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| Ascending Lynne's Route, Jazz Dome, South Platte, Colorado |
The past is a shadow behind me. I have chronically dwelt in the past for too long. The future is uncertain and nebulous. I can step foot on the path, but I cannot foresee where the path will ultimately take me. The time is now. The place is here. That’s all there is.
I have a plan. There
are things I do today that I hope will directly impact my future in a positive
way. I am working toward starting my own
guiding business in the Red River Gorge.
In the distant past I dreamed of being a hiking guide, then
I discovered rock climbing and that dream shifted, and eventually I realized
the dream and became a rock climbing guide working through my family’s outdoor
business in the Red River Gorge. I left
that path to chase a more conventional career.
That path was not forgiving or good to me. I doubted my instincts. I doubted my wants and needs and bought into
what I thought the world wanted me to do to be successful in life. I was wrong.
I’ve always been good at off-trail navigation. I followed my own compass and stepped back
onto the path I hoped was the same I had started down so many years ago. In 2019 I passed my American Mountain Guides
Association (AMGA) Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) exam. It wasn’t until 2021 that I began working as
a guide for someone else, but the past two years have convinced me that what I should
be doing is working as an outdoor guide.
As an introvert it might seem counter-intuitive that working
with people would end up being my calling in life—its still hard for me to
believe—but I have learned a lot about myself and about being an
introvert. It makes some kind of crazy
sense after all.
One of the lessons that rock climbers must learn is how to
look ahead and plan the gear they’ll need.
Only through experience do we know what is appropriate and effective. It
can take a great deal of courage to leave the extra stuff behind. As a newbie climber I tended to take the everything
and the kitchen sink. Youthful brute strength can compensate for experience up
to a point. When time wears on your body
you begin to learn how to conserve energy and move upward with more efficiency. Or you fall.
My plan is to start my own guiding business. I will share my passion for exploration and discovery
through hiking and rock climbing. Today
I do things which will set me up for success in the future. There are check boxes I must tick and so I
must draw from my past to inform my future.
I am in a state of transition today.
It’s a little scary. It’s a lot
exciting.
