TMC

During my time up at camp in New Hampshire, I’ve hiked close to thirty different mountains. Some big, some small. I’ve spent 12 hours on a mountain once. I’ve set a camp record for a four-range peak. Mt. Washington is the largest mountain on the east coast at 6,000+ feet. It is a true challenge of stamina and perseverance. I’ve reached the summit four times, each time with a different group, each time different than the last.

Washington is about a two-hour drive north of camp, so we leave early in the morning to ensure we have enough time to get up and down the mountain by day’s end. We get dropped at the Pinkham Notch visitors center, we stretch out, use the bathroom, and count off before we embark on our journey. My first trip was with a group of counselors before the kids arrived; it took us about 8 hours round trip. Adding campers to the scenario turned 8 hours to 11, almost 12 hours of straight hiking. From Pinkham Notch, we take the Tuckerman’s Ravine trail and follow it all the way up to the Lion’s Head split. I prefer to take Lion’s Head Trail to the summit because anyone can google Tuckerman’s Ravine will find out that it probably isn’t the best trail for kids to hike. The larger panoramic picture below is a landscape shot of Tuckerman’s from the perspective of Lion’s Head. The other picture is a view of the summit of the mountain from Lion’s Head, another two hours on top of the four hours we have already been hiking. Getting to Lion’s head is a full hike itself, but then getting to the actual peak is another midsize hike.  The summit is the only one like it in New Hampshire because it is such a tourist attraction there is an entire visitors center and a museum of the extreme weather up there.  You can also take a train or drive up to the top.

Recently reflecting on my hiking and my time as a camper, we were there for approximately 13 or 14 days, we hiked 10 - 11 days of the days, and I did that for two years. That's 22 mountains in two years. It ended up being more than that with bonus hikes. Hiking was central to my time at camp and was what built in me my ability to persevere,  endure, and appreciate the climb to the mountaintop. Not to sound cliché, like Miley Cyrus or anything, but the climb is necessary to reach the view. A TON of my perspective came from these hikes and their metaphors, like: you can’t appreciate the highs without the lows. You physically cannot appreciate the heights and the triumphs of a peak without understanding the trials and tribulations of the walk-up. I began to see these metaphors in life, you peak and valley in life, appreciate the views at the peaks, and try to sustain it. But, you also have to know that there are downs you'll have to push through, and that part of the downs is that it makes you appreciate the highs. The metaphors I learned from hiking and spending so much time on mountains continue to guide my decision-making framework to this day. I have climbed Mt. Washington four times, which is actually not that many for a lot of my peers; shout out to y'all!.

When you get that high, you can start to see the curve of the world. Cars look like ants, trees like grass, you can see the shadows of clouds on the trees that look like freckles on the earth. You get a chance to put it all in perspective. You get a feel for how little you really are. As your heart is pumping and you are trying to swallow a sun butter and jelly sandwich, you get a chance to observe the majesty of nature.

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P.S.: People who drive up… I don't have any respect for them…. sorry.