Stumped by Nature

Welcome to this issue of Stumped by Nature, where we notice nature lurking just beyond our screens, curate a list of outside-y events in Austin, and build community with other folks in the thick of the startup ecosystem.

In this week’s issue:

⛰️ A modern misogi

🌤️ Upcoming outdoors events

🚙 Adventures just beyond Austin

Let’s dig in!

-Nicole

PS. There’s a batch of folks who read this newsletter who also meet outside, IRL. Join us!

NATURE SPOTLIGHT

In what I can only imagine is some sort of mycelium-like network of Andrews, we’re 3/3 for reader-submitted misogi stories from someone named Andrew. 

We’re defining misogi as an intentional nature-based quest, often at moments of transition. It’s chosen suffering that releases what’s no longer serving and returns you to daily life slightly more integrated than you left it.

I checked. Andrew was the #7 most common male millennial name. Some quick back-of-napkin math for the odds of three consecutive Andrews: astronomically unlikely.

To my buddies Andrew R., Andrew O., Andrew S., and Andrea reading this—you clearly know what to do.

For the rest of you, here’s the explainer.

In this installment of our Misogi Series, Andrew Fink treats us to his journey. Andrew is a ghostwriter for founders, investors, and partners, and the kind of person who gets a text asking if he wants to climb Kilimanjaro and says yes.

Here’s his story.

It was the spring of 2024 and I was in an in-between period.

I was living in Austin exploring my curiosities. I had just gotten back from six weeks backpacking through Australia and New Zealand, and I was figuring out what business opportunities I wanted to explore.

I had quit my consulting job at EY after more than five years the previous summer. I always had the entrepreneurial itch, and when I looked at the partners at my firm who were twenty years ahead of me, I realized I didn’t want their lives.

Yes, they were making a lot of money, but they were also constantly traveling, working crazy hours for demanding clients, and dealing with tons of corporate politics.

It felt like the right moment to take a chance and pursue a different path that aligned more with my values and interests.

Hiking to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa at 19,341 feet of elevation.

I didn’t seek this misogi … it kind of found me.

A few years earlier I took a solo trip to southern Chile to hike the W Trek in Patagonia. While on the trip, I became close with a couple named Tim and Joanna. They were both in their early 30s, experienced travelers, and lived in a small beach town in North Carolina.

Over the course of five days hiking together, we went from complete strangers to sharing the intricate details of our lives. By the end of the trek they felt like cool older cousins.

Tim is a huge adventurer, and this Kilimanjaro trip had been a big bucket-list goal for him. He talked about it when we were in Patagonia, but at the time he couldn’t find anyone to go with him.

So in the spring of 2024 he texted me to see if I wanted to do it with him.

It was just the right ask at the right time.

I had never set my sights on Africa or climbing a huge mountain. But I was in a season of saying yes to cool opportunities.

So when the chance came up, I jumped on it.

I wrote about this in detail in my newsletter, but the biggest surprise was that the hardest part of the journey wasn’t the climb.

It was a seven-day hike, and we didn’t reach the summit until sunrise on the sixth day. The summit push started at 1 a.m. in the pitch dark and freezing temperatures so we could reach the peak right as the sun was coming up.

There were definitely tough moments along the way. But the hardest part by far was the way down.

The entire time I was on the mountain I was focused on getting to the top and seeing the sunrise above the clouds and taking the classic photo with the sign that shows the elevation.

That goal pushed me through the freezing temperatures, hiking in the dark, forcing myself to eat porridge when I had no appetite because I needed the energy, and dealing with the headaches that come from high altitude.

But as I approached the summit, tears started streaming down my face. I wasn’t expecting it and didn’t fully understand why I was crying. I just felt really emotional after days of pushing toward that moment.

And then shortly after reaching the top, everything crashed.

The altitude sickness hit hard. My cough got worse, I could barely swallow, and my throat felt like I had strep. My energy was completely drained.

The summit was incredible, but the descent was brutal.

I still remember the songs and the Swahili phrases I learned and would sing and recite with the porters. My favorite was “Jambo Bwana.”

At the end of a long day, Tim and I would get in a circle with the thirteen porters who were carrying all of our supplies, food, and tents up the mountain, and we’d sing and dance together.

There were also phrases like “pole pole,” which means “slowly, slowly,” and “Jambo,” which means “hello.” And of course the famous “Hakuna Matata,” which means “no worries.”

“Pole pole” was something we said constantly to remind ourselves to take our time. Because of the altitude we had to conserve energy and avoid ascending too quickly or we risked getting altitude sickness.

The rhythm of the days became very simple.

We would wake up early for breakfast in the dining tent, pack our day bags, hike most of the day, arrive at camp, rest, read for a bit before dinner, and watch the stars before going to sleep.

We didn’t have cell phones or any connection to the outside world.

It allowed me to be fully present with my group and my surroundings. There were no emails, no current events, no outside obligations.

I had long conversations with our porters about growing up in Tanzania and heard stories about the dozens of times they had done the trek.

And sometimes I was just bored, letting my mind wander while walking for hours.

It was a really special feeling to just be outside and embrace the simplicity of it.

There was something about flying fourteen hours across the Atlantic to a country and continent where I don’t speak the language, don’t look like the majority of people there, and am in a completely unfamiliar environment.

There were moments of doubt.

Sitting in a van with fifteen strangers and Tim driving to the trailhead on the first day or on day four when my hands went numb or on day six when my head was pounding for hours from the altitude.

In those moments I questioned whether I should turn around, but then I reminded myself that I flew across the world for this.

I was probably never going to come back here again.

So I told myself to dig deep and accomplish what I came there to do.

For me it was about pushing myself to see what I’m capable of.

It was about living life with urgency.

And it was about seeing other cultures and learning about different people’s ways of life to bring perspective back to my own.

The porters carrying our gear were lugging seventy pounds up the same mountain I was struggling to climb with my ten pound day bag.

They were making around $10 a day, which was considered good money for that kind of work. One porter told us that the $70 tip at the end of the week could help feed his family for nearly a month.

Yet these guys were happy, curious, and grateful for the opportunity to do the work.

It made me realize how easy it is in America to get frustrated and stressed about small things that don’t really matter.

It’s also easy to compare ourselves to others, but everything is relative.

This experience brought a lot of perspective back into my everyday life.

Now when I’m nervous about a sales call or dealing with a difficult situation with a client, I remind myself that I’ve handled much more uncomfortable circumstances.

If I could push through freezing temperatures and altitude sickness on the side of a mountain, I can handle a tough conversation.

I’m a pretty high risk and extreme person. When I do something, I tend to go big.

When I left my job, I didn’t build a side hustle first. I saved a 6 month emergency fund and quit without knowing exactly what I would do next.

And Kilimanjaro was actually the first time I had ever done an overnight hike where I slept in a tent.

All of this is to say that if that’s not your personality, you don’t need to force it.

You don’t have to fly to the other side of the world to have a misogi.

To me, a misogi is about challenging yourself to see what you’re capable of. That challenge could be physical, mental, creative, or adventurous.

And you can do it right from your own home, neighborhood, or city.

This year my misogi is writing the first draft of my memoir.

I’ve questioned whether I have what it takes to get the words on the page, the discipline to write consistently, and the courage to say what I truly want to say.

So my advice is to look inward and identify the challenge you’ve been putting off (ideally one that scares you a little) and go make it happen.

Check out my personal newsletter Ascend Archives where I share a story once or twice a month about a transformation or change in thinking that has improved my life.

Connect with me on LinkedIn. I’m a ghostwriter helping world class leaders distill their expertise into insights in the form of newsletters, essays, books, and LinkedIn content.

Thank you, Andrew Fink, for sharing your misgoi!

ATHENA ALERT

PSA

UPCOMING EVENTS

🗓️ April 2: The Secret Lives of Bats

🗓️ April 3: Ikebana: with a focus on lilies

🗓️ April 3, 4: Astronomy Night: Painter Hall Telescope: See what’s going on up there

🗓️ April 4 Watercolors by the Water: Hike, picnic, and paint with the TreeFolks Young Professional community

🗓️ April 4-5: Austin Texas Book Trail 2026: Books are made from trees. This is a way to support them.

🗓️ April 4-5: Pop-Up Market: Flower Bouquet at Mozart’s

🗓️ April 4: The Board Walks for curious people who love deep convos

🗓️ April 4: Natural Dye Workshop at Elizabet Ney, at risk of selling out!

🗓️ April 4: Mushroom Gardening Workshop: Your chance to talk water retention and vitamin D to someone other than your Claude Wellness Project

🗓️ April 5: Walk & Talk: Deep Conversations in Motion

🗓️ April 7: Tuesday Twilights: wildflowers + a band called Deer Fellow. Talk about a vibe.

🗓️ April 8: Music on the Trail for a Rainey Street lawn party

🗓️ April 8: Wouldn’t You Like to Know: Texas State Parks Edition: Ky Harkey (one of our ATX Outsiders!) is sharing insider scoop of hidden gems, lesser-known park experiences, and practical tips for your next adventure.

🗓️ April 8: Astronomy Club: Physics, Math, and Astronomy Building for a night sky looky-loo

🗓️ April 8 Blacksmithing Date Night: Think soot and s’mores, and be ready to bellow

🗓️ April 9: Useful Plants Walk Around Lake

🗓️ April 9-11: How to Host and Identify Hummingbirds in Texas: Two classes + a field trip(!)

🗓️ April 9: Austin Ruck Club: Walking, but make it a bone density challenge

🗓️ April 10: Trail Talks for ATX Founders, Investors, Creators: Always a great crowd. See if you can ID the Master Birder in attendance

🗓️ April 14: Neil Degrasse Tyson discusses scientific literacy + the conflict over objective truths

🗓️ April 14: The Art of the Wild Bouquet workshop: Learn the art of champêtre floral style directly from my pal Julie

JUST OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN

🚙 April 3: Adult Egg Hunt in Volente

🚙 April 3: Hike Like a Geologist for a really gneiss time at Inks

🚙 April 4: Tea Gardening in Texas: gets hands-on with more than 30 tea-worthy plants at Cibolo

🚙 April 4: Mini Goat Snuggles: with Vista Brewing’s written promise of frolicking

🚙 April 4: iNaturalist 101: Expect to get on nodding terms with local organisms

🚙 April 4: Adult Nighttime Egg Hunt at Sweet Eats Fruit Farm. You’re going to need a headlamp.

🚙 April 4: Stories in the Steam Walk for Lockhart State Park creek peeking

🚙 April 5: Frog Pond Frolic: Go, if for no other reason than to hi five whoever’s naming and writing copy for these events

🚙 April 5: Staring at the Sun (Safely): expect sunspots, solar flares, and daytime stargazing

🚙 April 13-19 Dark Skies Festival in the Big Bend Region, quite far out of Austin. But the ocotillo! The skies!

🚙 Weekends through April 19: Sherwood Forest Faire. What to wear: legitimately whatever you want

That’s all for this week! 

In the meantime, I hope you have at least one interesting adventure plop into your text messages that you say yes to.

-Nicole

OPTIONAL SIDE QUESTS

🪵 Are you looking for a community of people in the startup ecosystem who go outside together? I’ve got you.

🪵 Are you sitting on a misogi-esque story? Spill.

🪵 Do you need to commission a writer? I’m happy to discuss projects that might make me cry in public/funnel my experiential/existential dread into essays like this one.

🪵 Is this newsletter not your vibe? Forward it to your enemies to make them suffer too.

💰It’s safe to assume there are affiliate links, and I’ll monetarily benefit from any purchases you make. Hooray, capitalism! So far, this newsletter has generated $3.46 of cold hard cash. 💸