Enjoy the View from Different Angles
I decided that my “word” this year would be CONNECT. I wanted to intentionally connect with other people, connect with myself, and connect the dots of the events and experiences of my life.
How do we put together all of the pieces of our life and understand how everything is connected?
I am still figuring that out!
One of the great things about getting older is that I can look back at some of the most memorable and meaningful parts of my life that shaped who I am today. While I am still creating and connecting it all, it is fun to reflect and to sometimes revisit some people and places from the past.
In the summer of 2000 I had a volunteer service position with the National Forest Service and Washington Department of Natural Resources through AmeriCorps & the Student Conservation Association (SCA). I was going into my senior year of college and had skirted my way out of an office job for one more summer. Turns out it wasn’t actually the last summer I wouldn’t be in an office!
Assignment: hike just about every trail on the Mountain Loop Highway in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest of Washington State from the Darrington Ranger Station to the Verlot Public Service Center in Granite Falls.
Purpose: let the trail maintenance crew and rangers know about up-to-date trail and road conditions to relay to visitors and staff.
Clearly one of the BEST jobs ever!
Did I know this at the time? Of course not!
As I look back 26 years later, does it still have an impact? YES!
I finally made it back to that same Mountain Loop Highway in September of 2026. This time I got to share it with my partner. It was definitely a full circle moment and made me appreciate how important it is to slow down, fully take in the moments we have in life, and not take anything for granted.
You just never know if you will get the opportunity to revisit the people or places you have seen that made such an impact on you earlier in life.
As someone who likes to document things, it is amazing how much I actually DIDN’T document from my AmeriCorps service back in 2000. I took lots of field notes about trail conditions - snow lines, mud holes, downed trees. I wrote about where potholes were in the winter-worn mountain dirt roads. I even had notes about where people left trash and who didn’t have a legitimate permit to park or camp!
I had plenty of photos and trail maps to refer back to. Luckily I wrote the dates and captions on my photos. The one thing I didn’t do was keep a journal to write about the day to day activities, the people I met, and things I experienced. I neglected to write about what I was learning and how this place was teaching me things I never knew about. I didn’t write about what made my days exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. I figured I would remember all that!
Going back helped rekindle some of the memories and also made me realize just how much I enjoyed being in the woods surrounded by mountains and crystal clear lakes. I could feel in my bones just how invigorating it was to be immersed in nature and to have the opportunity to see such a uniquely beautiful place again.
I also got to feel how 26 years of not hiking trails like the ones in Northwest Washington can make you tired and sore!
There is one story I want to share about a hike my partner and I took up Mt. Pilchuck.
It was about a 3.5 hour trek up a mountain that had some hairy spots with lots of boulders and climbs that I am definitely not used to. While 3 miles may seem minor to some, when you add rocky terrain and verticality, it turns into something entirely different!
There was one point about halfway through the hike that I actually did stop to sit down and sketch an overlook. I called it “the beautiful spot”.
It was really the only time I stopped as we were going up the mountain trail to fully soak in the beauty.
The truth is, I probably could have stopped a thousand times along the way to just enjoy each piece of the journey from a different angle - beautiful vistas, snow-capped mountains, cloudless blue skies. There was so much to take in and experience.
Don’t get me wrong, I stopped a lot on the way up the trail just to take a breath and drink some water. It was pretty slow going! After letting what felt like hundreds of people pass us, my partner and I made it a few feet (yes, a few feet) away from the absolute top of the trail.
The top was a scramble up some pretty large bounders where a ladder went up to a fire watch tower. The tower would have given us 360 degree views of the valley below (Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, the Puget Sound, etc.) Before even giving it a second thought, we decided the view from where we were standing at the foot of the watch tower was the top for us. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was a clear day and seeing the snow capped mountains was like looking at a painting.
We made it - there was no need to keep going up to the absolute top and get inside of the watch tower!
We sat at the base of the rocks on a beautiful overlook and ate our lunch. Luckily we weren't surrounded by too many people for such a clear day and we got to enjoy the panoramic view in peace and quiet. To me that was fine dining!
The surprising part was that we marveled at the views all the way back down the mountain. The descent was particularly breathtaking from just about every angle. I think the focus had shifted from “making it to the top” so that we could enjoy just being a part of it all. It almost seemed like a weight had been lifted, the pressure was off to “make it” and it was time to embrace the moment a bit more relaxed.
Don’t get me wrong, going down the mountain wasn’t easy by any means! It took around 3 hours to descend about 3 miles. While there weren’t as many stops to rest, there were plenty of stops to look at the views and take more photos.
The takeaway:
Sometimes the beautiful stuff isn't always at the top. You can enjoy the views from all different angles. Many of which are unexpected!
Sometimes you think that if you make it to the end, reach THE goal, or make it to the “top” of whatever it is you are trying to reach the top of, you will reap the benefits or find something better. The truth is, there are so many things that are beautiful, beneficial, and that are already what you need right within your reach throughout the entire journey.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t go for more or challenge yourself. Of course you can keep moving in the direction you set out for. You can also know when it is okay to stop and accept that you have gone as far as you were meant to go. Acknowledge that no matter where your journey takes you, you are already experiencing so much, seeing so much, learning so much along the way. In fact, the descent might just be more gratifying than the climb.
When I returned home, I looked at my field notes from 26 years ago and found the entry for the day I tried to climb Mt. Pilchuck. It turns out that in early May of 2000, the snow line was at about a mile in on the trail. By snow, I mean a good few feet! I wouldn’t have even been able to try going up the mountain trail at that time.
It was definitely worth waiting 26 years to get to my version of the top of Mt. Pilchuck and to enjoy the views from all the different angles!
Here are some questions for you:
When have you made a decision to stop before reaching your ultimate “goal”. What was that like for you? Would you have done something differently? What did you learn?
Has there been a time when you have been pleasantly surprised by changing your focus or by looking at something from a new angle? For example, maybe you took a path you weren’t expecting and it turned out to be one of the best experiences ever.
What is one event or experience in your life that you would like to reconnect with? Is there something you did in your past that made such an impression on you that you would like to try it again? How did that shape who you are now? Who else would you like to share that experience with?
Where in your life can you slow down and “enjoy the view” more?
Thanks for reading this far! If you want help with seeing things from different perspectives as you go along your journey, I encourage you to schedule a time for a complimentary and confidential intro. coaching call with me.
As a coach, I’m passionate about helping purpose-driven people navigate overwhelm, prioritize what truly matters, and take actionable steps to live more intentionally in line with their values. I want to help people do what lights them up…not what burns them out. If you would like individual coaching or a group workshop, please reach out!
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