changing priorities

Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro was on the bucket list of my 20s but somehow lost its appeal through my lazy 30s. Now at 47, probably in the best physical shape of my adult life, it's back on the front burner, not as a "I want to do this before I die" item but as "I need a soul-beating, ass-kicking trip that's going to push me right to the edge." I had planned to go to Patagonia this year and Ucelet, which felt like the end of the world, was to be the grand finale. I'd collapse in a heap and fly home in a daze. But that just didn't feel like the right match for this year, the Year of the Tiger, my year. I still very much want to do that trip.