10 hours a day. Rainy season. Mountain ranges.
How was it? "Super hard but great" reports J on the 6 day Outward Bound hike that he and his classmates returned from last night.
*Love how a night's sleep changes a memory. Today the rendition is, "Not great, but you learned a lot."
"If Ms. Anne (the school director) wanted us to appreciate what we have her mission was accomplished." J came back speaking of how much water, shelter, food, his bed and his family meant to him. Oh, and the bathroom.
At times, they stayed with indigenous families.
It inspired a deep appreciation for shelter and comfort that was profound. He spoke of the idea that when you're hiking 10 hours a day that everything falls away. You are left only with yourself. We could tell from the whites of his eyes and the rest of him that he had come back changed.
We asked what the guides' role had been and he told us that they 'were like rocks in the river. They were there along the path not telling us what to do but showing us that we decide our way and that we live with the consequences. That there are many paths."
He spoke first of knowing what he needed to work on and that the hike shows you where your weak points lie. And that fundamentally, you are able to endure. He told us that the guides had spoken to them about the idea that there are many paths and that the important thing is simply to choose one.
When I asked him about the highlight his face lit up like a roman candle and what came out of his mouth surprised me- 'The sunset on the last night! We had hiked up so high, way above the clouds. There was no way to take a picture of it."
Doesn't matter because I know from looking at him and hearing him speak that he holds it within him.
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