“AHHHH!” I looked back and my brother was laying on his side, wincing in pain. We quickly ran over to check on him. He had slipped on a wet rock that was slanted at a 45° angle and landed directly on his shoulder. This was bad.

“Are you ok?” I asked

He rocked back and forth for a moment, slowly sat up and rotated his arm to check if he had full range of motion. He was clearly in pain, but he was ok. Cold rain dripped from the brim of his hat. His boots were caked in mud. His hands were swollen and white from 18 miles of hiking with a backpack. Finally he said

“Just get me off this fucking mountain”

I smiled.

He didn’t.

“2 miles left. Let’s do it!”

The Big Idea

The text read,

“I want to do an epic hike before the end of the year. Any interest?”

My two brothers, both in their 50s, were surprisingly quick to answer.

“I’m in!”

“Same. Details?”

I explained that I had recently read about a rucking (walking with weight on your back) challenge based on the Roman Empire. In order to train themselves to move quickly with gear and still have energy to fight, soldiers used to walk 22 miles with 45lbs in their rucksacks at a 3mph pace. I told them I had done some research and I found a 20 mile loop hike an hour and a half away. Being that its December and gets dark at 4pm, we would need to start at sunrise, so I would be at their houses around 5am to pick them up…

That text did not elicit as quick a response.

Eventually they caved and agreed to join. As hiking day approached, there was some hesitation on their part when the weather forecast all but guaranteed cold and rain. I said that I had planned on going alone from the beginning so there was no pressure if they had a change of heart. Not wanting the guilt of having their little brother die on a mountain alone, they begrudgingly gave up their protest.

The Hike

The drive was dark and foggy. Coffee in hand and a backseat filled with gear, we headed north towards the mountain. I love catching up with my brothers. We each have families and live in different towns, so our bonding time is less frequent than we would like. We spent the drive talking about family, work, health and sports. As the daylight started to wake from its slumber we approached the entrance to the park.

For some reason, a cold rainy hike at 6:30am is not a popular Sunday activity because the parking lot was empty. We geared up and made our way to the trail head. A sign pointed straight for the trail we were looking for, but unfortunately “straight” was a 200ft pile of rocks. Upon further inspection, we noticed a staircase of natural stones weaving up the rock pile and figured that was our route. We proceeded to do no less than 100 2ft high step ups to start our hike. I thought, if this was any indication of what was to come I may still end up dead on the mountain, but by the hands of my brothers!

Much to our pleasant surprise, the next 15.8 miles were on groomed gravel road. We traversed a beautiful path through the woods and had the park mostly to ourselves. We walked around two lakes, crossed over countless flowing rivers, and passed a 100ft waterfall. The rain was consistent and our hands were swollen and cold, but we kept a good pace and everyone was in good spirits.

The Turning Point

By mile 16 our legs felt like lead, our calves were on fire and our feet were in pain with every step. We were 6 hours in and dead tired. The map told us to take a hard right. There was a path but it didn’t look like much and it was definitely not on the same groomed road we had been on. We followed the trail and almost immediately the route narrowed. Gone was our normal fast stride. Now each step had to be carefully placed as we hiked up and down big rock formations that were wet and slippery from a full day of rain.

The next two miles were slow. At first it was nice to not be moving as quickly, but each time I checked, our “miles remaining” barely changed. My brothers would ask for an update and I would sugar coat it by saying,

“just a little bit longer till the home stretch” or

“another half mile and we are at a clearing”

The truth was, I had no idea what was ahead and the daylight was waining.

The Ridge

When we reached mile 18 we were at the ridge of the mountain. I imagine the view would have been amazing had it not been for the dense fog. The blue trail marks we were following were becoming hard to find with less trees this high up. Often times the marks were on rocks that didn’t seem like they were passable. At one one point we had to shuffle across the peak of a rock that had a 20 foot drop on either side. I got a look from my brothers that clearly said “you gotta be kidding me”.

We trudged on and at this point I was feeling like we hit the home stretch and my spirits were lifted. That’s when I heard a thud behind me and I turned to see my brother on the ground.

Sliding Home

The last two miles were stressful. I knew my brothers were ready to be done. We were rapidly losing daylight and every 100ft we had to slowly slide down rocks on our butts. The fear that one of us was going to get injured in the final leg of the hike was very real.

At last, we could see the gravel road again. Sliding down the final few rocks we finally arrived on flat steady footing. We each took a moment to breath and relax our minds. We made it.

21 Miles – 8 hours and 15 min

The car ride home was quiet. We were all tired and in pain, but being in a warm dry truck with my boots off was also the most glorious feeling.

When we arrived at the first drop off my brother slowly got out of the car, sloppily grabbed all of his stuff and waddled to the front door like a penguin. I opened the window and said,

“Alright man, have a good night”

“Screw you” he replied

“Love you too, bud”

Push Yourself

That night, the warm shower felt like a million hand massage. Putting on dry, warm clothes was like a hug from the universe and my bed was the most comfortable it has ever been.

The hike was hard, but we survived. We’d be sore for a few days, but we would heal. The discomfort of that day would become our strength moving forward. Had we not been on the mountain that Sunday, we likely would have had a routine day that was forgotten by mid week. Instead, we created a memory that we will talk about for years to come.

Regularly pushing yourself into discomfort can have a lasting positive impact on your life. My texts may not get an immediate response from my brothers for a while, but I enjoy imagining that they are basking in a greater sense of accomplishment today.