u/feeling_Ded_inside12

Hello fellow hikers,
We got permits for Mt. Whitney at the end of the month but are wondering if / how frequently mountain lion sightings are in the area. We had a recent encounter with them while hiking in NorCal and want to be cautious. The experience was terrifying and definitely want to avoid from happening again. If anyone has experienced these animals or had sightings in the Mount Whitney area can you please share what happened? Thank you. 🙏

I suppose this is the struggle of most addicts. I am so close to a year clean and have significantly turned my life around. I am struggling as of late and don’t know why.

Life in Addiction:
Back in the day of functional usage, the routine was to to wake up feeling like shit, not use before work, and count down minutes and hours before clocking out and immediately coming home to get lit. This unhealthy lifestyle resulted in minimal and poor food choices, loneliness, and lifelong health concerns. Finances were horrendous and nonexistent. Weekends and evenings were wasted away numbing out. Looking back I suppose the fear of being fired was the only reason I had never crossed the line to use at work, but if I had I continued to make the choices I was making this would have eventually come to be. I also could’ve and should’ve gotten several DUI arrests but by some miracle, this never happened. Somehow in my state of recklessness I never totaled the car, hit pedestrians, ran into buildings or ever injured another person.

Almost a year ago met my partner - the best partner of my entire life I am so lucky to have and who I’d die before betraying, got my life straight, stopped using, have a healthier relationship with food and exercise, and actually have friends. I am clear-headed at work, have hobbies, and spend time in nature.

Today:
Do I want to go back to that lifestyle and have my luck runout? Nope. Do I want to betray my partner, family and friends? Nope. Do I want to go back to the awful lifestyle and pain I experienced? Nope. I don’t think I could survive withdrawal ever again. The addict that lives in my head is prompting me to want to use and throw all this progress away. My brain is missing the hours and hours of numbing while feeling euphoria, the “go go go” mentality of being high, sex marathons, all night raves, the physical sensations of floating away, and the many other things that come with being high I’ve forgotten to include. I drove by an alcohol store and stopped and stared at the door for a long time in the car today and almost went inside. It’s shameful to recognize these thought patterns arising and I suppose I’m just struggling.

Any advice welcome. Thanks.