What does not kill us, makes us stronger

2020 hiking goals, set out for 52 hikes! Thinking it was a great goal, double the hikes from 2019, do-able, and a great goal! Hmm, not so much with my son, who thought the goal was a little weak and an under achievement considering my life style of mostly retired.

No matter the goal, I can accomplish and now push to exceed, who wants to be an under achiever? So, there was a whisper in the winds calling for a journey today. Was it a "spirit quest" ? Left the house with snow on ground and sunshine only to find it was not going to clear on the mountain top. Hiking with the dense fog gives such a stillness of peace, I could hear the snow crunching under my foot.

A spirit quest sounds so reasonable, after all the dense fog lingering in the trees leaves a peaceful stillness, no other way to describe it. No wind, silence among the trees except a gentle whisper only one can hear, the trees calling for a journey. The silence so deep you can hear your own heart beat and the snow just shallow enough to not need traction on the boots and crunch with the pressure of the boot steps.

Wind Mountain is known for a "spiritual quest" years ago by Tribes to send off the youth as a test against nature. This trip the view on top was limited as the white clouds socked in around the rocks, would not want a spirit over night quest not being able to see more than 5 feet in front of my own feet. The 1000' elevation gain has a surreal view on a clear day and quite the drop off on rocky cliffs.

There are advantages to hiking during the week, off season and cold cloudy and snow on the ground days! Not another soul on the quest, first set of prints up the snowy trail, alone in nature. As long as the proper layers of clothing and supplies in the pack are with me, Winter hikes are rewarding, challenging and not for the fair hearted hikers. Leaving the trail and trees only whispering to me.

" We live in a wonderful world that is filled with beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if we seek them with our eyes open" - Jawarharlal Nehro

So when the trees whisper in the Winter winds through the foggy trees, it is time to go! After all, I need to exceed the 52 hike challenge for 2020 and achieve largely.