August 11, 2023 • 26 mins
In this episode, I'm sharing about my recent solo backpacking trip to Colorado. I spent 4 days and 3 nights backcountry camping outside of Aspen and it was magical.
Tune into this episode to hear about my experience, as well as some of the life lessons I learned in the Colorado wilderness.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, my friends.
(00:01):
And welcome to this episode,episode number 115.
I think it's 115.
It might be 116...
Of real brave and unstoppable.
Today, I'm going to tell you allabout my recent solo backpacking
trip to Colorado and all thethings it taught me about living
a real, brave and unstoppablelife.
(00:24):
There are a lot.
I could really talk for hoursabout this trip and I hope this
will be an interesting episodefor you.
I kind of debated whether or notit would be, but it really does
line up with the show's valuesand mission...
really living a life that's fullof courage and adventure, and
really just not letting thingsstop you.
So, I'm going to start by givingyou kind of a synopsis of my
(00:47):
trip, and then we'll dive intoall the things that I learned,
and that hopefully you can learnfrom too.
I have had a personal goal oftaking a solo trip for a couple
of years.
It's just something that hasalways appealed to me.
I'm not exactly sure why, but ifI had to guess, I think it's a
good way for me to a) be able todo my own thing without having
(01:07):
to worry about taking care ofother people or deciding for
other people.
I'm usually the one in my familythat makes decisions.
Everyone else kind of looks atme.
Like, I don't know.
I don't care.
So it seems like nobody else hasan opinion.
So it gets a little tiringsometimes to make all those
decisions.
And b) remind myself that I'mindependent and I can handle a
(01:32):
lot on my own.
And maybe c) it felt like lifewas just getting a little too
comfortable and I kind of wantedto shake things up a bit.
Which might actually be mybiggest reason.
I'm not sure.
So I have a week, every summerwhere my kids are with their dad
on vacation.
We each get a, a week.
We each get two weeks, butusually we only take one.
(01:53):
So this year I decided to usethat week for my solo trip.
It was a perfect opportunity.
I was looking at going to Parisand Provence in France.
I also considered Spain orPortugal.
I also considered like guidedbackpacking trips.
I was looking at half dome inYosemite, which is still a
bucket list for me.
I also looked at like the REIadventures in Colorado,
(02:16):
California, and Montana andWyoming.
Those wouldn't have been solotrips, but I would have been
going by myself to join them.
And I nearly pulled the triggeron flights to Europe a few
times.
And then the same with theYosemite trip.
But there was something thattold me to go with a trip to
(02:39):
Colorado to backpack, the fourpass loop in maroon bells-
Snowmass wilderness by myself.
There was something that wasjust calling to me.
And I asked people in my, thebackpacking groups I'm in and
I'm like, what would you do?
And people were like, Sit withit.
See what, like, just see whatcalls to you the most.
(03:00):
And like I did, and not justfelt magical to me.
So a lot of people kind of, whenI said I was doing it by myself.
A lot of people thought I wascrazy.
Some people told me it wasbad-ass to do it by myself.
And now, before I inspire you togo on a solo backpacking trip in
the wilderness, Please know thatI did not just on a whim,
(03:21):
decided to do this.
I educated myself.
I had the proper gear.
I went on a trip, you know, afew trips before that.
My very first trip was with REI.
And so I learned a lot aboutbackpacking.
I took a course- she dreams ofAlpine.
I'm just going to give her ashout out.
She has a course called becomean outdoor backpacking bad-ass.
And, it's really got everythingin there that you need to feel
(03:45):
like safe and self-sufficient ona trip by yourself.
But, you know, make sure thatyou don't undertake something
like that without having theproper training, the proper gear
or safety plans in place.
I had all of those things inplace and I was really, really
detailed about it.
So just know I didn't just hopout into the wilderness and say,
(04:07):
yay.
I was really prepared.
I spent four days and it wasreally like three full days plus
like a, a little tiny bit on thefourth day...
and three nights backpackingthis loop and it was totally
amazing.
For me, the mountains are mymagic happy place, but, and I
think I'm still kind ofunpacking the significance of
(04:27):
this trip for myself...
but the four pass loop is in themaroon bells wilderness outside
of Aspen, Colorado.
And it's kind of between Aspenand Crested Butte.
It's just under 27 miles total.
And in doing this loop, yousummit four different mountain
passes.
It is the hardest hike I've everdone.
And for some of you, thesedetails, aren't going to be too
(04:49):
exciting, but I'm going to sharethem because I think they're
pretty cool.
And some of you might beinterested.
So day one.
About five and a half miles.
2,264 feet of elevation gain.
198 feet of loss.
Uh, low elevation at thetrailhead was 9,557 feet.
(05:12):
And the highest, where I campedwas 11,668 feet.
So.
A lot of gain there.
And then also the thing that Ithink is interesting is like,
when you look at the slope, theaverage slope of the terrain.
The average slope is like 13degrees, which is, I mean,
that's not insignificant, butthe maximum was 32 degrees.
(05:37):
And that was like one of theeasiest days I had.
Day two.
just over eight miles.
1,622 feet of gain.
2,998 feet of descent.
Hard on the knees.
My lowest elevation was 10,266feet, which is where I camped
(05:58):
that night.
And the highest elevation was12,469 feet.
And the slope, the average slopeis 15 degrees, maximum 41
degrees.
That was also a fairly easy day.
Did two mountain passes, WestMaroon pass and, Frigid Air
pass.
So day three was by far thehardest day.
(06:19):
I went farther on this day thanI planned.
And this is where I hiked with.
I'll talk more about thesepeople, but I met some people
that I kept bumping into and wehiked together for, for.
Pretty much that whole day.
Um, So day three was like nineand a quarter miles.
3,952 feet of gain.
(06:40):
2,764 feet of descent.
That was so hard on the knees,especially on that day with that
much gain also.
Low elevation was 10,280 feet.
And, the high elevation was12,471 feet, which is the
highest elevation I reached onthe trip.
(07:01):
Camped at 11,489 feet.
Um, average slope was 20degrees, maximum slope, 45
degrees.
So you can imagine...
that's a lot.
That day we tackled two mountainpasses, trail rider Pass, which
was the hardest one in myopinion, and buckskin pass,
which was beautiful.
(07:21):
Both of them are beautiful.
But then day four, I had an easyday.
I had just about three and aquarter miles.
A gain of 82 feet.
And a descent of 1,909 feet.
So, that was again, another funon the knees.
Easier in some ways, but thejoints were really tired at that
point.
(07:41):
So just for those of you datanerds, that was kind of a little
bit about those.
A little, a little, uh, detailsabout the actual route itself.
But during this trip I learnedso much about myself.
Actually, during the trip and inthe planning of it.
So, first of all, the"why" ofplanning the trip.
(08:04):
I used to undertake all kinds ofthings, even if they were really
big quote unquote, cause that'sjust kind of who I am.
I'm adventurous.
I'm curious.
I love to learn and grow.
So when I see something thatintrigues me, it's really in my
nature to just go do it.
And I say, I used to undertakeall kinds of things.
I still do that, but I haven'treally committed to anything
(08:24):
like this big in a while.
And also not to say, you have togo do quote unquote big things,
but as we get older, our comfortzones tend to shrink.
And I hear people say all thetime...
That like, I feel stuck or I'm,I feel like I'm just going
through the motions all thetime.
And the stuckness is often justbeing stuck in a small,
(08:45):
comfortable world.
And not to say that you need togo do like big things, like do a
solo backpacking trip to getunstuck or to you know, get out
of your comfort zone.
That is not the point.
This was just sort of my way ofdoing it.
But the lesson in this is reallythat living in alignment with
your values, what's important toyou is what helps you get
(09:07):
unstuck.
It's how you really find meaningin your life as you move through
it.
Even more so than goals likereaching goals is great.
It's a great feeling, but beingconnected to your values along
the way, being connected to whythat goal is important.
Is really where you, you stayout of that stuck place.
(09:31):
And it's also how you keeppushing yourself outside your
comfort zone.
So adventure and courage areboth values of mine.
As a simplicity, living in thewilderness with only the bare
necessities for four days,anyone?
Simplicity.
So even though there is a littlebit of fear involved here, like
this adventure really alignedfor me, you know, obviously
(09:52):
adventure, it's an adventure andcourage.
Like it took me some courage to.
You know, it started withbooking the flight to Denver,
then it started, then it waswith, yeah, just doing it.
So all really in alignment forme.
Also, we are all so much morecapable than we think.
Like sleeping alone in a tent,the fear comes from your brain.
(10:15):
And sometimes, you know, we letour brain stop us from doing
things like that.
I think there might've been abear outside my tent one night.
I don't know what it was.
I heard a noise.
Somebody said it sounds like abear.
The talk to you later.
Was I a little afraid?
Um, sure.
But I also knew, like I hadprepared myself for what to do
in case that happened.
Like I knew exactly how tohandle that situation.
(10:37):
Intuitively.
I knew I'd be fine, but like mybrain was freaking out.
So that leads me to my next kindof point to talk about or
lesson.
And that's really like the fearof the unknown.
I had some questions about howthis trip would go.
Like the biggest thing wasaltitude.
I live at sea level.
Most of this trip was above11,000 feet.
(10:59):
And I've never done suchstrenuous activity for days on
end at such a high altitude,outside of skiing at Telluride
over like 20 years ago.
And my family, we went toColorado and stayed in
Breckenridge like couple ofyears ago, but we didn't do this
kind of activity, this physicalactivity.
So, I didn't really know how Iwould fare.
(11:20):
I ended up being fine and didn'thave any issues, thankfully, but
like, I could have let that stopme.
That could have been one thingthat was unknown.
And I also kind of questioned myphysical fitness a little bit.
Now I'm in pretty good shape.
But probably like I could havetrained a little bit more given
the elevation.
Um, so there were thoughts thatcrept into my mind about that as
(11:41):
well.
Like, how am I going to hold upon this?
That combined with the altitude,like, am I going to be a too
slow?
I also watched don't ever gowatch stuff on YouTube, but I
also watched a video of thiswoman who did it by herself and
she ended up quitting.
So, of course that was in mymind too.
And, you know, that first nightI'm not gonna lie.
(12:01):
Like I felt so tired.
I did almost six miles, likefive and a half miles.
And it was like 2000 feet ofelevation gain.
And I'm really not used tohiking that slowly.
Like it slowed me downobviously.
And I've also not used to beingthat tired after a relatively
short distance, six miles, fiveand a half miles when you're
(12:21):
backpacking is really not thatmuch.
And so I had a plan, like if Iwasn't feeling good, I would
just hike back out the next dayand, you know, do something
different the next night.
And let me tell you.
The thoughts about the unknownand like feeling tired had me
thinking about hiking out andscratching the whole thing the
next day.
Yeah.
(12:43):
So the lesson here.
Is recognize you're thinking,notice it.
Okay.
So I noticed that there weresome unknown things that were in
my brain.
My brain was having a hard timeextrapolating.
Like, is this going to be okay?
And I mean, I knew it was goingto be okay, but my brain, you
know, trying to protect me...
the lesson is to notice thethinking, you know, I knew I was
(13:05):
capable of doing this loop.
I knew it.
And if nothing else, I'mmentally tough, you know, but my
brain almost told me to turnaround, just turn around.
This is stupid.
Why are you doing this byyourself?
You don't have to proveanything.
You know, it's a lot of workand...
all the things right.
You're not going to sleep well,it's, you know, you could be
doing day hikes and like, youknow, whatever.
(13:28):
Anyway.
So pay attention to thethoughts, friends, like just
notice them name them,neutralize them to see them for
what they are.
Right.
They're just thoughts,sentences.
And then just choose the nextbest thought or action.
So for me, like, I reallythought about my values.
Authenticity adventure, courage,freedom, growth, connection.
(13:53):
When I work with people onvalues, by the way, I tell
people to narrow it down tothree to five, but I broke my
own rule.
I have six.
But in this case, like all ofthese values, like they related,
they aligned.
So it was like, why would I turnaround?
This is like totally inalignment with who I am and what
I want in life.
And like what brings me meaning.
So, you know, I did, I noticed,oh, there's my brain just trying
(14:15):
to.
You know, keep me safe andokay...
But that's avoiding, this is notgoing to help me live and it's
not gonna help me connect withwhat's important.
So...
onto the next lesson.
The next lesson is very simple.
It's just that morning coffeewatching the sunrise over the
mountains is the best thingever.
(14:37):
Totally my happy place.
It's magic.
That is all.
Okay, next lesson is having anopen mind.
Because you never know howthings are going to turn out.
You never know who you're gonnameet.
You never know what you're goingto encounter.
Things unfolds in a really coolway sometimes.
I'm on the shuttle bus to thetrail head.
I met a group of three people,justin, Jess, and Brittany, that
(15:01):
I chatted with a little bit,they were going to be doing the
same loop I was doing.
And I ended up starting a littlebit before them, after like
bathroom breaks and stuff, butat the trail head.
But I bumped into them again onthe second day.
And, you know, you never knowwho you're gonna meet when
you're out on a trail.
Sometimes people aren't veryfriendly.
Sometimes I pass people and theydon't even look up, which is so
(15:23):
non hiker ish, come on people befriendly.
But it's really a lesson thatthe people you meet, like you
don't know anything about them.
But they might be really cooland fun like this group.
Just Brittany and Justin, ifyou're listening, that's you.
And then there was another groupof four women who he kept
bumping into as well, and theyended up being super fun too.
(15:43):
And forgive me if you'relistening..
Cause I told them about mypodcasts.
Heather.
Just the other, Jess and Jesshas a dog Rupert, who's a golden
doodle that did this whole hikeas well.
And then, Sam and, oh my gosh.
The fourth person.
I'm so sorry if you'relistening.
I am so sorry that I can'tremember your name, but I know
(16:04):
you're in tech sales.
And you're really fun to talkto.
So anyway, But it was so muchfun.
I had some good solo time on thetrail, but I also, you know, I
made some good friends and madeit, made my experience that much
richer.
And we even took a dip in thefreezing cold waters of Snowmass
lake together in our underwear.
And they're also my favoritepeople, because when I told them
(16:25):
I'm 50, they could not believeit.
So you're all are my bestfriends.
So stay open to other people.
You never know the fun peopleyou might meet.
You never know the experiencesit's going to bring to you.
It's really, really cool tothink about that.
My grandparents were very opento other people and they met so
many cool people and had so manycool experiences just because
(16:48):
they were really open-minded inthat way.
So.
The next lesson is related toself care.
I had talked about the elevationgain and descent, elevation gain
and loss.
earlier it's a lot, right.
And I, you know, I'm notsomebody I'm somebody who knows
the value of self care, and Icoach people on it all the time
(17:11):
and sometimes I'm not good atgiving it to myself because I
like to be going.
So, the, you know, the lesson isto listen to your body and give
it what it needs, including theproper rest.
Even if that's hard.
The third day of my tripincluded almost 4,000 feet of
elevation gain and almost 3000feet of descent.
(17:31):
And the descent was really hardon my body...
my knees and my ankles.
And I was really hurting by theend of it.
When I got to camp and set upeverything, I took some Aleve,
but my sleep that night was sobad because my joints hurt
really bad.
So, of course I had the next dayto hike back to the trail head,
which wasn't a long hike.
(17:51):
But my tendency is to reallyjump back into my normal
activity.
Like my normal workout routineor my normal go-go go routine.
But my body was so mad at me.
So when I got home from thetrip, I just I've really had to
be mindful of taking the timethat my body needs.
There are still, I hate to admitit...
(18:11):
there are still some aches andpains.
And while it kind of pisses meoff, I'm kind of trying to lean
into it.
And, uh, one of the people I meton the trail, um, she's a PA and
she's, she said, well, as we getolder, we just have to embrace a
new normal...
or a new baseline for how shesaid it, but...
Yeah, just kind of trying togive my body what it needs and
(18:33):
we all need to do that.
We need to listen to our body,give it what it needs.
So.
Next lesson relates tosimplicity and lightening the
load.
So when I was packing, I weighedmy pack with everything I'd be
carrying.
And it was in my opinion, alittle too heavy.
It weighed in like 36 pounds,which was with, with food and
(18:54):
like estimated water...
I don't carry a ton of watercause there's a lot of water on
the route to be able to filter.
But, that was like, yeah I waslike, I that's way too heavy.
So I shaved ounces where I couldwent from wet wipes to
dehydrated wipes that you justput water on, ditch the
toothpaste and went totoothpaste tablets.
(19:14):
What else did I do?
I cut out.
Did I cut out?
I cut it.
I cut out a couple other things.
I struggled with.
So, I guess there's anotherlesson in here too, but I
struggled with whether or not tobring my Kindle and I have a
little tiny backpacking chair.
It only weighs a pound or just atiny shade, less than a pound.
I really struggled with that.
(19:36):
But, I ended up taking it.
Also made some other trade-offs.
I got a different sleeping bagthat was lighter, like almost a
pound lighter.
So I ended up being able to cutlike a pound and a half off my
pack weight.
And I knew the track would bereally strenuous, so I wanted to
have that pack as light aspossible, especially given my
question mark with altitude andstuff like that.
(19:59):
So the first lesson here islife's journey is way easier
when you put things down thatare heavy and unnecessary.
Carry just what you need.
But there's like a second littlesub lesson there...
is that sometimes there arelittle luxuries that are worth
it.
And my chair and my Kindle weretwo things that I almost didn't
(20:19):
bring, and I am so glad I didbecause I really enjoyed sitting
in my chair.
It's not the most comfortablechair, but it's still, it's a
chair.
Um, I really enjoyed sitting inmy chair, reading at camp.
So sometimes luxuries are worthit.
The next one.
Alpine water.
(20:41):
And the like Alpine spring,which is our summer, but Alpine
water is heavenly when your feethurt.
But only for a minute, causeit's fucking cold and it starts
to hurt really bad.
Uh, that's that lesson?
So my last lesson here is to bedamn proud of your
accomplishments.
All of them.
(21:02):
Don't let your brain try to tellyou that they're insignificant.
People would say to me, oh,that's amazing.
I'm so proud of you, and mybrain.
I mean, in some way, like I waslike, yeah, me too.
But there is a part of me thatmy brain was like, yeah, it's
just whatever.
I mean, it's just...
the people do harder things.
It's not that big of a deal.
And that's an old pattern ofmine, like to try to downplay
the things I've done becauseother people have maybe done
(21:24):
something bigger.
But no, this was big, not manypeople undertake this kind of
thing, a solo back country tripand take on a route as big as
the four pass loop.
I'm not saying that's a brageither, but you know, sure.
Do people climb mountains likeKilimanjaro and Everest?
Uh, of course.
But that doesn't make myaccomplishment any less
significant to me.
(21:45):
It accomplished what I wanted itto.
It pushed me out of my comfortzone.
It was amazing.
I loved it.
And it's really not about meimpressing other people.
I've been there before.
That this is why I do big thingslike this is because I get
external validation and it feelsgood, but that's not my
motivation anymore.
So now I'm checking in withwhat's important to me in life
and I'm connecting with myvalues.
(22:08):
And so, yeah, it's a hugeaccomplishment just because I
did that, you know.
I made life meaningful to meduring that you know, trip.
So there, brain.
So the lesson is to celebrateyour wins no matter how big or
small, especially when they, youknow, when they're aligning with
a value of something you'vechosen to align and connect with
(22:30):
something that's important toyou.
So go celebrate those wins.
There are a lot of other thingsI could talk about.
There's so much that I got fromthat trip.
So many amazing views.
I think another lesson off thetop of my head here would be
like, you know, things can bereally hard.
Like some of those mountainpasses climbing them or just, I
(22:51):
mean, I would be like, okay, I'mgoing to take 10 steps and then
take five breaths.
And then it became, I'm going totake five steps and take two
breaths.
And that would be like, I'mgoing to take five steps and I'm
just going to stand here forawhile.
So it's hard.
It's really hard.
And then when I'd get to the topof these mountain passes.
(23:12):
You stand there and look, andlike in the valley or the basin,
whatever valley you just camefrom, the view is like,
incredible.
Then you turned it and looked atthis new view and it was
amazing.
It was beautiful.
Different, but beautiful too.
And so I think like that'ssomething to remember is that
life can be really hardsometimes.
And there's always like a betterplace.
(23:34):
There's always, Or I guess like,we'd even say different place.
You know, I don't know that I, Idon't, I like to stay away from
saying some thing is better thananother, because they're just
different.
They might feel better becausethat's how we're conditioned,
but in truth, like even in thehard times, like we gain a lot
of growth from those times.
So.
You know, but when you do workreally hard and things are kind
(23:55):
of a slog, like you get to thatpeak, to that summit, and then
you see a whole different viewthan you did before.
So that would be another lessonI would say.
I think that's a pretty goodone.
So anyway.
If you have any questions aboutbackpacking or about adventure
and just want to like pick mybrain about it, feel free.
I get so excited about this kindof stuff.
(24:17):
So just email me or, or, youknow, reach out.
Uh, via the website.
yeah.
Feel free to ask more questionsabout it.
Um, so friends, thank you fortuning into my little trip recap
and lessons learned.
I hope it was interesting.
And maybe you got something fromit.
Before I go, if I can justplease invite you to go leave or
(24:40):
rating and a review, that wouldbe amazing.
Like I've said before, it reallyhelps people find the show.
And I know a lot of people, Italk to get a lot from it, so I
really want to spread what Ihave to say even further in case
it can help other people too.
So if you wouldn't mind doingthat, that would be awesome.
And I will see you next time.
Hello, my friends.
(00:01):
And welcome to this episode,episode number 115.
I think it's 115.
It might be 116...
Of real brave and unstoppable.
Today, I'm going to tell you allabout my recent solo backpacking
trip to Colorado and all thethings it taught me about living
a real, brave and unstoppablelife.
(00:24):
There are a lot.
I could really talk for hoursabout this trip and I hope this
will be an interesting episodefor you.
I kind of debated whether or notit would be, but it really does
line up with the show's valuesand mission...
really living a life that's fullof courage and adventure, and
really just not letting thingsstop you.
So, I'm going to start by givingyou kind of a synopsis of my
(00:47):
trip, and then we'll dive intoall the things that I learned,
and that hopefully you can learnfrom too.
I have had a personal goal oftaking a solo trip for a couple
of years.
It's just something that hasalways appealed to me.
I'm not exactly sure why, but ifI had to guess, I think it's a
good way for me to a) be able todo my own thing without having
(01:07):
to worry about taking care ofother people or deciding for
other people.
I'm usually the one in my familythat makes decisions.
Everyone else kind of looks atme.
Like, I don't know.
I don't care.
So it seems like nobody else hasan opinion.
So it gets a little tiringsometimes to make all those
decisions.
And b) remind myself that I'mindependent and I can handle a
(01:32):
lot on my own.
And maybe c) it felt like lifewas just getting a little too
comfortable and I kind of wantedto shake things up a bit.
Which might actually be mybiggest reason.
I'm not sure.
So I have a week, every summerwhere my kids are with their dad
on vacation.
We each get a, a week.
We each get two weeks, butusually we only take one.
(01:53):
So this year I decided to usethat week for my solo trip.
It was a perfect opportunity.
I was looking at going to Parisand Provence in France.
I also considered Spain orPortugal.
I also considered like guidedbackpacking trips.
I was looking at half dome inYosemite, which is still a
bucket list for me.
I also looked at like the REIadventures in Colorado,
(02:16):
California, and Montana andWyoming.
Those wouldn't have been solotrips, but I would have been
going by myself to join them.
And I nearly pulled the triggeron flights to Europe a few
times.
And then the same with theYosemite trip.
But there was something thattold me to go with a trip to
(02:39):
Colorado to backpack, the fourpass loop in maroon bells-
Snowmass wilderness by myself.
There was something that wasjust calling to me.
And I asked people in my, thebackpacking groups I'm in and
I'm like, what would you do?
And people were like, Sit withit.
See what, like, just see whatcalls to you the most.
(03:00):
And like I did, and not justfelt magical to me.
So a lot of people kind of, whenI said I was doing it by myself.
A lot of people thought I wascrazy.
Some people told me it wasbad-ass to do it by myself.
And now, before I inspire you togo on a solo backpacking trip in
the wilderness, Please know thatI did not just on a whim,
(03:21):
decided to do this.
I educated myself.
I had the proper gear.
I went on a trip, you know, afew trips before that.
My very first trip was with REI.
And so I learned a lot aboutbackpacking.
I took a course- she dreams ofAlpine.
I'm just going to give her ashout out.
She has a course called becomean outdoor backpacking bad-ass.
And, it's really got everythingin there that you need to feel
(03:45):
like safe and self-sufficient ona trip by yourself.
But, you know, make sure thatyou don't undertake something
like that without having theproper training, the proper gear
or safety plans in place.
I had all of those things inplace and I was really, really
detailed about it.
So just know I didn't just hopout into the wilderness and say,
(04:07):
yay.
I was really prepared.
I spent four days and it wasreally like three full days plus
like a, a little tiny bit on thefourth day...
and three nights backpackingthis loop and it was totally
amazing.
For me, the mountains are mymagic happy place, but, and I
think I'm still kind ofunpacking the significance of
(04:27):
this trip for myself...
but the four pass loop is in themaroon bells wilderness outside
of Aspen, Colorado.
And it's kind of between Aspenand Crested Butte.
It's just under 27 miles total.
And in doing this loop, yousummit four different mountain
passes.
It is the hardest hike I've everdone.
And for some of you, thesedetails, aren't going to be too
(04:49):
exciting, but I'm going to sharethem because I think they're
pretty cool.
And some of you might beinterested.
So day one.
About five and a half miles.
2,264 feet of elevation gain.
198 feet of loss.
Uh, low elevation at thetrailhead was 9,557 feet.
(05:12):
And the highest, where I campedwas 11,668 feet.
So.
A lot of gain there.
And then also the thing that Ithink is interesting is like,
when you look at the slope, theaverage slope of the terrain.
The average slope is like 13degrees, which is, I mean,
that's not insignificant, butthe maximum was 32 degrees.
(05:37):
And that was like one of theeasiest days I had.
Day two.
just over eight miles.
1,622 feet of gain.
2,998 feet of descent.
Hard on the knees.
My lowest elevation was 10,266feet, which is where I camped
(05:58):
that night.
And the highest elevation was12,469 feet.
And the slope, the average slopeis 15 degrees, maximum 41
degrees.
That was also a fairly easy day.
Did two mountain passes, WestMaroon pass and, Frigid Air
pass.
So day three was by far thehardest day.
(06:19):
I went farther on this day thanI planned.
And this is where I hiked with.
I'll talk more about thesepeople, but I met some people
that I kept bumping into and wehiked together for, for.
Pretty much that whole day.
Um, So day three was like nineand a quarter miles.
3,952 feet of gain.
(06:40):
2,764 feet of descent.
That was so hard on the knees,especially on that day with that
much gain also.
Low elevation was 10,280 feet.
And, the high elevation was12,471 feet, which is the
highest elevation I reached onthe trip.
(07:01):
Camped at 11,489 feet.
Um, average slope was 20degrees, maximum slope, 45
degrees.
So you can imagine...
that's a lot.
That day we tackled two mountainpasses, trail rider Pass, which
was the hardest one in myopinion, and buckskin pass,
which was beautiful.
(07:21):
Both of them are beautiful.
But then day four, I had an easyday.
I had just about three and aquarter miles.
A gain of 82 feet.
And a descent of 1,909 feet.
So, that was again, another funon the knees.
Easier in some ways, but thejoints were really tired at that
point.
(07:41):
So just for those of you datanerds, that was kind of a little
bit about those.
A little, a little, uh, detailsabout the actual route itself.
But during this trip I learnedso much about myself.
Actually, during the trip and inthe planning of it.
So, first of all, the"why" ofplanning the trip.
(08:04):
I used to undertake all kinds ofthings, even if they were really
big quote unquote, cause that'sjust kind of who I am.
I'm adventurous.
I'm curious.
I love to learn and grow.
So when I see something thatintrigues me, it's really in my
nature to just go do it.
And I say, I used to undertakeall kinds of things.
I still do that, but I haven'treally committed to anything
(08:24):
like this big in a while.
And also not to say, you have togo do quote unquote big things,
but as we get older, our comfortzones tend to shrink.
And I hear people say all thetime...
That like, I feel stuck or I'm,I feel like I'm just going
through the motions all thetime.
And the stuckness is often justbeing stuck in a small,
(08:45):
comfortable world.
And not to say that you need togo do like big things, like do a
solo backpacking trip to getunstuck or to you know, get out
of your comfort zone.
That is not the point.
This was just sort of my way ofdoing it.
But the lesson in this is reallythat living in alignment with
your values, what's important toyou is what helps you get
(09:07):
unstuck.
It's how you really find meaningin your life as you move through
it.
Even more so than goals likereaching goals is great.
It's a great feeling, but beingconnected to your values along
the way, being connected to whythat goal is important.
Is really where you, you stayout of that stuck place.
(09:31):
And it's also how you keeppushing yourself outside your
comfort zone.
So adventure and courage areboth values of mine.
As a simplicity, living in thewilderness with only the bare
necessities for four days,anyone?
Simplicity.
So even though there is a littlebit of fear involved here, like
this adventure really alignedfor me, you know, obviously
(09:52):
adventure, it's an adventure andcourage.
Like it took me some courage to.
You know, it started withbooking the flight to Denver,
then it started, then it waswith, yeah, just doing it.
So all really in alignment forme.
Also, we are all so much morecapable than we think.
Like sleeping alone in a tent,the fear comes from your brain.
(10:15):
And sometimes, you know, we letour brain stop us from doing
things like that.
I think there might've been abear outside my tent one night.
I don't know what it was.
I heard a noise.
Somebody said it sounds like abear.
The talk to you later.
Was I a little afraid?
Um, sure.
But I also knew, like I hadprepared myself for what to do
in case that happened.
Like I knew exactly how tohandle that situation.
(10:37):
Intuitively.
I knew I'd be fine, but like mybrain was freaking out.
So that leads me to my next kindof point to talk about or
lesson.
And that's really like the fearof the unknown.
I had some questions about howthis trip would go.
Like the biggest thing wasaltitude.
I live at sea level.
Most of this trip was above11,000 feet.
(10:59):
And I've never done suchstrenuous activity for days on
end at such a high altitude,outside of skiing at Telluride
over like 20 years ago.
And my family, we went toColorado and stayed in
Breckenridge like couple ofyears ago, but we didn't do this
kind of activity, this physicalactivity.
So, I didn't really know how Iwould fare.
(11:20):
I ended up being fine and didn'thave any issues, thankfully, but
like, I could have let that stopme.
That could have been one thingthat was unknown.
And I also kind of questioned myphysical fitness a little bit.
Now I'm in pretty good shape.
But probably like I could havetrained a little bit more given
the elevation.
Um, so there were thoughts thatcrept into my mind about that as
(11:41):
well.
Like, how am I going to hold upon this?
That combined with the altitude,like, am I going to be a too
slow?
I also watched don't ever gowatch stuff on YouTube, but I
also watched a video of thiswoman who did it by herself and
she ended up quitting.
So, of course that was in mymind too.
And, you know, that first nightI'm not gonna lie.
(12:01):
Like I felt so tired.
I did almost six miles, likefive and a half miles.
And it was like 2000 feet ofelevation gain.
And I'm really not used tohiking that slowly.
Like it slowed me downobviously.
And I've also not used to beingthat tired after a relatively
short distance, six miles, fiveand a half miles when you're
(12:21):
backpacking is really not thatmuch.
And so I had a plan, like if Iwasn't feeling good, I would
just hike back out the next dayand, you know, do something
different the next night.
And let me tell you.
The thoughts about the unknownand like feeling tired had me
thinking about hiking out andscratching the whole thing the
next day.
Yeah.
(12:43):
So the lesson here.
Is recognize you're thinking,notice it.
Okay.
So I noticed that there weresome unknown things that were in
my brain.
My brain was having a hard timeextrapolating.
Like, is this going to be okay?
And I mean, I knew it was goingto be okay, but my brain, you
know, trying to protect me...
the lesson is to notice thethinking, you know, I knew I was
(13:05):
capable of doing this loop.
I knew it.
And if nothing else, I'mmentally tough, you know, but my
brain almost told me to turnaround, just turn around.
This is stupid.
Why are you doing this byyourself?
You don't have to proveanything.
You know, it's a lot of workand...
all the things right.
You're not going to sleep well,it's, you know, you could be
doing day hikes and like, youknow, whatever.
(13:28):
Anyway.
So pay attention to thethoughts, friends, like just
notice them name them,neutralize them to see them for
what they are.
Right.
They're just thoughts,sentences.
And then just choose the nextbest thought or action.
So for me, like, I reallythought about my values.
Authenticity adventure, courage,freedom, growth, connection.
(13:53):
When I work with people onvalues, by the way, I tell
people to narrow it down tothree to five, but I broke my
own rule.
I have six.
But in this case, like all ofthese values, like they related,
they aligned.
So it was like, why would I turnaround?
This is like totally inalignment with who I am and what
I want in life.
And like what brings me meaning.
So, you know, I did, I noticed,oh, there's my brain just trying
(14:15):
to.
You know, keep me safe andokay...
But that's avoiding, this is notgoing to help me live and it's
not gonna help me connect withwhat's important.
So...
onto the next lesson.
The next lesson is very simple.
It's just that morning coffeewatching the sunrise over the
mountains is the best thingever.
(14:37):
Totally my happy place.
It's magic.
That is all.
Okay, next lesson is having anopen mind.
Because you never know howthings are going to turn out.
You never know who you're gonnameet.
You never know what you're goingto encounter.
Things unfolds in a really coolway sometimes.
I'm on the shuttle bus to thetrail head.
I met a group of three people,justin, Jess, and Brittany, that
(15:01):
I chatted with a little bit,they were going to be doing the
same loop I was doing.
And I ended up starting a littlebit before them, after like
bathroom breaks and stuff, butat the trail head.
But I bumped into them again onthe second day.
And, you know, you never knowwho you're gonna meet when
you're out on a trail.
Sometimes people aren't veryfriendly.
Sometimes I pass people and theydon't even look up, which is so
(15:23):
non hiker ish, come on people befriendly.
But it's really a lesson thatthe people you meet, like you
don't know anything about them.
But they might be really cooland fun like this group.
Just Brittany and Justin, ifyou're listening, that's you.
And then there was another groupof four women who he kept
bumping into as well, and theyended up being super fun too.
(15:43):
And forgive me if you'relistening..
Cause I told them about mypodcasts.
Heather.
Just the other, Jess and Jesshas a dog Rupert, who's a golden
doodle that did this whole hikeas well.
And then, Sam and, oh my gosh.
The fourth person.
I'm so sorry if you'relistening.
I am so sorry that I can'tremember your name, but I know
(16:04):
you're in tech sales.
And you're really fun to talkto.
So anyway, But it was so muchfun.
I had some good solo time on thetrail, but I also, you know, I
made some good friends and madeit, made my experience that much
richer.
And we even took a dip in thefreezing cold waters of Snowmass
lake together in our underwear.
And they're also my favoritepeople, because when I told them
(16:25):
I'm 50, they could not believeit.
So you're all are my bestfriends.
So stay open to other people.
You never know the fun peopleyou might meet.
You never know the experiencesit's going to bring to you.
It's really, really cool tothink about that.
My grandparents were very opento other people and they met so
many cool people and had so manycool experiences just because
(16:48):
they were really open-minded inthat way.
So.
The next lesson is related toself care.
I had talked about the elevationgain and descent, elevation gain
and loss.
earlier it's a lot, right.
And I, you know, I'm notsomebody I'm somebody who knows
the value of self care, and Icoach people on it all the time
(17:11):
and sometimes I'm not good atgiving it to myself because I
like to be going.
So, the, you know, the lesson isto listen to your body and give
it what it needs, including theproper rest.
Even if that's hard.
The third day of my tripincluded almost 4,000 feet of
elevation gain and almost 3000feet of descent.
(17:31):
And the descent was really hardon my body...
my knees and my ankles.
And I was really hurting by theend of it.
When I got to camp and set upeverything, I took some Aleve,
but my sleep that night was sobad because my joints hurt
really bad.
So, of course I had the next dayto hike back to the trail head,
which wasn't a long hike.
(17:51):
But my tendency is to reallyjump back into my normal
activity.
Like my normal workout routineor my normal go-go go routine.
But my body was so mad at me.
So when I got home from thetrip, I just I've really had to
be mindful of taking the timethat my body needs.
There are still, I hate to admitit...
(18:11):
there are still some aches andpains.
And while it kind of pisses meoff, I'm kind of trying to lean
into it.
And, uh, one of the people I meton the trail, um, she's a PA and
she's, she said, well, as we getolder, we just have to embrace a
new normal...
or a new baseline for how shesaid it, but...
Yeah, just kind of trying togive my body what it needs and
(18:33):
we all need to do that.
We need to listen to our body,give it what it needs.
So.
Next lesson relates tosimplicity and lightening the
load.
So when I was packing, I weighedmy pack with everything I'd be
carrying.
And it was in my opinion, alittle too heavy.
It weighed in like 36 pounds,which was with, with food and
(18:54):
like estimated water...
I don't carry a ton of watercause there's a lot of water on
the route to be able to filter.
But, that was like, yeah I waslike, I that's way too heavy.
So I shaved ounces where I couldwent from wet wipes to
dehydrated wipes that you justput water on, ditch the
toothpaste and went totoothpaste tablets.
(19:14):
What else did I do?
I cut out.
Did I cut out?
I cut it.
I cut out a couple other things.
I struggled with.
So, I guess there's anotherlesson in here too, but I
struggled with whether or not tobring my Kindle and I have a
little tiny backpacking chair.
It only weighs a pound or just atiny shade, less than a pound.
I really struggled with that.
(19:36):
But, I ended up taking it.
Also made some other trade-offs.
I got a different sleeping bagthat was lighter, like almost a
pound lighter.
So I ended up being able to cutlike a pound and a half off my
pack weight.
And I knew the track would bereally strenuous, so I wanted to
have that pack as light aspossible, especially given my
question mark with altitude andstuff like that.
(19:59):
So the first lesson here islife's journey is way easier
when you put things down thatare heavy and unnecessary.
Carry just what you need.
But there's like a second littlesub lesson there...
is that sometimes there arelittle luxuries that are worth
it.
And my chair and my Kindle weretwo things that I almost didn't
(20:19):
bring, and I am so glad I didbecause I really enjoyed sitting
in my chair.
It's not the most comfortablechair, but it's still, it's a
chair.
Um, I really enjoyed sitting inmy chair, reading at camp.
So sometimes luxuries are worthit.
The next one.
Alpine water.
(20:41):
And the like Alpine spring,which is our summer, but Alpine
water is heavenly when your feethurt.
But only for a minute, causeit's fucking cold and it starts
to hurt really bad.
Uh, that's that lesson?
So my last lesson here is to bedamn proud of your
accomplishments.
All of them.
(21:02):
Don't let your brain try to tellyou that they're insignificant.
People would say to me, oh,that's amazing.
I'm so proud of you, and mybrain.
I mean, in some way, like I waslike, yeah, me too.
But there is a part of me thatmy brain was like, yeah, it's
just whatever.
I mean, it's just...
the people do harder things.
It's not that big of a deal.
And that's an old pattern ofmine, like to try to downplay
the things I've done becauseother people have maybe done
(21:24):
something bigger.
But no, this was big, not manypeople undertake this kind of
thing, a solo back country tripand take on a route as big as
the four pass loop.
I'm not saying that's a brageither, but you know, sure.
Do people climb mountains likeKilimanjaro and Everest?
Uh, of course.
But that doesn't make myaccomplishment any less
significant to me.
(21:45):
It accomplished what I wanted itto.
It pushed me out of my comfortzone.
It was amazing.
I loved it.
And it's really not about meimpressing other people.
I've been there before.
That this is why I do big thingslike this is because I get
external validation and it feelsgood, but that's not my
motivation anymore.
So now I'm checking in withwhat's important to me in life
and I'm connecting with myvalues.
(22:08):
And so, yeah, it's a hugeaccomplishment just because I
did that, you know.
I made life meaningful to meduring that you know, trip.
So there, brain.
So the lesson is to celebrateyour wins no matter how big or
small, especially when they, youknow, when they're aligning with
a value of something you'vechosen to align and connect with
(22:30):
something that's important toyou.
So go celebrate those wins.
There are a lot of other thingsI could talk about.
There's so much that I got fromthat trip.
So many amazing views.
I think another lesson off thetop of my head here would be
like, you know, things can bereally hard.
Like some of those mountainpasses climbing them or just, I
(22:51):
mean, I would be like, okay, I'mgoing to take 10 steps and then
take five breaths.
And then it became, I'm going totake five steps and take two
breaths.
And that would be like, I'mgoing to take five steps and I'm
just going to stand here forawhile.
So it's hard.
It's really hard.
And then when I'd get to the topof these mountain passes.
(23:12):
You stand there and look, andlike in the valley or the basin,
whatever valley you just camefrom, the view is like,
incredible.
Then you turned it and looked atthis new view and it was
amazing.
It was beautiful.
Different, but beautiful too.
And so I think like that'ssomething to remember is that
life can be really hardsometimes.
And there's always like a betterplace.
(23:34):
There's always, Or I guess like,we'd even say different place.
You know, I don't know that I, Idon't, I like to stay away from
saying some thing is better thananother, because they're just
different.
They might feel better becausethat's how we're conditioned,
but in truth, like even in thehard times, like we gain a lot
of growth from those times.
So.
You know, but when you do workreally hard and things are kind
(23:55):
of a slog, like you get to thatpeak, to that summit, and then
you see a whole different viewthan you did before.
So that would be another lessonI would say.
I think that's a pretty goodone.
So anyway.
If you have any questions aboutbackpacking or about adventure
and just want to like pick mybrain about it, feel free.
I get so excited about this kindof stuff.
(24:17):
So just email me or, or, youknow, reach out.
Uh, via the website.
yeah.
Feel free to ask more questionsabout it.
Um, so friends, thank you fortuning into my little trip recap
and lessons learned.
I hope it was interesting.
And maybe you got something fromit.
Before I go, if I can justplease invite you to go leave or
(24:40):
rating and a review, that wouldbe amazing.
Like I've said before, it reallyhelps people find the show.
And I know a lot of people, Italk to get a lot from it, so I
really want to spread what Ihave to say even further in case
it can help other people too.
So if you wouldn't mind doingthat, that would be awesome.
And I will see you next time.
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