Accomplishing my Goal

I have been traveling to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in northern Michigan ever since I was born. I will probably be talking a lot about being in northern Michigan throughout these blog posts. Out of all the places I have visited, Sleeping Bear Dunes is one of my favorites. My Grandparents own two airstream trailers and a campsite about fifteen minutes outside of Traverse City. My family uses it as much as we can in the summer, which usually ends up being around six different times. Most of the time we will just go up for a weekend, but once a year we will stay in the trailer for a whole week. We never run out of things to do and always leave wanting to come back again.

It has always been a goal of mine to go down and back up a steep dune climb called Pierce Stocking. The bluff is about 450 feet above the lake level, and the angel to the lake is so steep that when you are standing on the edge you cannot see the shoreline. I have watched my dad go down to the lake and back up with our dog ever since I can remember. Tyler, my older brother, has been doing it also for about ten years now. It is a rigorous hike and many people have a very hard time climbing up the bluff. My mom and I have always been the ones in the family to stay back and enjoy the view.

At the end of this summer I finally gained up the courage to take the climb. My mom and I took three of my friends and traveled up north for a couple days. When we got to Pierce Stocking Dune Climb the two guys in the group decided to go down right away. My other friend and I were about to back out, but with the encouragement of the guys and our own determination we decided to make the run down. The way down the bluff is the fun part and we jumped, ran, and laughed the whole time. The climb up, however, is the difficult part. We would take a few steep steps up and our cave muscles would instantly start burning. Because it is sand, every step we took our feet would slide back down. After about 30 minutes, all four of us made it back to the top. It was just as hard as I expected it to be, but the reward of finishing my goal with three of my best friends, was well worth it. Later I told my brother and dad how I climbed the sand dune after years of them trying to convince me. They both were jealous that I did it without them. So, I have a feeling I will be doing it again next summer.

Through the Pierce Stocking Dune Climb I have realized how it is good to set goals in life. Not only set a goal, but also eventually work yourself up to accomplishing it. A goal in life helps keep us focused and gives us something to aim at. If you set a goal outside of your comfort zone you will grow as a person. A great reminder that Thomas Jefferson once said states, “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”