by Mary Phillips
What happens when the right choice on the trail is to turn around? In this episode of Trusting Your Feet, Mary shares the story of a Mount Elbert expedition that didn't go as planned. After weeks of physical fatigue, an injured Achilles tendon, and a goal of helping a 14-year-old boy with a disability reach the summit, she faced a difficult decision: keep climbing or turn back. For someone who has completed 30 successful summits across 28 different peaks, turning around felt like failure. But the mountain had something different to teach her. Mary reflects on listening to your body, recognizing when pushing forward could make a situation worse, and understanding that changing direction doesn't mean you've failed. Sometimes stepping back is how you protect yourself and the people around you. Then, after hiking back down, another unexpected challenge made the lesson even clearer—getting locked out of her van 170 miles from home. As she waited for her husband and sons to drive several hours to rescue her, she had time to reflect on faith, family, friendship, unexpected kindness, and the people who show up when we need them most. This episode explores: • Why turning around can be the responsible choice, not a failure • Learning to listen when your body is telling you to slow down • What hiking and mountain adventures can teach us about life • Finding faith and perspective when plans fall apart • Recognizing the people who will show up when you need them • Cherishing family, friendships, and the communities around us • Finding the lesson in an experience that didn't go according to plan Sometimes the summit isn't the lesson. Sometimes the lesson is knowing when not to reach it. Welcome to Trusting Your Feet—a podcast about hiking, personal growth, faith, family, and finding strength in whatever path you're walking.
What happens when the path ahead is more difficult—and more frightening—than I ever expected? In this episode of Trusting Your Feet, I share the story of my toughest mountain yet: Mount Lindsey. It challenged me physically, mentally, and spiritually, and along the way, I found myself facing fear, uncertainty, unexpected help, and some moments when I genuinely wondered if I could keep going. As I reflect on the climb, I talk about what it taught me about moving forward when I can't see the whole path, how fear can change the way I see what's right in front of me, and why sometimes I don't need to know the entire journey—I just need to know the next step. This mountain ended up teaching me something that reaches far beyond the trail. And I think you might find yourself thinking about the mountains in your own life a little differently, too.
What if you don’t have to conquer the whole mountain today? What if you just need to take the next step? In this first episode of Trust Your Feet, Mary shares the deeply personal journey that led her from weighing 330 pounds at age 21 and struggling to walk a mile, ride a bike, or even fit safely on a roller coaster, to becoming a fitness instructor, personal trainer, and passionate Colorado hiker who has climbed 25 fourteeners. But this podcast isn’t really about mountains; it’s about the mountains we face in life. Mary reflects on how the Rocky Mountains have taught her to stop getting overwhelmed by what lies far ahead and instead focus on the step directly beneath her feet. Through stories of fear, perseverance, failure, faith, and unexpected growth, she explores what it means to trust God with the future, live in the present, and keep moving when the path feels impossible. This episode is an invitation to consider your own mountain. Maybe it’s grief, loss, fear, a health challenge, a relationship, or simply a season of life that feels too overwhelming to climb. You don’t have to reach the summit today. Just take the next step. Trust your feet.