacy