It was a sunny, June afternoon. The breeze was coming downward, and the sun was beating down on the back of our necks; however, today wasn't the same as usual. “Come on crew, we’re half-way up Phillips”, yelled the crew leader ahead of the tired and gasping group. I had been scaling this mountain for the last 45 minutes, and was still noticing the same shrubs, loose gravel, and awkwardly bending trees I’d seen when I started the ascent. I looked down at my feet, struggling to get a footing on the rocks below, and my crew ahead of me quickly ascending the 60-degree incline. “What had I gotten myself into?” I thought in my head.
I was climbing Mt. Phillips at Philmont Scout Ranch, the Boy Scouts of America's premier High Adventure base. Over …show more content…
Philips, and there was no way out. Exhausted from the previous three miles, I stuck my hiking poles in the ground and continued upward. Trying to catch a breath, I contemplated whether I could make it to the top of the mountain. My mind raced back to the gruesome, four-hour test for my Junior Black Belt. Back then, I was also on the verge of mental and physical exhaustion – but I persisted. I asked myself, how did I overcome that, and can I do the same now? I was asking myself so many questions, searching for an answer. Suddenly, I heard a voice in the back of my head, “Rohan, are you better than this?! You’ve always taken more than you could, and you’ve always searched for adventure. It’s who you are!” I looked up at the long path ahead, and the sunlit peak shining in the distance, and started to slowly walk – one step at a time. Approaching the rest of the crew, I told them “We got this, we’re halfway …show more content…
Going back to the base camp was not an option since it would take several hours from an emergency vehicle to arrive, if they could get to me and I would have been separated from my crew. Since an adult advisor was required to come off the trail to accompany me to the base camp, it would risk my crew without adequate oversight and support from the adult advisor and potentially not able to complete the hike. I was well aware of the challenge of continuing my hike, but I was not ready to leave my crew vulnerable. After many such conflicting thoughts in my mind, I finally stuck my hiking poles in the ground and decided to continue upward with my crew, since that was the right thing to
I was climbing Mt. Phillips at Philmont Scout Ranch, the Boy Scouts of America's premier High Adventure base. Over …show more content…
Philips, and there was no way out. Exhausted from the previous three miles, I stuck my hiking poles in the ground and continued upward. Trying to catch a breath, I contemplated whether I could make it to the top of the mountain. My mind raced back to the gruesome, four-hour test for my Junior Black Belt. Back then, I was also on the verge of mental and physical exhaustion – but I persisted. I asked myself, how did I overcome that, and can I do the same now? I was asking myself so many questions, searching for an answer. Suddenly, I heard a voice in the back of my head, “Rohan, are you better than this?! You’ve always taken more than you could, and you’ve always searched for adventure. It’s who you are!” I looked up at the long path ahead, and the sunlit peak shining in the distance, and started to slowly walk – one step at a time. Approaching the rest of the crew, I told them “We got this, we’re halfway …show more content…
Going back to the base camp was not an option since it would take several hours from an emergency vehicle to arrive, if they could get to me and I would have been separated from my crew. Since an adult advisor was required to come off the trail to accompany me to the base camp, it would risk my crew without adequate oversight and support from the adult advisor and potentially not able to complete the hike. I was well aware of the challenge of continuing my hike, but I was not ready to leave my crew vulnerable. After many such conflicting thoughts in my mind, I finally stuck my hiking poles in the ground and decided to continue upward with my crew, since that was the right thing to