Take a challenging hike in your area.

“Whoever said the trail is approximately 3.5 miles each way sits on a throne of lies, and the people who wrote very adamant reviews that the trail was ridiculously challenging and dangerous were 100% correct. As I continued, I turned my music on to lighten my mood and curb the overwhelmingly intense physical and mental pressure of such a technical hike. [...] My toes were screaming at me. With every step down, they slammed into the front of my hiking shoes. I tried side stepping, I tried climbing down rocks backwards, but there was no way to avoid the repeated beating both big toes were taking. The slightly declining wash was almost worse than the bouldering and every single step was excruciating.”

“As I began to weave my way up the side of the canyon, I was immediately winded. While climbing up was easier than going down given the condition of my toes and my thighs, I am used to living at twenty feet above sea level and the air was much thinner here. I knew right away the hike out was going to kick my ass as badly as the way in, possibly worse.”

“We both noted that there was no ease into the hike, as it starts steep. I was more slow moving than Kay, but she was kind and stopped whenever I needed a break to slow down my breathing. [...] I followed her lead, even when the voice inside my head said, 'Jeez, this section is hard.'”