Lookout Mountain

Are you ever at a point when an opportunity you will enjoy presents itself, but inertia has taken hold and it feels like you need the power of a Space X rocket to get up and moving?

That happened to me recently when I was in Denver. I had a rare Friday night free to enjoy, as I didn’t fly home until Saturday morning. I wanted to hike in the mountains.

A little background about the rocket-boost comment above is in order.

When I’m working on-site, I have lots of energy. Getting into my car at the end of the day is when I can relax. Then I have a decision to make: go back to the hotel to change and decide what to do for dinner, or go straight to dinner. When I return to the hotel first, it will take me longer to figure out what to do. I’ll end up picking a worse place to eat, just because I won’t feel like going very far. It’s like there’s some magnetic force in the room that makes it hard to break free.

Back to my hiking story. I had to return to my room to change my clothes if I was going for a hike. I changed, sat in the chair and started looking for a place to go. I could feel the room start to suck me in. It was hard to find a place that was not too far away and not too difficult of a trail (and by hard, I mean it took more than 2 minutes and 3 websites). A quick check of Facebook. A quick check of Instagram.

I was sinking deeper. I started to feel the dreariness. It’ll take a long time to get there… It won’t be as enjoyable by myself… Excuses started to add up.

Earlier that day I had done a Facebook poll, asking my friends what to do. My wife voted for going out and doing something fun.

That was the rocket fuel that I needed.

I decided that Lookout Mountain was the place to be. I set the route in my phone, queued up my Bigger Pockets Business podcast, and headed to the car.

The drive out was not bad. Lookout Mountain is right next to Golden, CO, which is right next to Denver. Some cool winding roads led me to the parking area. I walked to the lookout spot and discovered that Buffalo Bill is buried at that site. I missed the closing of the museum by about ten minutes, but I was there to hike, not to browse. I saw his gravesite, took some pics, and read a little about him.

The lookout point was cool. Looking east was the flat terrain of Denver. Turning to the west you can see the mesas near Golden. Also to the west were the larger peaks of the Rockies. I stayed there soaking in the beauty of the scene before heading on my hike. The trail was easy, but gently rolling. Much of the trail I hiked was in a pine forest. It was quiet and still. The weather was warm. From the high places, I could see snow-capped mountains further into the range. It was good to be out of the city, in the woods. I needed the time to relax.

This post is about getting to the hike. Sometimes getting there is the hardest part. The effort required to take action can feel overwhelming. Once I stood up out of my chair with a destination in mind, there was no stopping me. The act of standing was the most important step.

When you get an opportunity to do something enjoyable, don’t wait. The longer you delay, the easier it is for excuses to pile up and more effort is required to get up and go.

I’m glad that I went for that hike. My body and soul both needed what the mountains had.

Image by Hermann Traub from Pixabay