Inspiration – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

Mount Lady Macdonald: Unplug

Sometimes you just have to unplug from the daily routine and the city stimuli, venture out on your own in nature, and think.

I know. It’s so cliche. But how often do you actually give yourself the time… the space… to be at one with your thoughts? To really honour what it is that occupies your mind? To allow yourself a chance to gain some clarity- without the car noises, text message beeps, pressing work and family commitments, ongoing to-do lists, or multitude of other things vying for our immediate attention?

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The Year of… 2015

2015- It's going to be a good year — 2015- It’s going to be a good year

The time leading up to the new year is always exciting for me. It’s when I allow myself some time to reflect on the successes of the closing year, what worked and did not work, and a focus for the upcoming year.

My plan for this year (which is similar to others years) is to think of what would fuel me on a personal and emotional level. From there, I can make a declaration of how I want the year to go, after which I can create action items to ensure that the year aligns with the declared theme.

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Everest Base Camp: Time to Look Forward

This trek was not a failure. I have to remember that.

Post written December 29: I’m particularly hard on myself.

I’ve gone thorough the range of emotions, from elation to utter dissatisfaction. I recently saw EBC photos from the group. The scenery was incredible in the ways I had hoped and expected. I was super thrilled that they had accomplished that feat. But then I felt beside myself again, saddened by the fact that I needed to turn back. Dan had left a University of Guelph Alumni t-shirt with the words “Ricky and the Sparkling Momos”. It’s so cool that the shirt now hangs in Gorakshep… but not cool that I never reached base camp.

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Everest Base Camp and the CNIB

Well it’s crazy to think that in a week I’ll be en route to Kathmandu via Vancouver and Guangzhou.

So. Excited.

I realized that in all the busyness leading up to this trek, I forgot to write about our fundraising efforts for the CNIB! Here is an email I sent out to family and friends. For anyone wanting to contribute, thanks in advance for your contribution!

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Mount Everest: The Mountain is Waiting

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Sir Edmund Hillary

Mount Everest

It seems like every week there’s a Facebook link floating around with gorgeous scenery of Iceland, or the amazing hiking trails in New Zealand… or “Things you didn’t know should be on your bucket list but should be” kind of lists. With each article I read, the possibilities seem endless. Each time I think: Geeze, there’s quite a world out there just waiting to be explored and experienced.

A few months ago, something began percolating in my mind: I should create a list of worldwide hikes, treks or mountain climbs to do. And then do them! Seemed easy enough. And even though I’m still mapping out the details, there has been a trek inception-ed in my brain for quite some time.

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