Doing The Hard Things – September 2026
What’s inside: DNA of Adventure: Self-Supported EthosGluski Park: A month of construction!Finishing What Was Started: Gluski Park Takes Shape Around a Bigger Vision for Outdoor AdventureAdventure Team Petoskey Crushes First SeasonAdventure Teams Wrap for the SeasonKeep the Spirit of Adventure Alive!Made U.P. PodcastEvents with 906AT DNA of Adventure: Self-Supported Ethos With Marji Gesick less than two weeks away… I pulled an old blog post out of the archive. This article first hit our website back in 2021. Five years later… it’s still true. I’m going to build off of this story in next month’s newsletter, but for now enjoy the DNA of Adventure: Self-Supported Ethos. You are on your own. You accept responsibility for your preparation, choices, and the outcome. – The Crusher, Enhanced Gravel Wilderness Adventure SETTING THE TONEThe self-supported ethos can be summed up quite simply: You are on your own. You are responsible for yourself. You are accountable for your actions and behavior. Simple. Direct. Honest. The bar is set high – for everyone. No excuses, no finger-pointing. For the uninitiated, this might all seem a bit heavy handed. Modern society panders to the unprepared, perpetually offended, and entitled. One thing will never change: If you want it, you gotta earn it. There are no shortcuts, and by constantly trying to create them we undermine the foundation of strong communities. Stability rises from a clear and equal distribution of responsibility among the people, mutual respect, and character. No one gets a pass. LIFE IS NOT FAIRPeople love playing games. What makes a good game? Is it the action? The rules? Winning? While we certainly don’t line up to lose, what happens when we do? Do we blame someone, or do we look in the mirror? What happens when a rule is changed or misused? So many people are quick to yell “That’s not fair!” from the stands. It’s also common to hear a dad tell his kid, “You got robbed.” With these messages, we’re grooming kids to expect predictability and fairness. They automatically blame someone else when things don’t go as planned. Instead of mentoring resilience and durability, we seem to be giving preference to comfort and safety. The result? Kids who are scared and insecure – lashing out at the world around them. Adventure is inherently unpredictable, uncomfortable, and unsafe. You control your preparation and adaptability. A lack of rules and predictability is a lesson in and of itself: to prepare for the unexpected. Adventure empowers individuals, not rules. Adventure ignores fairness, viewing complications as experience enhancements and an opportunity for personal development. While many sports (including competitive cycling) give priority to natural skill and athletic ability, adventure-centric programs level the playing field for kids who may not have been born the fastest or most coordinated but are equally capable and worthy of our time. COLLABORATORS INSTEAD OF COMPETITORSInteresting things happen when we remove head-to-head competition and focus on personal conduct, character, and responsibility. Behaviors change. We become collaborators. We focus on the journey, what we hope to accomplish, and what must be done to see it through – forging relationships more likely to endure adversity. Kids are getting a lot of pressure from adults to succeed now and become a leader now, as though they need to prove their worth now. Whatever happened to being a kid? Becoming a good follower today is an important prerequisite to future leadership. Yet it seems few people want to take orders or respect the learning than comes from a chain of command. AN UNSAFE WORLDThe self-supported ethos is predicated on a belief that the world is not safe. We are not at the mercy of the world. We are at the mercy of our own willingness to face the world. We possess the ability to adapt and better ourselves. Success is a choice. Preparation, work ethic, and commitment will pay dividends long after natural ability. That’s why the self-supported ethos is such a defining part of the adventure team. Instead of paving the path to make everything easy for kids, we give them the tools to forge their own path. Why? Because we believe sending kids off unprepared would be the real tragedy. Gluski Park: A month of construction! Construction began on Gluski Park just over a month ago – and let me tell you – the work being done has exceeded all of my expectations. I have the privilege of starting every day at 906AT headquarters – and for the past month that has meant watching the flat, open space behind our office building begin to transform. At first, it was massive dirt piles. That alone was honestly, impressive. Watching the trucks on a constant back and forth from our property to Lindberg and Sons gravel pit – it was wild! So much material was hauled into the site, I had doubts it could possibly all get used. I was wrong! It was used – and they needed more! As the crew from Rock Solid got to work – it seemed like I blinked and suddenly, I could not just see the pump track taking shape, I could feel the energy and excitement kids will experience when they approach this feature. And then, work on the hub began – a culvert was placed – rocks were hauled to the site – and suddenly, the park was taken to new heights, literally. Standing on top of the hub – I’m pretty sure will feel like standing on top of the world to our five- and six-year-old visitors. I remember first sharing the park illustration with all of you – I was so excited for the community to see what we were going to build. And now that we’re building – I cannot wait for you to feel the magnitude of this project and the opportunity it brings for exploration, adventure, development and community. We’ve seen some of you walk by, you’ve stopped for a chat and a tour – if you’re in town and able – check it out! It’s really something to see in