Friday, August 5, 2011

Mt. Adams Gonzaga July 2011 Trip


I climbed to the top of Mt. Adams with some class mates of mine from Gonzaga this last weekend. It was an amazing experience. All summer long we studied the concepts of hardiness and resiliency focusing first on how these concepts applied to ourselves, then to others, then looking for trends to help each of us increase our own levels within ourselves and in our organizations. The course taught me a lot about myself and about how to influence others positively, but the actual climb spoke volumes to the course content. Early on we had to rearrange the teams because a few of our group members had reached their limit. I can only imagine how hard it was for them to turn back, but when we returned to camp later that weekend, they had cold beverages waiting for us and they treated us with profound kindness. The embodied true resiliency. One of the girls had problems with her feet and shins early on in the climb, but she battled through it and eventually reached the top. Anyone who hikes or climbs knows how negatively foot problems can influence a trip, but in a spirit of hardiness she grinned and bore it valiantly. One of the guys from our group had a fear of heights, but he struggled through it and pushed through to the top never faltering in his resolve to be successful. Finally one girl stopped just short of the final summit. She pushed herself to her limit and had a smile on her face at the end of the day. Each person on this trip strengthened me and I feel very blessed to have been on this trip and to have made so many great new friends.