I AM AN OUTDOOR GIRL. I grew up hiking and skiing, playing soccer and lacrosse in the mountains of New England – feet on the ground, fresh air in my lungs – so I was skeptical the first time I went to an indoor climbing gym. To my surprise I loved the new athletic challenge, but I was so intimidated watching the seasoned pros scale the walls that I never went back. I told myself it was an insiders’ club, and I preferred “actual” mountains…

Excuses, though I didn’t know it then.

Ten years later, I’m a freelance journalist covering mostly environment stories in the northeast, despite a strong pull to do it somewhere else. I’ve turned down good job offers in other places, citing long lists of good reasons, and I’ve put off trying other new endeavors, telling myself there’s too much to learn…

Excuses, and I know it now.

These days I look at that climbing wall as a metaphor for many other challenges I’ve shied away from because of the hard work it might take to meet them, the fear that I might not, and the uncertainty I’d face along the way. This is not the way I want to live my life.

So in a few days, I’m leaving almost everything I know to head west in search of new challenges, with only a sketch of a plan and the freedom to ditch it entirely. I’ve always thought that I’m the type of person who needs a big catalyst to make a decision like this, some life-altering event. Instead all it took was admitting to myself that I’ve stopped learning where I am, mostly because I can’t see past my limits.

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck, personally or professionally, you might know what I mean. Maybe you strive to advance your career, or to become a better sister, mother, wife, or friend. Inevitably you bump up against criticism, from yourself or someone else who has power to block your progress like a rock wall so high you can’t see the top or any way to get there.

Confronting your limits is no fun, and I have a bad habit of wasting time and energy beating up on myself for not being instantly and naturally talented at everything I try.

I’ve been stuck in this ridiculous cycle for too long, overdue for some fresh air and a change of scene. It’s high time I lit out like the brave (and arguably naïve) pioneer families who settled the west a century and a half ago. My wagon has an engine and I have room for a few more comforts (though I’m trying to talk myself out of taking my favorite sweater with the “dry clean only” label).

And while the landscape looks a bit different, I’m looking forward to seeing the country like they did, and exploring its wild places. It’s a working trip, so I’ll be filing stories from the road, but my other goal is to get out of my athletic comfort zone and onto some new terrain… vertical included.

One of the first places I plan to report from is Lander, WY, also one of the country’s rock-climbing capitals. I think it’s only fitting that I give the sport another shot, knowing now that I’ll learn much more about myself in the process, than if I spend another ten years making excuses not to try.

Part 2: Climbing Problems »

SHANNON MULLEN is a freelance public radio reporter, amateur chef, aspiring screenwriter and a fantastic aunt. She spends a lot of her free time taking long walks or hiking in beautiful places with her black lab Mila. For the next few months Shannon will be traveling cross-country in search of new trails to roam, delicious road food to sample and good stories to tell. Click here for more of Shannon's outdoor fitness adventures and visit her blog People, Places & Things.