Middle of March and the weather forecast was predicting a sunny day on one of my days off from work. Getting out in the mountains to enjoy it was on the top of my list of things to do. But this time of year still means snow on most of our trails, and from early spring hikes in years past, I have discovered that some trails remain quite shadier and colder than others. We know that Ward Mountain gets sunshine, so that's where we decided to go. Since we were likely to need snowshoes at some point along the way, we strapped them to our packs and headed out for some afternoon fun on the mountain.

We checked the snow level at our break spot and found it to be about 3 feet deep at that point. It's funny how it doesn't seem like it when you are staying on top of it with skis or snowshoes. After a short break, we enjoyed zig-zagging our way back down the mountain on fresh snow without any tracks but the ones we were leaving behind us. The wind was a little chilly, but the sun balanced it out, and the views were beautiful. Oh, how I love being on the mountain! :)

I hope you enjoyed coming along on my mountain adventure. I'd love it if you would leave me a comment and hit the "like" button. See you in the next post. :)

Changes to my blog are in the works. I'm currently in a transition and am moving my fitness related posts to a whole new website dedicated to my fitness coaching. This blog will become focused on my mountain adventures and photography. The complete transition won't happen overnight, but will be a work in progress for a bit. I've got a lot more to come for both, so be sure to follow along. I'll post a link to my new fitness website soon. :)

Mid-winter, 4-mile hike up Bass Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains.
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The temp was a bit brisk, but overall not too bad. It felt great to be out hiking again, and as always, amazing to be in the mountains I so love. What a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon. :)
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Wish things were different? Want to improve and grow?
Do you want to see some kind of change in your life?

Stop being comfortable and do the hard things.
Stop doing the minimum and go the extra mile.

There's no easy way around it; you've got to go through it.
But you can do it, if you want to. And yes, it's worth it. :)
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Today's blog post by Seth Godin is spot on...

Slow and steady
The hard part is "steady."
Anyone can go slow. It takes a special kind of commitment to do it steadily, drip after drip, until you get to where you're going.

You can do it. You just have to keep your eye on your goal, with a firm commitment to reach it no matter what it takes, and then keep plugging along step by step, celebrating those little milestones along the way. Don't give up. Just keep going; you'll get there. :)

A view of a small portion of the Bitterroot Valley and Sapphire Mountains to the east. I took this photo from the Bitterroot Mountains on the west side of the valley in February of 2016. I love living where I do and never tire of the endless amazing views. Enjoy! :)
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The key to making your dreams happen is to break them down into very small goals and create a habit of working on them regularly.
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Having dreams and goals is great. It's what gives us our direction. But we can't stay focused on the end results too much, or we will become disappointed in not getting there soon enough and give up.

​Much time is spent in the journey in getting to where we want to go. Success doesn't happen overnight. It's a process. And that process can be quite long. We gotta enjoy the journey and all the little accomplishments along the way. Enjoying the journey is what life is all about, because the journey is our life. We pursue our dreams to keep from being stagnant, and to give us that spark of life. And enjoying the process along the way is the key to being happy, content, and fulfilled in life.

If you're climbing a mountain and don't enjoy the journey, no matter how exciting the mountaintop might be, you likely won't climb many mountains. I think this is why so many people give up on their goals. They're focused on reaching the destination, but not enjoying the journey that will get them there. So when the going gets tough, they throw in the towel and either pick a new goal, or give up on having goals altogether. 

So whether you're climbing literal mountains or symbolic mountains of trying to lose weight and get in shape, starting a business, writing a book, raising a family, training for a marathon, or any other goal of the infinite choices available to you ... don't be in a rush to get there, and learn to enjoy the journey. It's your life. :)

When you look back on your life many years down the road, what kind of memories do you want to have? Take time to do those things.
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