The first few days of the trek were head down, climb up.  Stairs upon stairs.  One set after another.  I knew they had to end at some point, but there seemed to be no end in sight.  Luckily, two days in we got a rest day, and my lungs could finally recover from the 2000 feet of elevation we gained on foot in those two days.  Once we cleared the tree I could finally breathe again, figuratively, and literally because it got somewhat flat.  However, once we were up there, we encountered daily afternoon rain showers, but the first time, we weren’t at our campsite yet.  We had to backtrack a little bit to find tree cover and set up the tarp to wait out the storm.  Once the storm blew over, we found a beautiful campsite just to realize the water was over half a mile away off the trail.  A few brave souls took as many dromedaries as they could and made the walk to the water while the rest of us set up camp and made dinner for everyone.  It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but the campsite had one of the best views, and we had plenty of water to sustain us for the evening and next morning.  In that moment of stress, we all naturally fell into our places in the team, and everything went smoothly.

(under said tarp)

                  By the halfway point, my bag was feeling lighter, and I like to attribute that to my getting stronger (and not the fact that we had been eating the food like animals).  Personally, my biggest challenge was figuring out how to lead when I’m outside my comfort zone.  I was selected to be designated leader for our first full day of hiking, and I had no clue what to do.  I feel like I ended up not doing anything because I was in so over my head, but I got shot a redemption when I was chosen to be leader of the day again on one of our last hiking days.  At that point, I knew the rhythm of the group and what needed to be done to keep us moving.  I was able to overcome my uncomfortableness after seeing what my other groupmates did when they were leader, and my command strength had the chance to come out.  I was able to take charge and make decisions that I thought would most benefit the group.  Second most noticeable was my harmony strength which I think hindered more than helped me in this case.  Avoiding conflict is not always the best thing to do.  Most of the time conflict is necessary for the formation of healthy relationships.

                  One of my personal goals for this trip was to not worry so much about frivolous things, and that had to start as soon as we left Hanifl.  I work on a strict routine/schedule at home, and that was thrown out the window as soon as I left my apartment in Pittsburgh.  For me, committing to this trip alone was the first step in being less high strung.  Our days were based around where we found water and if the area was suitable for camping, and I just had to roll with it.  At least I no longer have to worry about where the nearest bathroom is.