A Long Ways Back...

So how far back do these Stones and this experience go? A long ways it seems...
I've been heading out on one small adventure or another for over thirty years now.
Collecting and then more recently placing these Stones has always seemed to be a part of this.
I was trying to think about how to date them, but almost all have already been placed out there, so I thought more about what was done, where I've gone, and what gear was used.
But here are a couple of trys without posting a bunch of travel stuff. The pictures here include some shots of gear collected a while back and are posed with some recent stones. Some of you might remember the company 'Early Winters' out of Seattle. The wooden flashlight and the candle lantern above were both purchased from Early Winters in about '85 and were carried on a kayak trip through the San Juan Islands. Lots of Stones collected out there. This was already about ten years into these wanderings. That candle lantern was also carried in the mid to late '80's on a long dog sledding trip, a hike to Grey Owl's cabin, rafting down a few Class 4 rivers, and on my first Outward Bound trip. Even more stones were collected and a few placed back during those years. It probably was that Outward Bound experience and the focus on service and stewardship that helped me get my bearings on where this was leading me.

The small journals in the other pictures, I've used for many years now and got them from the Mountaineers. Those of you who remember these can see they are a bit dated too and have been carried on each kind of adventure while collecting and placing. They became even more useful as the new millennium arrived as it was about then that the Summit Stone muse struck me. I enjoy journaling and then reflecting back on what has been experienced.
The Muse has also been through a few revisions during these later years although I should say that I'm not that original when it comes to the Muse. Early Winters had produced a little red covered book called "An Outdoor Muse" over twenty years back. It was in a small blue stuff sack that also held other little books on the stars, fishing, outdoor cooking, etc. The idea for my own Muse really came from this. Unfortunately Early Winters went out of business about 1986 I recall.
These kinds of things have helped me keep a frame of reference for this whole journey and when things unfolded. The last five years have been busy ones in discovering new adventures, unique places to collect and then place the Stones, and developing different perspectives.
I guess what is more interesting than how long I've been doing this is the fact that these Stones themselves have been 'pounded by storms, washed by waves, and polished by the wind' longer than we have been around. Kind of puts our efforts into perspective...
DSD