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* Shelly’s post script about her hike…
Shelly Skye has sent this post script to the Fast Track To Work Office with her conclusion and reflections about her experience of her hike this summer.
Post Script
Santa Cruz
Sea Level
It’s been more than a week now since I returned to Santa Cruz. My last night in Bishop was restful and I hit the ground running the next day. I cruised into SC about 6 pm on Wednesday. My transition back into city life has been remarkably effortless; much easier than going the other way.
People have been asking me what my trip was like for me. It’s hard to say …but how about fun, hard, exhilarating, spacious, grounding, scary, empowering, painful. I think the most important lesson I learned during this whole trip was just how important a place attitude has in my experience of a thing or situation. I mean, switchbacks are switchbacks, right? You’re either going up or you are going down and the facts about this don’t change. The variable that affects my experience of switchbacks is attitude.
Of course I know this on a cognitive level. In fact I’m most comfortable with cognitive knowledge. The difference for me on this trip was the constant, in-my-face physical demands that I had to deal with day in and day out. If I was going to get somewhere, I had to do so on my own two feet. If I was thirsty I had to find a safe source of water and then treat it. If I was tired a the end of the day (and when wasn’t I tired at the end of the day?) I had to locate a site that provided shelter from possible danger and comfort for sleeping and cooking. These are the demands I dealt with on a daily basis.
It is what I told myself about these physical realities that created the joy or frustration of my experience. I’m happy to say that more often than not I was able to stay aware of my own inner dialogue and was therefore able to stay positive about each experience. The key was trying to remain flexible.
On those other occasions when I was tired, cranky, bored or whiney I was able to get back on track because of you all out there. All of you who supported my adventure, either financially, emotionally or both helped me keep going when I really didn’t have the get-up-and-go I needed to keep with the plan. There were plenty of times when I wanted to bail out and go home to my comfortable little trailer by the sea, but the thought of letting people down kept me on the trail till I was able to get cheerful again. For this I thank you from the bottom of my heart and the soles of my feet. It has meant the world to me.
Shelly Skye
Santa Cruz
July 31, 2003
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