After graduating college with a degree in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism, I spent much of my 20’s guiding various backpacking and climbing trips. In the summer of 2001, I led a weekend trip from Camp Hale to the Fowler-Hilliard 10th Mountain Division Hut. All the participants were in their 60’s and 70’s and we had an amazing time cooking and playing card games on the deck.
Despite the pleasant company, I was going through some serious stress and soul searching about every aspect of my life. Can I continue working 5 jobs just to afford rent in the expensive ski town I was living in? Should I go back to school or travel the world? How will I pay for either of those options? What will happen with my relationship if I move?
I rose after one sleepless night to hear coyotes yipping as the sun rose. I remember admiring how clear and direct their voices sounded. I climbed up the mountain behind the hut hoping for a glimpse, but the coyotes alluded me. Near the peak of Resolution Mountain I sat on a boulder for a long time, running the same thoughts through my head in an endless circle. In my distress, I didn't notice the approaching storm clouds.
Out of nowhere, I felt everything become still and charged. I heard a deafening boom, and was knocked off my boulder as the ground shook from a way-too-close lightening strike. I ran down that mountain to the safety of the hut as the sky opened up and drenched me. Recovering from the shock that day, I recognized that I already knew what I wanted to do with my life....it just took a bolt of lightening to get me to listen to myself.
And now, after 17 years of gaining experience in all fields of counseling, from wilderness therapy and school settings to inpatient and outpatient treatment centers, I am excited to be the owner and clinical director of Resolution Peak Counseling, LLC, where I can continue supporting others in listening to their inner wisdom, finding their voice and experiencing their own sense of resolution.
