It is September 22, 2015, and I am writing this blog post from an RV park not far from Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail.

I am on a little adventure.

I am looking for inspiration.

Change.

Challenge.

Something that will help me get through the next ten years of my career.

Everyone is talking about engagement at work. Happiness.

There’s an expression my family uses: Charity begins at home. I think that an engaged workforce starts with a happy HR professional.

I’m not saying I’m not happy, but I am a little itchy. And I want the workforces I touch to be engaged.

Here is what I know so far.

We’ve never rented an RV or driven a big vehicle before but it isn’t as frightening as I thought it might be. It is a sham to call this camping. I can shower indoors, cook indoors and enjoy a fireplace, indoors. I have a full-size fridge. I have three TVs! I am sleeping on a Queen-sized mattress. The truth is that this kind of luxury compact living is now left to the people who can afford it. They are extremely nice people I might add, but in truth, everyone we’ve met so far is over the age of 70. Most have found themselves an acceptable small house or apartment in a place they can call home, and see the world in style with the time they have left. Good plan.

The mountains smell fabulous. The air is cool this time of year, and the air contains a deep smell of pine, but not like the woods in Ontario. It smells slightly like Fall right now. It is the kind of smell that companies try to capture for men’s deodorant, but fail miserably.

Despite getting some new lightweight shoes for walking, they still aren’t right for this terrain. Coming down the steep rocks, my shoes slide on the acorns. I came all the way down here to walk on the Appalachian Trail and already I’m freaking out by the amount of climbing. Bill Bryson has written that a huge percentage of people who set out to walk the whole 2200 miles of trail give up in the first ten. I suddenly understand why.

But this trip was never about finishing. It was about experiencing. Bringing the wisdom of the wilderness into the inevitability of work. To appreciate the cycle, the circle of life. To be in the moment; where I need to be.