Aren’t you afraid?

Aren’t you afraid?
 
This is the question I’m asked most re my solo escapes into the wilderness. And truth is, before this trip I did feel afraid. It had been 3 months since I’d been out there solo on a multiday hike (my last multi-day hike had huts so there were people about) and the thought of 13 hours (sunset 5.30pm, sunrise 6.45am) in the pitch black in my little tent in the bush had my monkey mind concocting every ‘what if…!’ Staying home with its perceived comforts, security and safety felt mighty tempting.

Yeah, I was afraid.
 
But my heart and soul know better. My heart and soul were longing to be in solitude and silence out there. My heart and soul felt the call of the mountain. My heart and soul know the only way to deal with fear is to face it.

It’s called courage.

And when I see fear I run at it with a vengeance. I committed to myself a couple of years ago to not allow fear to dictate the terms of my life. Fear will not limit me.
 
So, off I went, not just to any hike, but to one of THE most remote parts of Victoria, Australia- THE Viking Wilderness on the Australian Alps Walking Track. A 5-hour drive from Melbourne and 1.5 hours on a super fun 4WD track channeling my inner rally car driver in my little Suzuki to even to get to my starting point. No trail markings, more than enough warning signs as I entered, two nights, a few sections of rock climbing and not even a moon to shed some light!
 
Solo and deep wilderness, on a new moon, just me and my pack and all I needed to survive.
 
And, you know what? Once I set on my way, fear was not there with me for even one milli-second! Just awe, wonder and joy.
 
I could see it clearly again… fresh and at the surface of my consciousness again. Here in nature, I am in my element. Here I am one with nature, completely in tune. Even as I lay for a few hours praying, meditating and just ‘being’ on a mountain summit I found myself with a lizard baking on my shoulder, a furry caterpillar crossing my torso, a grasshopper of 10 shades of green resting on my knee and an iridescent blue beetle hanging out on my bare foot. Extraordinary!
 
It’s so clear… here I know, here I feel, here I intuit with ease, here I am safe, here the way always appears, here my mind is clear, here I encounter synchronicity, the supernatural and miracles. Here God’s got me, just like he always does.

This is why my heart and soul always call me here. To the mountains. The mountains, they never stop calling me. Into this place of fearless bliss! For it seems all that I seek is on the other side of fear.
 
And guess what, here I encountered THE BEST sunrise of my life!!!! I couldn’t help but think that all that I would have missed if I didn’t step towards fear.
 
Ahhhhhh the freedom on the other side of fear sure is sweet! For the stars are brighter when the night is darker.


NEW to multi-day hikes – check out my guide here.
Follow me on Instagram or SUBSCRIBE at the bottom of the Home page.