It was hot, the sun baking the air around us and burning into the rocks beneath our feet. After so much time spent thickening our blood at high elevations, the sun at 10,000 ft felt unseasonably warm. Ahead of us lay James Peak – a climb of over 3000 ft, a promise of lungs and muscles on fire.

It’s the last one, I kept repeating in my head. The last 13k ft peak in Colorado. You can do this.

Entering Colorado, I had had some hazy vision of gorgeous alpine views and carpets of wildflowers. While these both were certainly accurate, I hadn’t anticipated the days struggling through the snow, the cold nights, the steep mountains, the days where every step hurt. I hadn’t imagined that some mornings, I’d lie in my sleeping bag trying to find the motivation to get up and walk. Colorado had been, without a doubt, the most challenging part of the trail so far, but after James Peak I was hoping it would get easier.

The sound of voices sounded in the distance as several elderly hikers came down the trail toward us. We said hi, and ended up chatting briefly. Like usual, we ended up giving a brief explanation of the trail: we had started at the Mexican border and were headed for Canada. A silver-haired gentleman leaned on his hiking poles and considered for a moment. Then he said, “The bus would have been easier.”

We all laughed. They continued down the trail while we continued up. The man’s light-hearted remark stuck with me though, perhaps because it had a ring of truth, but I quickly realized another truth as well: this hike wasn’t about being easy. We were close to the halfway point of the trail, and I could say with certainty that for every tough day, there was a day with gorgeous views. There was the feeling of taking off my shoes at the end of a long day with the satisfaction of knowing that I’d walked 15 or 20 miles. I was in the best shape of my life, food had never tasted better, and I had a new appreciation for washing machines, showers, and wifi.

If my goal had been merely to get from point A to point B, then sure, the bus would have been easier. But sometimes, that’s not what it’s about.