"So...How Many Is That......."

Recently... just after summiting a double peak mountain, here near Banff, and after focusing on the basics - safety in position; warm fleece; a bit of food and hydration... a close friend and I were sitting back to back, listening to the wind and some nearby rockfall...

"So... how many is that?", he asked quietly... For a brief moment, I thought he meant how many Summit Stones have I placed as I had just secreted two into the summit cairn there... Then it dawned upon me... he was asking how many mountain summits have been climbed and counted now...

After a moment, I just as quietly replied... "I honestly don't know....."

And then I found myself in the midst of that rush of intense emotion; often with a tear in my eye; that comes upon me as I realise just where I am... yet again... what it takes to get here; and the long journey that has gone on for years now leading to these special moments...

The emotions and tears this time also reflected a growing awareness that I've had these last years that... I am just so grateful to be there... at that wild place... in that moment...

I truly have no idea how many mountain summits I have climbed now... I counted every single one past 100 and continued to record them after 150... Now I tally such adventure summit experiences in a much different way...

It is not in their number that they have meaning anymore... It is simply that they are... an adventure gift to be experienced... a gift of memories created and cherished... a gift of intense moments lived and shared... and an unopened present full of envisioning what other adventures wait patiently out there for us...

After over thirty years of such wandering our wild lands... across lakes, down rivers, among islands, over mountains, through canyons... I feel more of these emotions... that gratitude... and allow it to wash over me and through me so that while I may not 'count' certain things anymore... I will never forget the experiences that created them...

I really don't know either how many Summit Stones I have placed now; but they are out there as a simple reflection of such emotions that we all have... that sense of gratitude... and in the belief of the importance of raising awareness about giving back to these wild places... and the real need to pass forward these opportunities for adventure to the generations that follow us.....

DSD

"J. Alan Hendricks...The Adventurist"

When I first saw the Title: "The Adventurist", I immediately had to visit that site... I loved the concept of an 'Adventurist'...

J. Alan Hendricks promotes real enthusiasm and has a distinct objective of "Promoting exploration, education, and personal challenge through adventure" within his blog writings. The Adventurist started out in 2006, with an intention to advocate that, as Alan says, "Life is an adventure. Live it"...

He also highlights that his blog has , "Shown me that people care about a lot of the same things I do. The environment, nature, and adventure". Themes I certainly relate to myself...

When embarking upon this creative journey, Alan wrote back in November 2006, "The term 'Adventure' means many things to many different people. It could be a quest, a life statement, a great undertaking of sorts or it could just mean something new"..."An Adventurist to me encompasses someone who is strong willed, determined, and won't let anything stand in their way of achieving what they have set out to do. They look for the excitement, the thrill, the ADVENTURE of doing something that most people would never do"..."This blog is about History, Science, Ecology, Nature, and of course... Man's quest to delight in it all. So grab your pickax, throw on those snowshoes.. or grab a kayak and let this adventure begin".

Now there is a great deal of energy and enthusiasm in these words... Meanings to create motivation by as well...

And with all of this "The Adventurist" has become, for many of us, a part of our days journeys.

J. Alan Hendricks efforts are ones of giving back, and passing forward, to the Adventure Community, by keeping us current out there. Hike on over and enjoy some time with him...

DSD

(Above Images By 'AdventureArt')

A Google and Blogger Thanks...

As I approach one year of blogging, and am thinking of an anniversary post of sorts, I am also musing about how Blogging is such a unique medium... The digital world seems 'elemental' to me at times... It seems important to me to acknowledge that Google & Blogger have committed to and provided for such 'giving back' to the Internet community; while providing access, means, and opportunity for those of us adventurers to connect with each other...

Read their history on their site: Three friends, starting with a unique idea, facing adversity, and then turning an interesting project into an amazing adventure journey of their own...

The Blogger Team at Google have a vision of: "Helping people have their own voice on the web and organizing the worlds information from the personal perspective."

This certainly allows for another whole level of fellowship...

A simple example is this journal of mine, with its potential links, comments, and formats, that Blogger provides. I never would have become part of the connectedness and experiences of the Summit Stone 'finders' who choose to share their stories here, nor the many other adventurers who visit and comment, or even link back to their own sites...

The Blogger Team is on a climb, a journey, an adventure, of their very own making...

As in the Scottish mountain route image of 'Rest and Be Thankful' above, they deserve a moment of pause to appreciate their efforts...

My thanks to the Bloggers at Google...

DSD

"The Man By The Lake....."

I remember... a few years ago... one of my most profound experiences of being aware of a 'finder' of a Summit Stone & Adventure Muse... This was a moment of 'passing forward' I will be forever grateful for... One of those fleeting opportunities that almost never occur when I see and share in what a 'finder' experiences upon discovering a placed gift...

This happened upon descending from mountain climbing, where the trail out passed very near an alpine lake, embraced by a very rocky shoreline...

I had placed a few painted stones and Muse that day both upon the summit and earlier at the trail head itself... What was most profound though was not the climb itself, a solo endeavor, to a peak visited before for musing and reflection... What provided a lasting memory of that day was what I saw just before reaching the trail head, about an hour before last light...

I saw... just off the trail, a young man, sitting quietly, and reading the Adventure Muse. He was stopped by some large rocks beside the glacier fed lake, and was also holding and turning a Summit Stone over and over in his other hand as if polishing it or making sure it was real...

I passed by... slowly and quietly... just above him along the trail. He had his boots and pack off. There was a breeze gently moving the trees; the water was a bit choppy too... and I am sure he didn't see nor hear me...

Only the side of his face could be seen... Then I was so very touched by what I noticed next...

This young adventurous soul, was not only reading the Muse, but also quietly crying.....

Not wanting to disturb his very private, very special moment, I simply kept moving on down that mountain trail...

I don't know exactly what he was experiencing, but would truly like to believe, the finding of some words, some quotes, within the Muse, and his deep contemplation, may have somehow touched his spirit that day and that maybe the Summit Stone was reminding him of something...

I know it did me...

As I found I too had a few tears welling up in my eyes as I carried quietly on.......

DSD

"Mt Temple..... Mt Temple....."

I have had the privilege of being upon this mountain, very near Lake Louise, Banff, five times now... Four of these five adventure experiences, I made it to the summit; the one exception was retreating from a stormy day of sleet and snow; although it too had very special moments... Mt Temple was also my first solo; it allowed us to summit a group too on the 100th anniversary of its being first climbed; and I later returned to this temple of mountains for two more solo climbs of musing and contemplation...

Mt Temple was my first opportunity to enjoy the experience of 'flow' while climbing... After not summiting the first day, due to that terrific storm, I returned the very next day when the rock was now sure, the gravity much less, and the passing of time slowed greatly... It wasn't so much climbing as it was a 'flowing' up the route...

I am re-minded of J. Waterman's quote which says:

"No climber, active or inactive, young or old, can help but look back to one of their earlier climbs with a sense that they had touched something beautiful and elusive, and found movement upon rock and ice as creation... In these remembrances most climbers find necessary definition for the rest of their lives."

We have returned to Sentinel Pass, by Mt Temple, many times more over the years... One time I recall a special musical experience, when some wandering soul was playing the flute in Larch Valley below us... the crispness of each note and the echo at the end was captivating...

I remember... Mt Temple as a place of meditation, for contemplating the themes that this blog reflects...

I remember... gazing across at the Ten Peaks and the pristine waters of Moraine Lake, and appreciating those who protected this area and passed it forward for us to now enjoy...

I remember... reading in Larch Valley, and finding and choosing the quotes that are now in the 'Adventure Muse'...

I remember... that wolf in this valley of larches, on one solo very early alpine start, just across an open area, where we approached each other and yet both kept our distance, as it should be, out of instinct, intrigue, and respect...

I recall the climbing upon Eiffel and Pinnacle mountains, as the second and third Larch Valley summits, all to gain further vistas and perspectives on Mt Temple...

We have enjoyed over twenty summers in this area... I am so grateful for this time and the adventure experiences gifted us out there...

And still find myself exclaiming quietly... even after all these years... as we drive or hike closer to this mountain... "Mt Temple... Mt Temple..."

DSD

"You Don't Know...If You Don't Go....."

It was a four in the morning solo alpine start... A day where I almost didn't go.......

You could hardly see a car length away, the valley was so socked in...

The elusive goal was Mt Edith; a three summit mountain close to Banff, Alberta...that invites a traverse across its rocky heights... Having looped around it in both directions before; this time my choice was to do Edith Pass first, then up to Cory Pass. This is a longer route, and has a sustained but moderate elevation gain on the way in, but is worth every vista...

The thick mist was so low, the trail itself had a great deal of dew and moisture along the way...

Everything was glistening green and so fresh... There was even enough moisture on the trail to see where animals had passed...

This approach affords the very best view of Mt Louis, and through the low drifting clouds it did indeed make its presence known... I have since climbed the classic technical route upon this amazing mountain and touched in person, the rock I had read so much about over the years...

I almost didn't go that day either, due to some lingering 'Fletcheritis' over the challenge...

The Valley of The Gargoyles is best approached this way too; with its terrific rock monoliths, which truly look to be stone carved monuments, wings and all...

As I gained altitude, the moving sea of clouds seemed to giving way to shades of color and muted sunlight... The north peak is first from Cory Pass. It is the smallest, but highest of Mt Ediths' three summits. I had summited there a number of times before, which was good preparation for this solo traverse of all of these rocky sisters...

The center peak is quite a blocky spot, and it was here that it became apparent that the clouds were actually lowering within the valley itself, as I was now able to see above them, and even to locate other mountain summits, looking like islands, as they stood just above the drifting waves of mist...

Mt Ediths' south peak is likely the more challenging scramble of the three. We completed a technical route there years before, but this was my first return since...

All three summits provided very special moments of quiet... No sound... complete stillness...

The descent was swift and direct back to the trail, while the trail then itself wanders to and fro, all the way down to an open grassy knoll... Here I have often stopped to muse and meditate upon the day just experienced...

I have placed many Summit Stones & Adventure Muses on these paths during these Mt Edith climbs, while later recalling what was offered to me those days... and re-mind myself just as often...

You don't know...

If you don't go.......

DSD