More than the Miles
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” -John Muir
Two years ago I started the John Muir Trail. This is the ~211 mile trail in the Eastern Sierra Mountains ranging from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. At the time, I was the VP of Marketing and Mobile for Modnique, a fashion e-commerce company, and it was my dream job. I saved up 21 days to be out of the office, and got my team in order since I’d be completely off the grid. My best friend and I started out on Tuesday, July 8th.
That week a private equity firm came in, acquired the assets and laid everyone off. I had no idea.
After a couple of days on the trail — with hundreds of mosquito bites and 10 miles off course — I decided this wasn’t exactly the vacation I was hoping for. My best friend and I weren’t getting along and I decided to bail at Muir Trail Ranch, halfway through the trail. As I was coming back into cell service range my phone was flooded with texts and emails from my CEO and team alerting me to the news of Modnique’s shutdown. I was coming back to the aftermath of a takeover and no job. I was heartbroken. I adored my CEO and team, and I loved the company.
Now, just two days ago I completed the last 80+ miles of the JMT, starting in Bishop and ending at Mt. Whitney. It was momentous, not just because I did it, but because I was closing a chapter that started two years ago.
In that time since I left the trail I started Iconery, a verticalized fine jewelry marketplace. Then, I experienced a traumatic surgery, was broken up with by my boyfriend 10 days after the surgery (and asked to move out), moved in with my parents, lost my 2 Iconery co-founders, spent all my savings and lived without an income for 18 months. But I believed in Iconery to my core. I tried to find excuses to give up, but couldn’t, and didn’t, and then Iconery got accepted into the accelerator Amplify LA, we raised money from CrossCut Ventures, built an incredible team, and started working with talented designers.
I needed to get back on the JMT and finish what I’d started. I love backpacking and mountain climbing more than anything. It makes me happy and puts life into perspective even though it can be scary and hard as fuck. I was nervous to tell our investors. I was nervous to leave the team for 9 days. However, I was so out of balance: I was mentally and emotionally exhausted, and had completely ignored my physical wellbeing. My team rallied and my investors cheered me on, so I took off.
On Thursday, July 8th one of our investors drove me to the trailhead in Bishop and I started out again solo. In the 9 days I was on the trail I reflected on the past two years and related the JMT experience to my “real life” with Iconery.
This journey was my way of re-training my brain to be a better CEO, and re-framing the Iconery journey as one like that of the JMT.
Here’s what I came away with
Never get cocky
The moment I would get confident with my steps or got lazy about watching the trail I would trip or stumble. This isn’t a paved road, but then again, there’s no paved road that gets you over 6 passes and to the top of Mt. Whitney, so to experience that kind of accomplishment, I have to be constantly vigilant.
Ask for divine guidance
I don’t even know how this happened so perfectly, but each time I didn’t know what to do, I would ask for a trail angel to appear…and one would. This happened for the first time on day 2 when it was 4 p.m. and I wasn’t sure when I’d reach my next water source up ahead. I was torn about staying where I was for the night — set up camp while there was still daylight or gun it and try to make it up the Golden Staircase before dark. How bad could it be? I decided to keep going and within 5 mins I ran into 2 Pacific Crest Trail hikers coming down. They were 1 hour from the last water source, which meant about 2.5 hours for me going up. They saved me from getting stuck without water on the Golden Staircase after dark. Trail angels saved me every day from falling into a river, walking into a bear, freezing, losing the trail, sliding down a snow chute, and getting stuck in snow up to my chest at 13k ft.
It’s more fun with people
I’m really good at being by myself and doing everything myself. I was perfectly content with the idea of doing the JMT solo. Before I left, a friend pointed out, “Ivka, you’re such an island — of course you’re doing the hike solo.” Oh.
I made a point of talking to everyone and making friends on the trip, just because that’s what’s uncomfortable.
As a result, I met so many PCT and North-bound JMT hikers who gave me invaluable tips on the trail ahead and shared ridiculous stories (PCTers are especially entertaining people). I also joined a crew of Canadian kids for 3 days and 3 nights, including a half-day at Rae Lakes with fishing and sunbathing (way more fun than being solo), and a father-son team for 3 days and 3 nights who made me feel safe camping at the base of Forester Pass and on Big Horn Plateau when no one else was around.
As the founder and CEO I feel wildly out of control delegating important projects and processes to the team, but it’s also so much more fun (and efficient) than the days when I was doing everything myself.
If it’s going to be rewarding, it’s going to be hard MOST of the time
I have been hoping and expecting Iconery to get easier. It doesn’t, and I have felt insane and confused by this. It wasn’t until I was on the trail that I realized it’s supposed to be hard. The JMT isn’t easy. Seriously, even the downhill is worse than the uphill. But oh my god, the views at the top of the passes and mountains make it all worth it. And sure, you’re only at the top for a few minutes, but it’s incredible. Plus, to see how far you come each day is overwhelming. I remember standing at the top of Pinchot Pass, looking back at the top of Mather Pass and thinking “Wow, I can’t believe I just walked this far in a day.” So cool. So worth it. Okay, so I can now accept building a company for what it is — never easy.
Go slowly and be gentle on yourself
Needless to say, I was not in shape starting out. I was carrying a 45 lbs. pack and starting at 9k ft. elevation. From research I knew that it takes about 4 days to acclimatize and from experience I knew it would take me about 6 days to get my body in shape. It was frustrating to be so slow, especially once I joined the Canadian kids who had already been hiking for 2 weeks. They gave me the unflattering trail name “Caboose” because I was always in the back. But I was slow and steady, and sure enough, by day 6 I felt amazing and beat half of them to the top of Glen Pass — without ever getting altitude sickness or injury.
It feels like the pressure is always on with a start-up — the money is running out and the competition is getting ahead. But, as long as we are staying on “the trail,” putting one step in front of the other, we’re getting somewhere. And, by being thoughtful and easy on ourselves, we’ll avoid mistakes and enjoy the process.
Trust in your preparation and leave the rest to fate
I’m so proud to say that I packed the perfect amount of food and the exact items I needed. I literally used everything I brought (except for the back-up water filter, thank god). I was super prepared and organized, although I didn’t realize it would be so cold at night — I slept with my down jacket and vest covering my sleeping bag. I also didn’t anticipate the brand-new batteries running out in my headlamp even though I slept with my electronics each night (the cold zaps batteries). I discovered this at 2:30 a.m. when I awoke to summit Mt. Whitney on day 9. The moon was setting at 3 a.m. so I didn’t have natural light as an option, and as it turns out, the ~3 mile trail up the backside of the mountain from Guitar Lake to Trail Crest is super gnarly, steep, and scary. Fortunately my SPOT tracker also uses 4 AAA batteries so I swapped those out (risking being un-trackable) and hoped I could make it to sunrise.
I’ve experienced that the magnitude of calamity is inversely proportional to amount of preparation. There will always be hiccups in the plan, but if I’m prepared and flexible, I can count on the fact that the hiccup was inevitable and greatly minimized by my preparation.
Bookends
The JMT has served as bookends to an incredible and incredibly hard 2 years. Fantasizing about finishing carried me through some pretty tough times, and finally accomplishing it put the journey in perspective.
I’m building the company I’ve always wanted to work for.
Central to that is giving my employees, contractors, customers, vendors, investors, advisors, and myself the permission to take whatever “trail” is needed to be happiest.
