Austria, you’ve been amazing. I used to think of myself as more of a beach and palm tree gal, but after this trip I’m totally in awe of the power of the mountains. We hiked over 35km, climbed up 9,100ft and walked 80,000 steps, all within 2.5 days and weather of complete extremes.
I’ll be the first to hold my hand up and say I’m no expert hiker, and the first day really tested me mentally. When you’ve been climbing up a ridiculously steep hill non-stop for 4 hours in brutal wind and rain, have no feeling in your hands or sight of the top.. you go to a dark, dark place in your head! I use the phrase ‘take it one breath at a time’ a lot in my yoga classes, and here I was literally telling myself to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, and not think any further ahead than that. My glutes and calves were on fire, I wanted to cry and give up multiple times, but had no choice other than to continue on (needless to say my husband was keeping a safe distance ahead of me by this point.!) I can’t describe how proud I felt of myself once we reached the top - being able to see nothing but cloud as a reward however is another post entirely..!
I achieved something I wouldn’t have ever even considered if I knew ahead of time how hard the conditions would be, let alone the cold lake open-water swim hubby made me do the next day.. clearly I was still high on mountain air when I agreed to that one. Thank you Austria for your fresh mountain air, stunning green lakes, smells of pinewood & breathtaking views. And most of all for reminding me how strong and capable I really am.
For anyone who is prone to doubting and seeing only the worst in themselves, do, start or sign-up for something today that excites but also challenges you, no matter how big or small. No doubt you’ll be reminded just how remarkable and amazing you actually are #youarecapable