Stay on Offense Climb Mountains

Attacking Adversity

Go Hiking and Climb Kendall Katwalk

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Depending on where you look Kendall Katwalk is between 10 and 12 miles round trip. I believe it is 12. It is an easy hike in terms of the elevation gain of only 2,600 feet, but it is a long hike, especially if you extend it. You can hike as far as you like on the Pacific Crest Trail and it is tempting.

So Easy

The trail begins flat and continues that way for a while. Then there is a gradual increase in gradient, never really getting “steep.” If you go early enough so you are hiking at sunrise you will see light shine off peaks in ways the take your breath away.

It is almost like strolling through a park until you get past the avalanche shoot. Then it gets a little steeper.

Rocks

Yes there are rocks, but not like Mt. Pilchuck. Still you really need some good hiking boots for these things. You will probably hear or see Marmots.

The rocks and the distance do wear on your feet, so even though it is not steep, it is challenging.

From Civilization To Wilderness

For most of the hike you can hear or see the Freeway. There are great views of peaks and even Mount Rainier. You can look down on the Snoqualmie Ski slopes. However, I never really feel like I am in the mountains until I get to Kendal Katwalk. Once you cross over to the other side it is a whole new experience and as I mentioned, you can continue the hike for miles. I have gone as far as Joe Lake, which makes the trip about 20 miles round trip. Extending it just a couple miles will bring you to a couple of beautiful lakes that make it worth it.

Go Hiking and Climb Mt. Pilchuck

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So you say all this hiking is just too much work? Then I tell you that it gets easier as you get into shape. You say you want to go someplace that gives you the most for the least effort. I tell you that I understand and have just the place for you. Mt. Pilchuck!

It is only 2.7 miles to the top. A short hike. Almost as short as Rattlesnake Ridge I say. You tell me that you have climbed Rattlesnake Ridge and did pretty good. Then I tell you that you will be at 5,000 feet when you reach the top with a 360 degree view. So you say, let’s go!

Potholes

One of the most challenging things about Mt. Pilchuck is not the hike itself, but getting to the trailhead. It is an adventure on the road. The national forest service maintains the trail, but the county owns the road. That is the rub. They claim they have no money to fix it. So, the potholes on the road approaching the trail head are epic. You need to be very careful especially in the dark.

You drive back and forth across the road trying to avoid the deepest potholes. If you have a typical car you might bottom out. I have a very small car so there may come a time in the not so distant future when I will not be able to hike Pilchuck. However, coming down after the hike is a little better due to daylight.

Rocks

If there is one thing that distinguishes Mt. Pilchuck from other hikes in terms of difficulty, it is the rocks. They begin after about a half-hour to forty minutes into the hike. In places, they are small and nasty and in other places huge and majestic. There is no trail in the usual sense of the term. No dirt. Just rocks. Large, flat rocks.

The trail is difficult to follow due to the rocks, so the forest service has placed signs everywhere. It is pretty hard to get lost. Just follow the sign with the picture of the water tower and you will be fine.

The Water Tower

You can read all about this building at the top of the mountain by googling Mt. Pilchuck. It doesn’t look like a water tower. Here I just want to point out that people sleep inside it so expect you will have company no matter how early you arrive. I have not woke anyone up yet. Also, there is a little bouldering to do to get to the building. It is worth it for the view.

Bookish Weapon Number Thirteen

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Today’s “Bookish Weapon” is not from a book so this is a rule breaker I suppose. It is from one of the authors discussed elsewhere, Jocko Willink. It is a quote from his podcast about suicide. I think it needs to be reproduced everywhere. I suppose it does not have the impact of hearing his booming voice, but the words are wisdom and may just save someone. Here it is in its entirety:

Powerful Antidote

“If you feel like life is in a place where you can’t get any lower and don’t think you can find any way out – Good! That means the ultimate challenge is ahead of you. You can only go up and it also means things are going to be tough. The storm you’re in from your perspective  seems like the storm is enveloping the whole world, but it is not. The storm you’re in – it is hard to see past it. The storm is everything, but it is not, and won’t last forever. You can get out of the storm and it will end and you will see sun again. Right now you are being tried. Forged and tested by fire and pain. Don’t fail the test! Don’t give in or quit! Fight through the pain and come out the other side stronger and tougher and better. A fighter! A survivor! A Winner! Victorious! Free from that storm. Free from the darkness!”

Use It

This was one of the best verbal “antidotes” I had ever heard for someone thinking about taking their life. Suicide is, as I write this, an epidemic among the military and young people. However, it touches all walks of life and ages. If you have lived very long you either know someone or know someone who knows someone that killed themselves. So share this with others. It is one more tool in your belt when fighting this kind of darkness. Use it!

Bookish Weapon Number Twelve

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“90 Seconds To A Life You Love,” by Joan Rosenberg is an extremely useful book. As usual I try to keep these limited to one idea, my favorite in the book, but I don’t do so well with that premise. This book was one of the best I read this year so I certainly can’t limit the ideas.

It gives the reader some tools to deal with emotions. She says that “The more you are able to face the pain you experience, the more capable you become.” So how do you do that? One thing that is key is the idea that emotions typically only last for 90 seconds. Can you make it for 90 seconds? A minute and a half. Sure you can. Then once you know you can make it, you get stronger or as Rosenberg says, “the more capable you become.”

Ride The Emotions

There are eight feelings according to Rosenberg. Let’s list them. Sadness, shame, helplessness, anger, embarrassment, disappointment, frustration, and vulnerability.

She says, “Your sense of feeling capable in the world, then, is directly tied to your ability to experience and move through the right difficult feelings.” Remember, only 90 seconds. Then she goes on to say, “The most effective strategy, then, for experiencing and moving through difficult feelings is simply to “ride the waves” of emotion until they inevitably subside.”

Naming It

According to this book you need to be careful what you are naming your emotion. She says that living in fear compromises your health and claims that if you say you are afraid of something in the future it isn’t fear. Fear is something you feel in the present when that bear steps out in front of you with her cubs in tow. If it is in the future, then the feeling is anxiety.

So anything that you say you are afraid of happening hasn’t happened so you are just anxious. No big deal. Much less of a big deal than fear.

Visualization And The Rest

She takes you through an interesting practice of visualization having you pay particular attention to your feelings when you are visualizing something. When you’re done you write the feelings down. Get the book and go through it.

In the second part of her book she spends a great deal of time on the importance of our thoughts and says, “Your thoughts and beliefs affect virtually every cell in your body.” So stay positive folks!

There is a section on cognitive distortion. You know them: All or nothing thinking, overgeneralizing, disqualifying the positive (that is a good one), magnification or minimization, personalization and should statements. I really like disqualifying the positive, because I know I do it all the time. It is rejecting the positive because it “doesn’t count.”

One of the big points she makes is about avoiding harsh self criticism and says this, “You are using your own mind to destroy your sense of self, your capacity to enjoy life in the present, and your hope, belief in, and pursuit of unlimited possibilities for the future.”

Go Hiking When Life Throws You A Curve Ball

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In his book, “Everything is F*cked,” Mark Manson argues that there is one thing that is constant in our lives and that is pain. Physical pain, emotional pain, etc. I may cover this separately at some point, but I have not finished the book yet. In any case he is right about that. Pain is a constant. Something is always around the corner.

The Other Shoe Drops

I was reminded of this yesterday when I found out I was getting a pay cut. Yes, I work for a living and write all this for fun. Anyway, I actually used something I learned from Hal Elrod’s book, “Miracle Morning,” and that is I used the five second rule. I got angry and scared for five minutes and then said, “Can’t Change It.” It helped a lot. I don’t know if I will ever get as good at it as Hal, but I am happy to have the tool.

The Hiking Cure

However, it is fantastic to have something to “reset” yourself besides mental gymnastics. For me that is hiking. It takes you away from your every day existence and places you into nature where you can forget your challenges, clear your mind and be reborn.

Then you can see the blessings in any adversity. In my case, I still have a job where others were laid off. It will push me to do a side hustle or two. Before this happened I was just too lazy to work another job or get creative enough to find additional income. As Tony Robbin’s says it is transformed from a “should” to a “must.” When you have a “must” things get done.

When you go hiking you flush these revelations out or you decide to move in a completely different direction. So go hiking when you see that curve ball coming your way.

Bookish Weapon Number Eleven

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Robert Greene’s book “The Laws of Human Nature,” is 586 pages. It took me a while to get through it. There are stories about people throughout history, people I had heard about, but I never knew the details of their lives. He captures how they dealt with their human nature.

In my opinion, and maybe it is because I am as old as I am, the last chapter is the best, because it deals with death. Always a fun subject.

Uncertainty

He quotes a 14th century Japanese writer named Kenko who said, “If a man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, but lingered on forever in the world, how things would lose their power to move us. The most precious thing is life is uncertainty.” The bold emphasis is mine.

We all want to be in control even if it is just perceived control and much of the time it is just that. I have always liked the picture of the fiddler standing on a roof top in the movie, “Fiddler on the Roof,” because the main character refers to his life as being as precarious as a fiddler on a roof.

The Law

Greene’s title for this chapter is “The Law of Death Denial.” It is a law of human nature he says, but I would say it depends on culture. I think that the west is much more guilty than other parts of the world.

He begins this chapter by telling a story about Mary Flannery (1925-1964). She had been given an early death sentence and she used it to her own ends says Greene. She pushed herself because she knew time was limited for her.

Greene says, “It is a fate we all share and should draw us closer for that reason. It should shake us out of any sense of feeling superior or separated.” I have heard Kate Bowler make the observation that “we are all on the losing team.” I really like that and I might just feature one of Kate’s books here at some point as well.