Bowlinguru

Sunday night completed the most miserable week of my life.  But it was also the best week of my life.  I gained some valuable skills, 19 life-long friends, and a renewed faith in my fraternity.

I spent the last week on the True Pike Challenge, a specialized course through Boulder Outdoor Survival School for 20 Pi Kappa Alpha brothers.  We spent a week in the Utah desert; hiking for miles, eating little food, and pushing our limits in ways I could hardly imagine before I arrived.  The nights were as cold as the day was hot. A strong brotherhood was forged while cuddling for warmth during the wee hours of the morning.  The rain came as we were moving,  but stopped when we made camp.  After a night alone, our journey to find eachother found hail crushing our spirits.  None of us were successfull at making fire, so many dinners were wasted and we were left hungry.  We covered nearly fourty miles and a 4000 foot elevation change in five days of hiking.  Last week was the most miserable week of my life.

But that makes this week awesome.

One of the philosphies of BOSS is to compare down.  All week we told ourselves we could be naked, sleeping on dirt, with sunburns on top of our blisters.  It made the week more managable. It helped us humble ourselves.

My week in Utah gave me a low to compare the rest of my life to.  It pushed my limits, and showed me how far beyond them I could go.