Nadia Ruiz: San Gorgonio Summit 11,503'

We get one special life on this world. Every morning or night, I take a moment to ask myself: how did I make today amazing, what am I grateful for, or how will I make tomorrow great? I found my fire early in life, but just like with any fire, you have to continuously feed it fuel for it to remain ignited. The more you feed it, the more it will flame. Taking these moments of reflection, meditation, and mindfulness are very important for everyone. It allows us to have direction, look back on how far we've come, and also to be present to appreciate what is around us. If we allow ourselves at any stage of our life to focus too much on the future, past, or present, the others will suffer. Therefore, we should give ourselves that space to work on ourselves to be balanced within our mind and spirit. We never know when our time will end in this lifetime either decades from now or tomorrow, living purposefully takes conscious effort -- and this does not take a great deal of money. It takes time in creating the mental space within ourselves and making the decision: yes, I will live today focused, grateful, and purposeful.

Almost losing my life on an ice cliff, almost losing my sister's life whitewater rafting, almost losing my father's life to cancer, and losing all my grandparents to chronic health problems have given me personal perspective that I will not and cannot take a day for granted. The road to achieve our goals and personal definition of success can be a lonely road. Find what ignites your fire and keep that flame up because in the end when we are in our last months of life, we never say: I wish I would have worked more, had that luxury car, bigger house, etc. We say: I wish I had more time. You have the power of now.

****

Timeline:

Vivian Creek Trailhead
10:40am start - 6000’

11:40am Mile 3 (1:00) - 7900’

1:40pm Mile 8 (3:00) - 10,800’

2:07pm Summit (3:27 up) - 11,503’

30min lunch

2:37pm leave

5:40pm finish (2:43 down)

Weather:

start 51F

summit 25F windchill // 10-15mph winds (mild)

finish 55F

Caloric Intake:

200 Vital4U, drip drop, eggs - wake up

400 sandwich - 2hrs before start

200 almond butter

100 Stryve biltong stick

300 pita chips, pineapple

200 stryve stick, Vital4U - Mile 8

500 sandwich, Matcha almonds - Mile 8.5 Summit

300 almonds - Mile 11

400 snack peas - Mile 19 finish

700 ceviche and brown rice bowl - home

3,300 TOTAL

Rehydration Strategy:

3 - 1L water with electrolytes, ex Liquid IV

* 1L morning/during drive

* 1.5L ascent to summit

* 0.5L descent to finish

My first solo and successful summit of Southern California's highest peak. Always check mountain weather first, have the proper gear from head to toe, navigation, training, and extra fuel/hydration in case of emergencies. Always inform someone of your exact location, start, end, etc. If it is your first attempt, do NOT go alone. I have been on this mountain and all SoCal peaks several times in the past twenty years. I wanted to take the plunge to go solo and happily enjoyed every peaceful moment of no service. Trek on safely, friends.