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Early mornings have never been my cup of tea. Summer mornings though? They are blissful. The fresh, dewy air that is both cool and warm before the sun fully shines over the horizon liven my soul. A specific summer morning had a contradictory effect on me though. It awoken me and put me to sleep. This July morning, I was going to push my mind and body to new limits I never considered. I accepted this challenge because of my father. He had been working in Colorado and invited me to spend part of my summer with him before he finished his job there. Being the health and fitness fiend he is, we went hiking. A lot. Thankfully health and fitness runs in the family or else I would have never gained what I did, nor did I expect to gain anything. One mile is cake walk but not this mile. Arriving at the trail – no, mountain. Arriving at the side of a mountain 2,744 steps towered me. As I looked up the steps I thought, “this shouldn’t be too bad, I can do this.” We began. Not realizing what I was exactly getting myself into I started off with a quick pace. Feeling my body wake up and loosen up raised my confidence. Going strong then… where is the air??? Elevated between 6,530 feet and 8,550 feet I could feel the air pressure lessen. Seeing an inclined hiking trail my concerns focused around my legs. They were going to be jelly! In actuality my legs were fine. If my legs were detached from my lungs they probably would have been able to jog up the trail. My lungs were unprepared. Luckily we could step to the side to catch our breath. Only taking a few seconds to a minute to not lose any momentum we kept pushing. My eye sight shifted back and forth from my feet to in front of me. Checking to make sure I didn’t fall and seeing how much further to go. As I looked up I could see people gathered around, resting, looking accomplished. We’re finally at the top. The battle is over! Thank goodness, I cannot go another step! “This is the false summit, we’re not done yet. We have about a third of the way left.” Who makes a FALSE summit!? Why would they tease my mind and body into thinking they can now rest and be at ease? Taking our fourth breath break at the false summit I refused to quit now. The false summit allowed people to bail out. As tempting as the bail seemed, one more third of a mile was more tempting. Out of breath, exhausted, and dripping in sweat yet more vivacious and energized than I have ever been. The two hours I spent climbing an elevation of 2,020 feet were some of the best hours in my life. These two hours, plus the hour it took to get back down, were also some of the most challenging. I look back on these three hours more than one would think. They’re motivation for me to keep going. To realize that no matter how hard it is to breathe, how physically exhausted I am, or how many thoughts of giving up cross my mind consistently that I am more than capable of getting through the challenge. Life is a climb. There are moments where you’re gasping for fresh air, begging for your lungs to be filled so you can feel vitality flow through your entire being. There are moments where your mobility increases to knock out 30 steps. Moments where 4 steps seem impossible to make. But when you push through all those limits and doubts, the view is invigorating. You’ll hit a peak and be above the clouds. You will look down upon all that you’ve conquered and be flooded with gratitude. Understanding that journey is easier than perceived. It was just the moment that lead you to believe there was nothing left in you. When in fact, there was more and then some.