Where's My Sherpa?

The final load out in Memphis has been completed. Tomorrow afternoon, I am off on a plane to Portland, the gateway for some of the team's journey to Mount Adams.

Cube versus mass is conspiring to make it look like I am relocating to the PNW for longer than a long weekend.  Two large bags carry a mini Base Camp that constitutes my contributions to our team - Southern Exposure - and all the essentials for this endeavor.

In all of the mountaineering and trekking shows that I have watched as part of this course, I am always amazed by how light people are traveling, a simple pack, maybe trekking poles and hiking shoes . . . then I remember the brief scenes with the Sherpas and Yaks hauling all of the heavy gear for Base Camp.  I need a Sherpa . . .

. . . I am my own Sherpa until I meet up with rest of Southern Exposure through remote parking, the shuttle bus, check in, arrival, shuttle bus to rental car, etc. - all of the stages of travel I am regularly accustomed to with a 22" roller and business backpack - refined business traveler elegance in motion and practice.  

The manhandling of large bags will be reminiscent of my journeys as an exchange student to Wales and my time in Poland after graduation, where one big bag made sense until you had to lug it through the London underground or immediately on a train from Warsaw to Gdansk.  Lifting it in the couchettes was always a feat of strength. A year abroad and then seeing Poland and other Eastern Bloc nations at the end of the Communist era expanded my horizons and perspectives more than I can really say or truly understand.  Each was a journey into the unknown, where I basically got on a plane, would be met by strangers, and started to build a life for the duration of my time there.

This trip is a journey into the unknown - first time in Portland or Oregon for that matter; first time camping on a glacier; and first time attempting to summit a mountain.  I will meet up not with strangers though, but rather team mates with whom we will share the experiences of the weekend.  I have met Jonathan in person at another class in Spokane, and Keyth and Kelly through on-line discussions and conference calls.  From this time together with the team and the rest of the class, I believe my horizons and perspectives will again broaden and deepen in ways I have yet to contemplate or realize.  As with all travel, I will come back a different person, and hopefully the better for making this journey.

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi

The Tour de France ended this year with a first ever yellow jersey winner from the southern hemisphere - Cadel Evans of Australia.  At thirty-four, he is the oldest winner of the Tour in the post World War II era according the Versus commentary team. He won the Tour without wearing the yellow jersey until after taking the lead after the second to last stage this year. 

While I was personally not rooting for Cadel Evans to win the Tour, his performance was nearly perfect and he deserves the respect of a true champion.  From a hardiness and resilience perspective, Cadel rose to the occasion each time he was challenged by rivals during key stages and often had to persevere alone at key times.  He never gave up or relied on competitors to help when the situations were going against him and rode himself back against his rivals on most of those stages.  The result was ultimate victory in professional cycling after two second places and other years with significant challenges and injuries.

 

The dedication, commitment and perseverance to the endeavor is something we can all learn from and work to model in our respective lives.

19.5 Hour "Hammerfest"

Hammerfest is:

1. Computer video game
2. A town in Norway (my heart goes out to all of those in Norway who have suffered as a result of the horrible tragedy of recent days)
3. The name of a former Nantahala Outdoor Center program for adventure racing over a 24 hour cycle
4. All of the above

Following a little over four hours challenging my commitment and control over my body on the Shelby Farms circumnavigation, I switched focus to challenge my mental and spiritual underpinnings as I worked to complete the capstone Heroic Leadership (ORGL690) Vere Mudus project for the client.

It was a 19.5 hour "whole person" work out, made possible by the weekend.  Five hours of sleep and then the final three hour push to complete the fifty slide project.  Mission accomplished; satisfaction realized; hardiness and resiliency modeled.

Near Final Load Out

In a break from my usual Saturday routine, I switched biking for hiking, and circumnavigated the greater Shelby Farms area starting at 06:40 to get in one long hike with near trip equipment 

 The load out was over 45 lbs. with 5 liters of water and Nuun, and I needed all of it.  Over 4 liters consumed during the hike.

In the end I did 12.3 miles over mixed terrain in 4:10 with stops.  Quick math: I walked 5.29 Mt. Adams this morning if we dispense with reality and ignore elevation. No issues.

Salute to Runners

As I rode this morning, I passed many joggers and runners across the eastern suburbs.  Covering distance on a road bike is one thing; pounding it out stride after stride is something altogether.

Regardless of aspiration, it requires personal hardiness.  For those who go the longer distances: half-marathons, marathons and ultra marathons, individual hardiness and resiliency are supercharged to push through the physical, mental and spiritual challenges over the course of the miles to be run.

Respect to those who persevere in and find personal satisfaction from the original human powered recreation.

Vive Le Tour

I have been watching the Tour de France as long as we have been able to get in on cable, and many years before I became active in cycling.  To me it remains an excellent example of organizational hardiness and resiliency: the team focuses its effort to support the leader's ambitions.  From there, anything can happen.  

Like many professional sports it has been touched by scandal through different seasons. Yet for those who race "clean" they epitomize examples we can aspire to from the perspective of Hardy Beliefs: Commitment, Control, and Challenge; Hardy Social Support: Assistance and Encouragement; and Hardy Coping: Mental Perspective and Understanding and Decisive Action.  One such example is Thor Hushovd, World Champion, early race leader this year and committed competitor:

The professional cycling leader cannot succeed without the team, and it is no different in our respective endeavors.  

Switching gears: After my delayed arrival home Saturday missing Vic's Ride, I left garage at 05:40 today and rode 60.7 miles solo over 3:36:20.  It was not my best average at 16.8 but it was my first solo at that distance.  I did burn 4565 calories according to my Garmin.  

I love my time on the bike and the satisfaction of personal achievement under one's own power.  The above video shows what is possible with a strong foundation in the 3C's and a willingness to take decisive action.

Radio Daze

Flying home this morning, I was listening to The Roots How I Got Over before we took off.   The first time I heard Radio Daze, the impression was lasting.

Within the complexity and imagery of the lyrics are some strong existential undertones that I connect to our course studies more than from any personal experience.  Nevertheless, powerful artistry of well-cultivated minds.  We deconstructed the poem Invictus within ORGL689 for personal connection and meaning. Listen to the track and review the lyrics to see what you draw from them and your own connections hardiness and resiliency:

"Radio Daze"
(feat. Blu, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw)

[Dice Raw]
And the radio daze kept us in the dark
And the satellite age brings us to the light
Some feeling the pitch, some feeling the bite
They ain't ready to talk, they're ready to fight
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)

[Blu]
Yo, so what you searching for? From birth
Born hurting and yearning for certain somethings
Lurking and murk them, got them turning this
Bed into a coffin, burning over passions in this passion
Or more or less over what the past done passed us
Cause see, the past tense, it never really passes
Phases that trap us and cage us like classes
Fogging my glasses, lost in a mass mess
Task-less dilemma to match somebody's status
And I'm average as fuck, no car cats gassing me up
Passing bucks like a casual blunt
Granted, hustling habits on the stumble, the mansion
While bums pass, asking for a buck for some bagged bricks
Bad shit going down on the daily
While bad chicks pass in a Mercedez, damn
They see he's the bastard for chasing them
Maybe, it's the patterns that make me that made me crazy

[Dice Raw]
And the radio daze kept us in the dark
And the satellite age brings us to the light
Some feeling the pitch, some feeling the bite
They ain't ready to talk, they're ready to fight
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)

[P.O.R.N.]
Life is fiction, competition and contradiction
Petty perceptions, window dressing for misdirection
Love is a lotto, I know I know you know what I know
Hope is so hollow, that's why winos follow the bottle
And people pressure, make death a hidden treasure
A girly pleasure, lonely language inside a letter
It's now or never, move it, move it, love it or lose it
'Fore it's recruited, then included inside the stupid
It's things of nature, paid a player and say your prayers
Naysayers, the haters, the major players, the beggars
You 'bout it, 'bout it, don't allow it to pow without it
Then those who doubt it, do or die to death are cowards
The world is yours, and the world we can't afford
So ignore the law; start a fire, then start a war
If you're sick and tired of your access denied
Free will died long before Glydes and iPod

[Dice Raw]
And the radio daze kept us in the dark
And the satellite age brings us to the light
Some feeling the pitch, some feeling the bite
They ain't ready to talk, they're ready to fight
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)
Never leave you alone
(Never, never leave you alone
Never, never leave you alone)

[Black Thought]
Yo, it's too much strain, phenomenal gain
I'm going through things; headaches, abdominal pain
Try'na numb it with that kettle like I'm from the Ukraine
Check the blue flame, lighter running out of butane
What's up with my destructive urge that's unproductive
Choices I'm stuck with, now starting to fuck with
Contaminating family and close friends
Telling me to stop burning the candle at both ends
Ain't like I'm on a coke binge, hanging in dope dens
Or life is just a pool of Patron I'm soaked in
The darker the covenant-slash-trainwreck for you to rubberneck
You ain't felt the true pain yet so you be loving that
Hit me up at black.gov like the government
Banana Republican, alien intelligence
Kill switch, real pissed, thinking of some ill shit
The stone the builder refused, he need to build with
Got immunized for both flus, I'm still sick
Via satellite, radio, the realness

[Dice Raw]
And the radio daze kept us in the dark
And the satellite age brings us to the light
Some feeling the pitch, some feeling the bite
They ain't ready to talk, they're ready to fight
And the radio daze
And the radio daze
And the radio daze

On the Road Again . . .

876 miles driven; four hotels in four nights and capped off with a three hour flight delay turned cancelled flight that killed my Friday night return and my early Saturday morning training plans.  Another night in another hotel. Challenges to resiliency can take many forms. Travel in the post 9/11, the post airline consolidation environment and the impacts of whether are one such basket of possible experiences that can challenge the unprepared.

I built the itinerary to maximize the value of time away from the office, so the mileage and frequent hotel changes were an accepted part of the trip plan from the start.  No issues with control, challenge or commitment from me for those first four days.  I had to deal with and adjust to the last.  Over the trip, I was able propel myself fifteen miles on inclined treadmills and ellipticals and burn around 3240 calories with 255 minutes of effort over four days which offset a suboptimal travel diet (although it was all good) that included Tex-Mex, Big Red, and Shiner Bock - Hey I am in Texas!

The loss of personal time and the delayed return home is a very infrequent experience - twice in the last 6 years, yet both having to do with Houston? While unfortunate, is not the first or last time in will happen in my life. I have been traveling for work almost from the start of my career, and spent countless hours idling in airports from planned and unplanned connection delays.  Sanctuary comes from jumping in to your favorite music. With the right airline, sanctuary also comes from an airline club room these days too.

I view all as an assumed risk.  You need to travel to where you are going whether physically or metaphorically, and what happens from A to B and back falls under that broad category drawn from liability waivers.  Perhaps it is Fear of Death / Embrace Death from High Altitude Leadership - knowledge and acceptance that things can go very badly.  Attitude and how you treat others in these instances can be clear indications of whether your hardi-house (my own addition to the hardiness and resiliency lexicon) is in order.  The cumulative experiences of my past, and what I draw from them better prepares me for the future.

Individual Hardiness Is A Choice

Some Friendly

In addition to a great track by The Charlatans (UK), I think it describes the general warming trend among my fellow walkers, joggers and dog walkers to the lone backpacker in the early Memphis morning hours. 

Familiarity and good hygiene soften perceptions.  "Hellos" are reciprocated.  

Will I be missed if I downshift my training after Mount Adams?

One Hop Backward, Two Steps Forward

Knees - essential for propulsion, yet problematic in motion when inflamed.  Over training with too much weight in my backpack too soon has been the culprit, and it impacted my mobility.  No one my age likes to creak and pop when you were otherwise relatively quiet a few weeks back.

Therefore, one hop backward on my good (right) leg as far as preparedness for our team endeavor is concerned.  

Challenging myself to find a better path to normalcy, I made two adjustments this week following: 

• converted the pack weight to actual items to be carried on the trip instead of Vitamin Water bottles and kettle bells.  It is now cube versus mass.  I am dealing with lighter load overall and more evenly distributed weight than the 60 lbs. I have been walking over 5 miles in the mornings - the first step forward.
• started using an adjustable knee strap on the left knee - the second step forward.

On the same route Wednesday morning, I did the same 5.35 miles 7 minutes faster, had almost no inflammation and less overall creaking in the subsequent hours of the day.  A day later everything feels better.

"I Should Do Disco"

This comment from Makalu Gau in Frontline: Storm Over Everest about the 1996 tragedy really stuck with me after viewing it.  It is not required viewing as part of ORGL689, yet it really explores the mental dimensions and deliberations of hardiness.

Stuck out in the open overnight below the South Summit, it would have been easy for Makalu Gau to succumb to the perceived inevitability of death from the most inhospitable conditions known to man.  Yet keeping his mind engaged and his body moving "dancing disco", he did not freeze to death and made it off the mountain.  He suffered significant injuries to his hands and feet, yet he was not part of the unfortunately large death toll that year that claimed experience guides and their clients.

His recollections and the shared experiences of the other climbers profiled in the show really opened up the importance mental choice and commitment to live.  It is really worth your time to watch it and learn from the experiences of those who lived through it.

Map My Ride (Walk) & fitbit

Many of you may be familiar with this cool application.  Here is my morning walking route:

I leave between 5:10-5:15 most mornings with 60lbs. in a Arcterxy RT35 and my Lowa Baffin Pro hiking boots.  The weight is two kettle bells, about 8-10 Vitamin Waters and all of winter accessories for Mount Adams.  Most days, I get the walk done in between 1:40 and 1:48 depending upon humidity, and exercises from the previous day.  The moon is still up and visible that early down in Memphis.  The day is just really beginning.  All the birds are getting going and it is a nice time to be out.

Monday was an unpleasant slog over the same terrain.  It took me nearly 10 minutes longer to complete the same route, without any appreciable reason why.  It was no more humid, windy, etc. than the prior week.  It might have been the 4:44 minutes of sleep.  I am tracking my sleep with fitbit another health technology application with a very cool feature:  I know what time I went to bed; my time to fall asleep; times awakened; time in bed, and actual sleep time.  I get a daily sleep efficiency score and can look at how I did each week against a peer group. 


The 60 lbs. has been an again / off again weight problem for my left knee.  That knee was the one that I was always hitting on the pommel horse in high school and freshman year in college, so it is more sensitive to strain.  When I get back in town later this week, I will downshift the weight for a least a week to see if I can keep it from stiffening up over this distance.  I am really not interested in limping the two miles to the start of the climb, all the way up to Lunch Counter, the summit, the descent and the return to trail head. I do not want to impact the team's performance because I have pursued some DUD behavior in my training and pushed too far, too fast. 

Walk Alone

It is more than just a really great, rich and deep track off The Roots’ How I Got Over release.  It is an encapsulating theme in my preparation for what we will face as a team at the end of July. 

I literally walk alone, whether Memphis or my recent brief times as the city of San Francisco was coming to life and to and from campus while in Spokane. It is me, myself and I day in and day out, step after step.  I also walk alone with my thoughts each and every day, whether in my neighborhood, on the stair climber, riding, or on equipment in various hotel exercise rooms.  Without the motivation of music, which to me, may be more stimulating than anything visual, I am both more aware of my surroundings and at the same time more open to the nagging thoughts from which doubt springs.  When is it hot and at 5:15 in the morning and I have around 5 miles left to go, my mind is open to “What I am I doing?”  At a crossroads whether I add on more distance, or could go straight home – “Cut is short today” might just pop up.  A small ache or pain can be “debated” for relevance and impact. “Will I be ready?” enters my mind every day.  I work through these deliberations and so far have stuck with the daily plan.  Whether it will add to my commitment and readiness when the times comes in July is yet to be known.

Walk alone is how I have moved through many parts of my life, lacking temporal and lasting connections when traveling and working in the early part of my career.  I have not been an outsider or on the fringe of the economy or society in my life, yet at the same time, there is not a natural connection to many but rather the few.  I connect at the individual level, and do not necessarily have natural group affinities.  I have had the pleasure to engage with great individuals in many different circumstances and locales, and yet when away from my home and Ramona, I walk alone through the lives of others in those fleeting moments.

Back in Spokane

I have enjoyed being back in Spokane for Heroic Leadership.  I have been walking everywhere and averaging between 7 and 10 miles per day with my books, computer, etc. 

Unfortunately, the class schedule did not allow me to meet up with the local members of the class.  I have enjoyed visiting more local establishments like Jack and Dan's, Zola, Sante and Pete's, Steelhead, and return stops at Mizuna.

During the course of the reading Heroic Leadership, I have come to see complimentary themes with Hardiness: "Instead of wishing circumstances were different magis-driven leaders either make them different or make the most of them." (Lowney, 2003, pp. 243-44)  I raised connection to the group during our time together.  Both of my summer classes seems to be mutually reinforcing learning, which is an unexpected benefit.

Necessary Downshifting

I have tendency to go "out of the box" strong when bicycling, and the outcome is sometimes good and sometimes not so good.   Over a long distance, I can recover, if I overestimate my constitution on a particular day.  We have a not so good . . .

I had increased my pack weight two weeks back.  Apparently early last week, I tweaked my left knee and I really felt it this morning with 58 lbs. at the start of the weekly in-town morning routine.  There is a small amount swelling, which I have started icing.  Will walk without weight for the next two days and ice before I head up to Spokane for ORGL690.

My enthusiasm got the better of me.  Something I really need to learn from for the balance of my training time and when together in Washington with the team.
 

Climbing Nob Hill - Part 2

What a difference a day makes!  

Taking off yesterday due to a full schedule starting at 7:15 with a presentation by Chanda Beckman, Agricultural Counsel for the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) in Chengdu, China was better than more urban hiking.  She is a young, professional having served in China for four years now promoting US agricultural interests.   She was full of energy and completely engaging, and a marked contrast with representatives from US Census and Customs and Border Protection who we met with at the end of the day on a more esoteric Ag topic.

Some people like to believe the government is ineffective. Ms. Beckman and her colleagues in the foreign services represent a different kind of commitment to our nation from the military.  The conditions are less dangerous, yet not necessarily more accommodating.  When Ms. Beckman talked about poor air and water quality, and the simple pleasures of drinking water from the tap on this visit to the States, it makes you think about all that we have, and what simple things others due without or have never experienced.

Taking Adrian's advice to get outside, I got out at 6:15 this morning, and did the loop again six times for 5.4 miles of descents and ascents in 1:35 hours.  I felt better overall (no Super Brunello last night).  I enjoy seeing cities come to life with the new day . .  a cook carrying a box of bananas into the Roxanne Cafe, people walking up Powell to go to work at the hotels on Nob Hill, others out with their dogs. Following breakfast down Nob Hill and another ascent, total feet climbed in the morning was about 6300.  

Here is the descent - Powell:

Here is the ascent - Taylor:

I passed a few more homeless people sleeping in doorway recesses on the route today.  Three in total, and none were the same as one from Wednesday who was with a dog.  They were not panhandling, they were sleeping as I walked my route again and again.  I cannot imagine an on-going life on the street, regardless of the underlying causes of the situation.  I know San Francisco is more tolerant and therefore cynics could cite that they flock there to take advantage of city programs. Yet in the most economically powerful country in the world today, it is difficult to understand how we tolerate the loss of these souls, and others around the country.  The "boot straps" argument rings hollow for me, and more so following our reading of Man's Search of Meaning.  This existence lacks meaning and really seems like day-to-day survival - trying to meet the base of Maslow's pyramid, physiological needs.

Without a "Frankl" to help point the way to meaning, what will become of these people?  If there is indifference for the conditions of those on the margins of the economy and society, what does it say about us as a nation and a people?

Climbing Nob Hill - Part 1

This week's business trip to San Francisco may represent the highest spot I will be able to climb before the class trip to Washington.  I am staying at the top of Nob Hill, which is the highest hill in San Francisco, at the Mark Hopkins.

Yesterday, I did five loops of California to Powell to Post to Taylor, which is around 0.90 miles per loop according to Map My Ride, and the elevation gain and loss was around 900 feet each time. California and Post were the flats, Powell the descent and Taylor the ascent. Powell is one of the routes for the cable cars.  The first two were rough but after some Super Brunello burnoff (from the night before at The North Beach Restaurant) and some endorphins, I kind of got into a groove for the remaining three.

I went back down Powell one more time to have breakfast at Kuleto's near Union Square - two eggs over polenta with a spicy marinara sauce.  I usually eat here once a year for some meal when in town. They have consistently good Italian food. 

One final climb, up Powell this time, for a total of around 5400 feet of elevation gain - take that stair climber - before my morning meetings started.

I Am Not a Homeless Person

I walk around 5:15 in the morning every week day that I am not traveling while the temperatures are still in the mid 70's now with relatively mid-level humidity.  I carry my driver's license with me on my morning walks just in case that I need to prove that I am indeed an upstanding citizen of the community.  People can be odd. 

I dress like an upstanding citizen - hiking boots and socks, shorts, even a collared Mountain Hardwear short sleeve technical shirt.  What throws people is the backpack.  I am carrying my black Arcteryx RT35 which is a great bag for these training walks.  Apparently, people are not accustomed to seeing someone in my part of the city with a large backpack walking down the street.  Nevertheless, I look like someone doing what I am actually doing - conditioning for a hike.  I do not consider myself a threatening presence, but on more that one occasion people - men and women have crossed the road at a distance when we have come into eye contact.

It is an odd phenomenon I experience regularly on these walks - I would characterize it as a general lack of common courtesy or acknowledgement.  I pass you on the street, I say "hello".  More often than not, I get a blank stare and no response.  Perhaps their headsets are set too high, perhaps it is to early, perhaps perspiring people make them uncomfortable, or perhaps they do not talk to homeless people for fear of encouraging them to stay in the area.  It is not just walkers or runners.  It is bicyclists and bicycle commuters.  Salutation and mostly silence in return.  I see it when I ride in the city too, but to a less degree.  With other people I come across most mornings consistently, it is like we are seeing each other for the first time - also difficult to fathom. I say "hello", they act surprised and say it back.  I am thinking "I pass you every morning; I am the guy with the backpack; how many people with backpacks are there?"

That early in the morning, there should be an esprit de corps for anyone out and about exercising regardless of proficiency, specific sport, type of footwear, hygiene and fashion sense. We should be united in the community of morning exercise.

Selfishness Kills

Well not really in this case, as I am still writing to tell my brief tale.  Yet I am nonetheless disappointed in myself.  

I have failed Viktor Frankl, Chris Warner and Don Schmincke in less than two weeks into the course.  I have let Viktor Frankl's memory down in his "And there were always choices to make.  Every day, every hour . . ." passage, and not followed Chris Warner and Don Schmincke's guidance on Selfishness.  I have learned nothing from the first few chapters of Ed Viestur's No Shortcuts to the Top:


There was a strong headwind from the west, yet I was making good time.  Damn wind, tired of staring straight into it as a I peddle across the rough asphalt road of southern Shelby Farms.  I put my head down for just a second . . . and I was off the edge of the road into the gravelly asphalt.  I corrected, but the damage was done. I heard the hiss of air escaping that sends dread into new cyclists and makes some experienced ones impatient - a flat!  My front tire was flat - my first of the year. 

I do not get a lot of flat tires because besides the Kevlar side walls on my tires, I am constantly vigilant about my position in the road and the debris on it.  I believe I ride situationally aware and have been fortunate to have never been in a collision with a moving or stationary object, other bikers, animals, road furniture and the like.  I choose to be situationally aware and alert so that I can make minute adjustments to my position relative to the situation.

At the moment before the flat, I chose to be selfish, let me head down for a second to take  break from the wind, which caused me to veer ever so slightly and go off the road.  I did not choose to remain vigilant with every peddle stroke, in every minute of the ride, as extolled by Frankl, and I paid a consequence as a result: lost time to change a flat.  From High Altitude Leadership and No Shortcuts to the Top, such a relatively minor and simple mistake could literally have killed me in the mountains.   


What I took away from the experience is that we can be selfish with not just others but with ourselves. When choosing to do so we are not taking the path Frankl extolled, or practicing the commitment of hardiness.

Who Dares Wins

The motto of the British Special Air Service encapsulates how we have chosen to spend this summer.  Each member of this ORGL689 Leadership and Hardiness class have dared ourselves to be challenged physically, spiritually and mentally in pursuit of something greater than we have today.  Whether we know what the greater "it" is or not is unclear.  For me, it is unclear.  

This summer, we could be team building, building advanced teams, looking at heroic leadership, Renaissance leadership, getting a glimpse of the present day manifestation of the Rule of St. Benedict, or a whole host of other subjects to broaden our minds and experience.  We could even have taken the summer off from academics. Yet, we are enrolled in Leadership and Hardiness now, in this time in our respective lives, for our own reasons.

From Dr. Adrian Popa's first mention of this course on a Saturday morning in my late January ORGL502 residency, I have been interested in the possibilities of what could be.  First, of course, it was the uniqueness of a mountain climbing for someone who grew up in the relative flats of the Midwest.  After going through the work on existentialism, resiliency and hardiness in ORGL502, it clearly became more about further study of these subjects for me.  I checked in frequently to see whether the class was going to take place, and I am glad so many other people had the interest to make it happen in the summer of 2011.

Mount Adams represents the physical laboratory of our learning over the summer, and the metaphorical mountain we each have to climb in order to begin to learn, reflect and start the journey to mastery of the concepts and themes for application in our respective lives.  

We have dared to challenge ourselves.  I hope I choose to make the consistent commitment to meet the challenges we face from the material and our time together on Mount Adams.