When was the last time you did something for the first time? ...
While Darius Rucker might not be on everyone’s summer playlist, he’s on mine (hey country music lovers and/or Hootie and the Blowfish fans), and his new song is on repeat these days for me. At the root of the song, Darius is talking about adventure, of doing new things and trying new experiences, and recognizing that for a lot of people we lose that sense of adventure as we get older and more set in our ways.
For me, the answer to Darius’s question is: I haven’t done a solo adventure trip to a new place in about 4 years.
Last week, I resolved that.
For seven days, I traveled across Southern Utah experiencing a few National Parks, new trails, new environments, new towns and a renewed sense of adventure. In Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef and Arches, I had an incredible adventure, learned a lot about myself, and spent a good amount of time reflecting on the current state of my life and what is next for me.
There is a lot of information written on the internet for the places I visited. But a lot of that information is for your standard tourist. It’s not written from the perspective of someone who might be travelling alone, might be camping, might be a long-distance runner who can handle solid mileage each day and is used to waking up before the sun, etc. I hope to provide my perspective on these parks, what is within the realm of do-able for the more able-bodied of us and provide some perspective on the parks beyond that as well.
I'm going to be writing about my trip, park by park, over the next few blogs. I've provide some tips and tricks I learned along the way, trails I hiked, some conservation issues I saw along the way, and general takeaways.
This trip was more than just a solo adventure for me though. It was a time to unplug, unwind and reflect on where I am at in life, where I’m going, what makes me happy and what makes me the constant ball of stress my life is usually swirling around. Stress and anxiety have been a near constant in my life for as long as I can remember.
What I (re)discovered on this trip was that I love being active, love working hard and having space for myself to unwind and recharge. I’m an introvert who loves solitude, gains energy by having space to myself, loves a good conversation about something deep with a few close friends (or strangers). I love having a purpose, having a mission, and knowing what I’m working towards.
This trip was incredible. Everything about it couldn’t have gone better than expected. I’ve returned to some less than stellar news, but having spent a week reflecting in a serious manner about what I’m looking to do with my life, I’ve already been able to take the news in stride.
With that, I leave you with more words from Darius, and let you wait for the first of the blogs to post. Zion up first!
When was the last time you did something for the first time? Yeah, let yourself go, follow that feeling, maybe something new is what you're needing. Like a real life, let your hair down, feel alive, when was the last time you did something for the first time?