Early one fall morning, late October, I bolted from a hiking trip with friends in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, just outside of Gatlinburg, TN, to head north to the Red River Gorge area in Kentucky, in an attempt to conquer the via ferrata wall in the afternoon. I had worked out routes 1-5 to varying degrees on previous trips, but still had the 6th section to go.
I blew into the parking lot of Southeast Mountain Guides at 2:00, grabbed a change of clothes, got my gear, suited up, took a moment to contemplate the fringe of autumn color that had tinged the rim of the horseshoe canyon, then headed up to the first route. Since it had been almost two months since my West Virginia 280’ summit (yes, for me, I am totally using the world “summit!!) at Nelson Rocks, it seemed like a good idea to get myself warmed up to the heights again.
The first thing I noticed, as I slipped on my gloves, clipped in, and headed up the first route, was how fun and easy it was, how I enjoyed the rhythm of clipping and unclipping, climbing and stopping to appreciate the view. It felt as familiar as visiting an old friend – comforting and certain.
The first route led quickly into the second and then the third. It was pure delight! I was reveling in both my competence AND my confidence. There was just such an ease to the activity!
When I hit my nemesis, section 4, I stopped, sat down for a few minutes, got a few glugs of water, slung my bag onto my back, pulled my gloves back on, and set out with only a moderate amount of nervous energy sparking around the edges. I easily bypassed the section that had found me stuck wedged back in tiny rock hole the first time, only clipping in with my rest clip once!!
Tackling that mental and physical hurdle with aplomb, I quickly assessed each next obstacle that had flummoxed me the first and second times I’d hit this particular section.
Before I knew it, I was scaling the sheer, canted canyon face comfortably, and then I suddenly found myself magically on the other side of everything that had given me issue before!!! Tickled PINK!!!!!! Feeling like an epic badass!! I appreciated the thrill that came from sneaking up on something challenging, over and over again, until I’d attained a mastery over it! Talk about heady delight!!
What I marvel at is that I clipped in with my rest clip maybe just 5% of the time that I had to use it before – I find it incredible just how much I improved with each iteration, so long as I made the increments of a manageable size, and I repeated what I was doing a sufficient number of times to become super comfortable with each current stretch.
Now for the bummer… I didn’t get a chance to tackle section 6, like I intended, because of inclement weather the following day. What I did do, to stretch myself, was to do the first tiny little segment at the beginning of the 6th section before I left the day before, and then I navigated my way back across the tightrope, in and of itself, a new first. I even count this as a victory, because I’m just that much further down the progression and know that first part of the 6th section is now a known quantity for me. I can set that portion aside in my mind now.
Also, I learned that I do have an escape route backwards if need be. Each little piece I conquer adds to my ability to conquer the whole. It’s like Seth Godin reminds us in his book, The Dip – there are all manner of ways to fail at something, but they all basically come down to the fact that, in varying ways, and for varying reasons, you stopped before you reached completion.
Even section 5, which was exhausting the one time I did it before, because I was wrecked from the terror and exertion of section 4 the first time, was a breeze this time – so the gains become cumulative – because 4 was significantly easier, 5 was also easier.
Every time I push myself a little further I find that what was once a heart racing fear fest eventually becomes a euphoric delight!! I know that my competence-confidence model will hold me in good stead as I learn to conquer new territory. What a high!!
Hopefully, I’ll get an opportunity, in the next few weeks to take another go at Section 6. Until then, it’s time to throw on a different set of clothes and head over to the shooting range – chasing down my Army Rifleman Marksmanship designation!! Whoot whoot!! 🙂
Smarter-Not-Harder U 