Be Your Best

Todd Gifford - Success Coach

Have you ever had a fun trip planned, but the whole thing fell apart in progress…but then..

That’s pretty much what happened this past month to me with a snowmobiling trip that I had planned with some friends.  We do this every year (some of these guys go more than once a year, but my body can only take one time per year).  We head out to the Snowy Mountains in Wyoming to do some mountain snowmobiling.  These mountains are at about 8,500—9,500 feet, in a mountain state park reserve that is only for snowmobiling, shear cliffs, beautiful views, and it is a massive area.  It is not unusual for this area to get 12-18 inches of snow overnight, every day you are there!  It is, if you like riding in untouched powder that is about 6-8 feet deep, sort of like the ultimate sledding experience I guess.  I am sure there are other places as good, but it is simply amazing.  Now I am a beginner-to-intermediate, and probably would not tackle this place if I were not going with some ‘experts’.  There are times when you get stuck where you cannot even see the sled because the ‘off trail’ powder is so deep.  Anyway, back to the point of all this.  This year’s trip was looking to be great, as the mountains were getting heavy snow and the temperatures were moderate.  Had a nice basic cabin in the mountains reserved, and the weather along the way looked clear.  It’s about a 13 hour drive, and the group was all set to go.  As the trip approached, I was fighting a cold/fever deal.  The day we were leaving, I was feeling better, but not great.  Well, with a whole day in the car to rest and relax, no problem.

We arrive at the lodge and cabin in the mountains and unpack.  I was feeling a little worse, but then the high altitude started really hitting me.  A good night’s sleep should do the trick, right?  Wrong.

Up half the night sick, and the other half laying half awake just trying to breathe.  By the next morning, I was a mess.  Just walking to the bathroom was tough, let alone thinking about snowmobiling in the mountains.  I was bed-ridden.  Within an hour of waking up, one of my buddies accidentally put our vehicle into a mountain road ditch while trying to park it when he could not see clearly due to all the snow.  Finally got it pulled out, but the morning was not starting out too good.  I obviously was ‘done’ for the day, but our group finally got off to sledding.  About 2.5 hours later, I hear the front door of the cabin open.  Steve, one of the sledding ‘experts’ in our group walks in and says ‘Brian’s hurt, I think he broke his collar bone.’  I pull myself together to go assist.  Sure enough Brian is sitting at the lodge with an ambulance, paramedics, and half the small town standing around him.  He was wisked off to the Laramie hospital about an hour away.  Confirmed: Broken collar bone.  His sled: mushed.  He took a tight turn to fast, and ran into a tree.  The tree won.

With me sick, our car put in the ditch, one of us with a broken collar bone, and a very mangled sled —- we decided to call it quits and head home early.  Of course, that night, they got about 14 inches of fresh snow!

But the funny thing about this totally botched trip, is that I had a great time, and had some great dialog and conversations with the group of guys during our 13 hours each way.  I drove 26 hours and did not even get on a snowmobile, but for whatever reason, I did not feel like the trip was a bust.  In fact, I really enjoyed myself (except for that first overnight).  It was relaxing, lots of great conversation, got some really good ideas, and caught up on some reading.  Not too bad.  Not sure if I am mentally trying to put a bad thing in the best light, or if it really was a great trip.  In fact I think it was a great trip, but for unexpected reasons.

The take-away lesson for me is the reason why I go on a trip like that is for the camaraderie and interaction with friends, not the sledding.  Sledding is just a bonus.

Take Care,
Todd Gifford
President
Dee Electronics