Tips for Pushing Your Comfort Zone

It's not as though I've put in many major outings in the past year that could allow me to speak authoritatively on the subject of pushing one's limits, but the successes of my trip to Newfoundland and last week's blitz of the Lachloche Silhouette Trail make me feel at least partially qualified to offer some suggestions to others.

Tip #1: Choose something kind of far from home, and preferably set a slightly intimidating goal.
This will motivate you to not bail out for 'minor' reasons.  In Newfoundland we'd booked our backcountry permits, accommodations, rental car, and flights well in advance, and to quit without a VERY good reason would have been a ludicrous waste of money and time off.  The Long Range Traverse was a significant step beyond anything I'd attempted before, and once started there were no options of backtracking or cutting out early.  The fastest and only way out was to get through the route.

Tip #2: Do not carry anything you won't actually use.
In Killarney my only extra items were a change of clothing to sleep in at night and a can of bear spray.  We also had bear bangers, which we used but probably could have left behind.  My pack weight came in just over 10 pounds without food/fuel/water.  This made covering big(ish) distances easy, climbing technical terrain simple, and setting up/tearing down camp fast and simple.  No extra crap to take up space and clutter things up.  Part of our plan for knocking off the distances required was simply to continue walking unless it was unsafe (ie. exhaustion induced stupidity, too dark for technical terrain navigation, thunderstorms while traversing high exposed ridges).  Wet, cold, hot, humid, buggy conditions were not going to factor into our schedule.

Tip #3: Travel with competent and compatible trekking partners.
Competent doesn't necessarily mean 'expert' bushcraft guru.  It can be someone with some outdoor experience in possession of true common sense and the confidence to voice their opinions.  In Gros Morne we all contributed to navigating our route, and all recognized the need to STOP when we no longer recognized the terrain around us from what the map described.  Also being able to recognize when your goal-obsessed focus is leading you into higher-risk situations is very important.  If you are aware that you've stepped into that next level of risk potential, and are familiar with the terrain and your own abilities then things may work just fine.  However, it's very easy to be blinded by the elements of familiarity ('I've hiked this section of trail 5 times before') when new elements are added to the situation (cold rain, while hiking in the dark).  Make sure someone in your group is comfortable enough to speak up when stepping beyond the 'challenging' and into 'risky' situations.

I guess that pretty much summarizes my 'top 3' tips for pushing your comfort zone.  There are lots of ways you could push yourself besides these.  Try going out there without sleeping gear for a night, or carry only non-cook foods.  Try a solo-overnighter.  I've written my suggestions in the context of tackling higher mileage adventures in remote locations, but these aren't always accessible for everyone, so by all means get out there and try something new in a way that works for you.