Team See Possibilities Endurance Challenge in New Zealand

How do you respond to adversity? If you’re like my friend Dan Berlin, you turn it into an opportunity to develop resilience. Dan lost his eyesight to the disease cone rod dystrophy. He then decided to start taking on endurance challenges never before done by a person who is blind. I’ve had the honor of serving as his guide in many of these challenges. 

As part of our non-profit Team See Possibilities, we leave tomorrow for New Zealand. Our goal is to complete a major endurance challenge on 7 continents in 7 years, and this is Number 5. We’ll run the 28-mile Tongariro Circuit and the 33-mile Milford Track. Both routes are rugged and typically done over 4 days, but we’ll attempt to complete each one nonstop in less than a day. New Zealand’s Otago Daily News recently published a story about our attempt here.

We’ll visit schools in Auckland and Dunedin to meet with vision-impaired children, encouraging them to challenge their perceived limits just like Dan. To date, we have raised over $100,000 to support schools in the countries we have visited. And this year we are launching the Team See Possibilities Global Scholarship Fund. The program aims to help students with vision loss go on to higher education and find their own meaningful career path. We have already raised $10,000 toward our goal of $25,000. If we raise enough funds, we will offer 5 scholarships of $5,000 each.

To donate to the scholarship fund, please click here. 

I’d also like to challenge you to think about your own perceived limits that may be holding you back. What excites and intimidates you? And what are you waiting for? Go out and create your own adventure!

Keep growing.

The Hiker Mindset

I just returned to civilization after a 6-day, 80-mile hike with an old friend around the stunning Three Sisters Mountains in Oregon. That’s where I discovered The Hiker Mindset. And I wonder if you have it too?

Day One of the hike was challenging. My body wasn’t used to humping a 40-pound pack for ten miles up meandering climbs and over dusty trails. My left shoulder ached. My feet complained. Day Two was even harder, as we pushed for 15 miles. On Day Three, we left our heavy packs in the tent and, with just some water and snacks, climbed to the summits of Broken Top and South Sister, two intimidating mountains with outrageous views. 

Those efforts took us 11 hours, and although I came into camp that night bone tired, the thrilling memory of standing on top of the world twice in one day made the exhaustion worth it. As the trip went on, I found myself falling asleep earlier each night. On the final evening, I was snoozing even before the sun went down.

Throughout the hike, we sometimes encountered young, fit men bounding along the trail carrying 50 pound packs without apparent trouble. We met pudgy plodders puffing away as their bellies jiggled with each step; gritty couples sharing a love of nature, physical exertion and one another; gray and wrinkled old timers eager to stop for a while and share their knowledge of the land; determined single women inspired by “Wild,” Cheryl Strayed’s famous book about her solo hiking adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT); a few hardy families with children bounding their way over rocky trails; and even dogs carrying their own supplies in pouches draped over their backs. Some of the people we met were day hikers planning to return to their cars before the sun went down. Some, like my friend and me, were hiking the circumference of the Three Sisters over a week, and some were “through hikers,” rugged souls out on the PCT for weeks or months.

I began to notice some similarities in the people we encountered on the trail, something I’ve decided to call The Hiker Mindset:

1. A genuine awe at nature, often marveling at the simple beauty around them: “Can you believe how lucky we are to be out in this gorgeous part of the world?”
2. A smile and nod to strangers, a willingness to talk, share knowledge and offer help if requested.
3. The knowledge that discomfort is part of the deal. If you hike all day with a heavy pack, your body will ache, your feet will get sore, your fingernails dirty, and your shoulders stiff.
4. A recognition, counterintuitive to many, that you actually get stronger with each passing day. Over time, your feet will toughen up, your shoulders will get used to the heavy pack, and your aches will amazingly start to disappear.

Our hike ended, and my friend and I drove back into town. Our phones suddenly buzzed with texts and emails that hadn’t been allowed into the wilderness. Before I started the “sorry for my delayed response” emails, I paused to write down the reflections above. And I realized The Hiker Mindset isn’t just about hiking in a beautiful natural landscape. It can be applied to each moment of our lives. So, here’s how to practice:

- Express awe and appreciation of the beauty around you

- Be helpful to people who ask

- Embrace discomfort as part of the deal, and

- Recognize that you get stronger every time you choose to persevere through the tough stuff

See you out on the trail.

Running Blind on The Great Wall of China

Check out the newly-released, official Team See Possibilities video from our endurance challenge on The Great Wall of China! This was produced by the amazing Niamh Donohoe, who bravely accompanied us and explains our mission in the most beautiful way

Dan Berlin, who lost his eyesight to the disease cone rod dystrophy, begins the video, “I look at being blind as an inconvenience…most of us can do a lot more than we think we can. The key to living a fulfilling life is to put it out there, be exposed, try things…” It’s a powerful lesson for each one of us. And thanks to support from UNICEF, Dan shared the same message with hundreds of blind children in schools we visited afterward in China and Thailand.

Our guide says it all in this video - indeed this was no joke of a challenge, which included not just trekking on The Great Wall, but also sleeping in a freezing, abandoned watchtower, kayaking on a lake that separated crumbling remains of the Wall, and cycling on a tandem bicycle. We hope this story encouraged countless young minds to look at their "disability" as a source of resilience, thanks to Dan’s inspiration. 

I want to give a special THANK YOU to Barry Lipsett, CEO of Charles River Apparel, for sponsoring our team with financial support and multiple layers of gear we used on the adventure. And thanks to Intrepid Travel for managing the complex on-the-ground logistics flawlessly.

You can learn more or donate on our Facebook page here or on our Team See Possibilities website where we describe in more detail our goal to make history on 7 Continents in 7 Years while making donations wherever we visit to support local children who are blind.