I’m serious about hiking the Inca Trail which winds its way through the mountains from Cusco ending up at Machu Picchu http://www.southernexplorations.com/peru-travel/IncaTrailColcaCanyon.htm.

Yes, I’ve been inspired by Donald Miller’s story in his book that I’m reading (A Thousand Miles in a Million Years). And I love challenges like this. This is not a trip for a couch potato! Supposedly this is one of the most excruciating hikes you can do because of the terrain and the climbing and steps etc. At first blush, I would want to give ourselves at least a year to get in shape physically, mentally and spiritually as well as to save the funds for it and put aside the vacation time. That and I hope some of you who will join me are Virgos and have a natural desire to investigate and research all there is to know about this hike and the terrain and the surroundings! (always keep some Virgo friends tucked away for trips like this, they are a God send!).

Just before I turned 40, I made up my mind that I had to run a marathon so I signed up for Austin Fit which is part of the USA Fit training program. They do declare that they can take a couch potato and turn them into a marathon runner by the end of their program and they certainly can! It’s now several years down the road and I’m still benefiting from what I learned during that training process. I wasn’t too impressed with myself for actually completing the marathon partly because of who I felt that I should have been at that time and partly because of the huge expectations I had about myself. Maybe that’s the same thing? Anyway, now I can be grateful to my ole body for enduring the training and actual marathon especially since I had been carting around a good 50 pounds plus I have two pins and a broken off drill bit in my ankle (car wreck at 21). I also don’t have a spleen, am missing part of my pancreas and a bit of my intestines, have had broken ribs, jaw and nose (from that same accident) and yet my dear sweet body was able to get into shape in spite of everything so that I could run that marathon.

Anyway, all that to say that I really believe that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I remember when my running partner and I crossed the finish line turning back to cheer other runners in and there was this one guy who crawled up to the finish line from about 50 feet back. He wouldn’t let anyone help him because he wanted to do it on his own. I’ll never forget that. It’s as if that guy crawling in is stuck in some kind of a you tube video in my head. It made me cry for him because I was so proud of him.

So whatcha think?? Want to talk with me about hiking the Inca Trail? Send me a message, I’ll be here and I probably don’t have to remind any writer who is considering this hike about all the material you will accrue…..