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"Are you sure you want to do this hike?"

"Yes," I reply. But in my head I can think of a list of reasons why I'm not ready.

Turtlehead Peak was a hike I had been eyeing for months, but I wasn't completely ready. I was out of shape, unmotivated, and feeling like I was at rock bottom in life. All things that can be a recipe for disaster. A few weeks prior, I had found out scary news about my health. Work was taking everything out of me. Friends were gone. Relationships felt stagnant. Life had changed, and was changing.

The last thing I needed to do was (literally) climb a mountain, when I had so many "theatrical" ones in my life.