I woke up the other morning wondering, “What the heck am I doing?”

It’s been awhile, friends. I’m sorry we went our separate ways for awhile there. To be honest, it got really difficult for me to blog after I stopped doing something cool every day, like when I was on the AT. Face it, a girl lands her dream job and she’s so fulfilled she doesn’t think about doing cool things anymore.

If you were wondering where I’ve been, it’s North Carolina! I work as a wilderness therapy field instructor, so I spend 8 days camping and working with “at risk youth,” then 6 days doing whatever I want. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Despite this amazing lifestyle, I still found myself waking up on my friend’s couch with a sincere lack of interest in life. How could that be? I have all the makings for success – income, a fulfilling/rewarding job, ample time off, friends. Why am I sad, then?

Instead of wallowing, I decided to read a whole Stephen King book in 3 days and start bagging peaks.

Nothing pulls you back to your soul like a good book and a healthy challenge. I’ve figured out my employment status, got all my loose ends tied up, which means it’s time to focus my free time on something new. What’s that going to be?

The South Beyond 6000 Challenge.

An adventure courtesy of the Carolina Mountain Club.

40 peaks.

6 regions.

1 restless girl.

In order to complete this challenge, I must reach the true summit of 40 catalogued 6000+ ft peaks in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, trail or no trail. Who knows what beauty awaits!

The first climb: Craggy Dome.

Yesterday I completed one peak alongside my good friend/lifeline, Kirsten. You might recognize her from some AT adventures (exactly a year ago, actually!) We decided to push up this mountain, despite not starting until 5:30pm. These are the friends you need, folks. The ones you can text in the afternoon with a crazy idea, who respond to you with, “YES. LET’S SEND IT LET’S GO! But I need to grab a sandwich first.” 

Another stipulation of completing the challenge is that you’ve got to hike at least 5 miles to the summit/back down. In order to make that happen with this particular mountain, we chose to drive to Balsam Gap and follow the Mountains to Sea trail until the juncture to the summit trail. The CMC is fantastic about giving you popular and approved routes for each peak, like the one we took for Craggy Dome. This one rides alongside the ever-beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, which means view for days.

The ascent to Craggy Dome that we found is a narrow, but defined path. For awhile. It takes about 20 minutes to climb, just like the website says. Except that, about halfway up, it becomes incredibly thick brush. By the top you’re honestly not sure if you’re following a deer trail, or what even constitutes as the top.

I found myself asking, is this even the right mountain? Did we completely mess up? Should we have gone to the more popular peak just across the way?

Hey, maybe we did something wrong, but our altitude was on point. 6080ft.

After fighting what felt like an endless amount of bushes, we found ourselves back on the parkway as the sun was setting, covered in scratches and laughing. We were alive, we didn’t get lost, and we had something to show for our struggles.

One peak in the bag, 39 to go.

It feels…well, incredible to be completing goals like this again. Even if I look like I got mauled by a cat. I’ve got a list, some vague directions, and a world of opportunity. For the next months during my off-shifts, I’ll be following the mountains, climbing and cataloguing. Who knows what beauty this adventure may bring! Stay tuned folks.

And remember, despite everything, keep going.

Onward and upward, as they say.

Until Next Time, Fly on.

Lil