Set your sights on the goal

But, take time to enjoy the journey

“Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don't forget to enjoy the journey.” ~Michael Josephson

Ella

From the beginning, I loved hiking. But despite being eager to summit, I took the time to stop and enjoy all of the wonderful things along the way.

We hiked a lot! There were a lot of options nearby since we lived in the foothills of Colorado. One favorite was the South Mesa Trailhead just off of Route 93 on the way to Boulder. There were multiple trail options – including some that were good for jogging. As an added bonus, there was a creek to cool off in and get a drink at the end of our hike or jog. The only thing you had to watch out for was rattle snakes. We did encounter one in the middle of the trail on one of our jogs. Luckily, a passerby gave mom the heads up that the snake was there, because we might not have noticed it on our own until it was too late. Mom reined me in, and we gave the snake a wide berth as we passed it.

That was also the trail where I found a huge mound of fresh cow manure one day. When I first saw the cows themselves, I was cautious and went around them. While I was sure not to get too close to the cows, their poop was another story. It smelled so strong that I just had to drop down and merrily roll in that fresh paddy. Mom didn’t see it until after I was already rolling, so she couldn’t stop me. I had a good amount of manure caked in my fur and collar, so we had to drive home with all of the windows down. Mom couldn’t stand the smell, but I was quite proud of myself, until I had to get a bath in the backyard when we got home. In the end, the joy I got out of it was worth the pitstop on that hike.

My favorite hike of all was Mt. Sanitas in Boulder. We hiked and jogged there all of the time. When we were living in Boulder, we went at least once a week, and got in tip-top shape and could summit quickly. Often, we would hike up the steep side, where my favorite vista was located. At this particular vista, you could look out over the trail that came up the other side of the mountain. Without fail, I would stop at that spot and look out for a few moments before mom could coax me to continue. Then we’d head to the top, have a drink of water and a snack, and jog down the other side of the mountain (the part that wasn’t as steep).

I got it in my head that our routine on Sanitas was the way it should always be. When mom took a hiatus from jogging, and started making us hike up and back down the same side of the mountain, I didn’t like it. Even though I could be off leash on the trail, mom would have to put me back on the leash when she started down the same side to convince me to go with her. I just really wanted to jog down the other side – as I mentioned previously, I loved running most of all. Mom called me stubborn, but I preferred doing a loop versus an out-and-back so that I could check out both trails.

The road trip to Montana was just as much for me as anyone else in the family, since I loved hiking and vistas so much. We did a hike near Bozeman that had a steep ascent that was tough on all of us, but worth the views. The descent was the first time that I noticed there was something weird going on with my back legs – they were crossing a lot and felt unsteady on the way down. But, it didn’t stop me from doing another eight-mile hike on that same road trip. My age was starting to slow me down, but I was still up for adventure. I did get pretty tired, so when we visited a lake the next day, I laid on my side, on the ground! Mom was so surprised that I was laying in the dirt that she took a picture of me. I was just too tired to care about getting my fur dirty. I was exhausted, but happy.

After I left my Earthly body, mom, dad, and Mala went to Mt. Sanitas to spread some of my ashes at my favorite vista. They said some nice words about me and left a rose for me. They’ll always refer to that spot as “Ella’s Vista.”

Mala (and Tessie)

Like Ella, we both love to hike, and are always quite eager to reach the summit. However, we also take pitstops along the way – mostly to play with each other, especially when there is snow on the ground that we can roll in, and push our noses through. Since we moved to Evergreen, we do most of our hiking on trails closer to our new home. One that we frequent is Flying J, which has a couple of open meadows where we stop to run around with each other. I always like to pick up big sticks to throw them around and chew on the ends. We both stop to sniff any interesting places where wild animals have been. I take time to enjoy the views just as Ella taught me.

People are pretty good at setting goals, but not as skilled at enjoying the journey. What you learn and experience on the way to your goal is just as important as achieving it. You might even find that your goal changes due to new circumstances that come up along the way, causing you to pivot or change course. If you’re only focused on the finish line, you miss a lot of wonderful things that make up your life, so don’t forget to slow down and enjoy the journey!