FREE BEANIE w/ purchase of $50 or more- Code: BEANIE
FREE BEANIE w/ purchase of $50 or more- Code: BEANIE
March 21, 2018 1 Comment
I had always intended on blogging about Kilimanjaro. With a 40% fail rate (our route) I thought I might end up writing about dealing with failure and accepting loss. Or maybe I’d touch on the comparisons of adventuring with entrepreneurship and what you learn about yourself along the way. Maybe I’d write about the L.L.Bean X Flowfold co-Lab and what makes it special. Of course, there was the obvious, I could have always written about the packs themselves. Or even why two Maine companies flew halfway around the world to test the prototypes and why Mt. Kilimanjaro was the perfect place to do it. I figured there wasn’t going to be a lack of storylines so I journaled along the way, cataloging my thoughts and my feelings throughout a physically, mentally, and emotionally draining experience, the likes of which I’ve never gone through before. This was the first time I’ve journaled actually, and there was something oddly therapeutic about it. I had trouble going to sleep each night without first putting my thoughts to paper. I’m not entirely sure if I’ll continue to journal or not, but I can tell you for sure that I’m grateful I started while in Africa. There was plenty of time on the 11 hour flight from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Amsterdam for me to narrow my focus and decide on a topic to share with you all. So I sat there, sleep deprived, calves cramping, lips and face windburned and blistered, and just read. Read what I had written on the trail in its rawest form. It soon became very obvious to me. I didn’t need to create a story. I had already written it. Other than removing and cleaning up a few swears (I apparently swear like pirate when fatigued and stressed), this is verbatim from my journal. What you see below is EXACTLY what I was thinking and feeling along the 7 day journey atop the world's highest free standing mountain. I hope you enjoy it.
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Allan
November 12, 2018
Congrats on your venture. I’m a big fan of both fanfold and l l bean and I’m looking forward to the next post.