Adventurer, What Has't Thee Learned?
At 7:00 am sharp you wake up. The air is bitter cold, but it is an enjoyable experience from within the confines of your warm sleeping bag. There are sheets of frost coating the landscape around you, and you hear them tumbling to the ground with a loud "thumph" as the day heats up.
You reflect on your experiences of the previous night. This trip, you have carried a thirty pound backpack up a thousand feet over the course of four miles! Not only that, but the journey was completed during a snowstorm at freezing temperatures! It is an achievement to be proud of, and a sign of the nearing completion of your Hero Journey.
Be wary, though, as you are not out of the woods yet!
You go outside, and enjoy the view for an hour. There is a sheen of snow on every object, and the crisp air lets you see for miles in any direction. You look down and trace the path you took yesterday. This pristine view does not last long, much to your displeasure. Soon after preparing breakfast, a thick mysterious mist begins to overtake the landscape. The temperature drops, and you pack up camp before your gear gets blown away.
What do you do?
Choices:
1) This trek has changed the way you view nature. It is a powerful, unstoppable force which should be respected. As the weather takes a turn for the worse, you head down the mountain. You may not have made it to the peak, but the newfound knowledge the experience has brought you is enough.
2) No, you survived in the poor conditions last night, why not do so again? You are fixated on the original goal of this backpacking trip, and decide to continue hiking up.