When I was a kid I hated going on hikes. Absolutely hated it. Most weekends my parents would drag me along on a short hike. I would shuffle my feet look at the ground and end up a good 500ft behind them thinking about how dumb a hike was and how much better it would be to stay home and play my PlayStation.

My parents would talk about the beautiful views and how great it was to get outside, but all little kid CJ thought was it’s cold and they are only mountains, nothing that exciting.

I don’t know what changed. I don’t know why now that I am older I could sit and look at a river for hours. Or why now I want to hike back into the mountains simply for one photo or to see a magnificent view.

The mountains are unchanging, but thankfully we are.