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How the Mountains became my Medicine

Updated: Oct 2, 2019

Hi, my name is Morgan, and I have something called Celiac Disease: when I consume gluten, my body attacks my intestinal lining. The minute a tiny bit of wheat flour touches my tongue, it ends with lots of pain, constipation, fatigue, and anxiety… among other less appealing things.


I am telling you this not to throw a pity party or to convince you that my life is hard. Because, in all reality, I find it such a gift. 


Because of my disease, I’ve found many forms of medicine outside of the traditional pill, things I now cannot imagine my life without. One of these is trekking.


A young woman with brown hair, sunglasses on top of her head, and covered in all-black workout gear is laughing as she sits on a mountain peak and holds up her leg, which is in a post-surgery immobilizer. There are two other, older people in the background also on the peak. Further in the background, green, tree-covered mountains pop up, with clouds sweeping across the sky.
Even after a recent surgery to fix my torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus... I couldn't be kept away from nature! (Taken in Colorado)

My first backpacking-trekking trip, I was super intimidated. I come from a family that hates the outdoors: the bugs, the sticky air in the summer, the dirt you find nestled between your toes. Friends of mine remember childhood summers camping with family, on a sailboat, or going on hikes. Growing up with this exposure, no wonder they are so enamored with outdoor activities now. 

However, this wasn’t me. I was sick as a child - my disease undiagnosed and the cause of my symptoms unknown - and I spent a lot of time indoors, sleeping, and behind the ever-present computer screen. 


When I embarked on my first 4-day camping and trekking trip at the age of 18 through my university’s outdoors club, I was mind-blown by how instantly addicted I was. The bugs, the sticky air in the summer, the dirt between my toes: all those things my family claimed to hate, I couldn’t get enough of. What was happening to me? How had I not discovered this before?

Here the transformation began: computer girl turned into nature girl.


There is no way to describe how I feel when I’m outdoors: my thoughts slow down, my heart rate remains steady, and I feel this overwhelming sense of serenity. My body knows it’s home.

Before you go calling me a tree-hugger, I will beat you to it: I totally am. How could I not be? Call it selfish, but how can I not want to hug everything that gives me this feeling of floating on a cloud? It’s like you’re high, but the drug comes in the form of a 104-year-old tree. 


The outdoors is more than a mental release for me: it's also my physical medicine. The minute I’m out mucking around in the mountains, in the forest, or wherever my feet take me, my head clears, my messed-up digestive system calms, and I cannot stop the smile that overwhelms the lower half of my face. It’s like the sun soaks into my skin and beams through my teeth like a lightning bolt - like the power behind the water of the river is rushing through my veins, waking up my soul, and energizing my body. It’s electrifying.


You don’t have to have a life-altering disease or move your whole life to a camper van in the middle of the Rocky Mountains to enjoy the overwhelming beauty and benefits of nature. It doesn’t have to be extreme - it can be exactly what you need it to be. That is the cool thing about it: it’s so damn accessible, so damn beneficial, and so damn beautiful! 


Here’s my challenge to you: if you’re even the smallest inkling of interested in doing something outside, just do it. If you’re scared to go on your own, grab a friend and hit the trails. Turn off your phone, and let yourself soak it in. I promise, you’ll be amazed by how good it feels.


And after you experience that… Well, welcome to the Outdoor Addiction.




About the Author:


A young woman in a green ski and a furry grey scarf with silver glasses on and brown hair takes the center stage with a dried fig in her mouth. She is surrouned by water and mountains are in the background.
Mountains and Figs: Morgan in her Element.

Morgan discovered nature far too old for her preference... but she's hit the ground running ever since! She's now trekked 18 days in the Nepalese Himalayas, sent two week climbing trips in Laos, and kayaked 22 miles on the Na Pali Coast, among many other outdoor adventures she drags friends into.


On the virtual word puddle she calls her blog, Morgan lets her freak foodie thang fly, sharing her passions for the beautiful marble we live on, discussing nature, food, and ways a busy, money-savvy, and hungry environmentalist (and Celiac Disease-ist!) can explore and save them both. A woman who flies by the seat of her pants, has a blindingly passionate love for both figs and mountains, all while punctuating her sentences with laughter... Check her out: The Food Doof.

 
 
 

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