Thursday, January 31, 2008

"There Is A Place We Go In The Mountains....."




There is a place we go in the mountains...
It is a place of resounding quietness, of gentle winds, talking breezes... a place of rock and trees, of stone so stark, yet inviting...
There is a place we go in the mountains of such cold moving waters... a place barren yet nourishing... a place of seasons both of life and in death...
It is mostly a place of memories... this place we go in the mountains...
I am looking at pictures of this place right at this moment... and in my minds eye I can recall the seasons passing, while my senses still feel the warmth, the cold, the sun, the night...
I have hiked and climbed in this place with my partner and close friends, sharing so much... I have been out there in solitude as well... Yet never really alone...
This place we go in the mountains is most especially somewhere we have privately named for someone who is no longer with us... A quiet person of great strength who does not share these particular elements with those of us still wandering...
We visit there each adventure season to be with him again... to join in remembering the way he lived his life and the amazing spirit he was... is...
When out solo, I talk with him still... I tell him of my year, the trials, successes, all the moments... This year in particular when by myself, I found unexpected tears welling up of joy and sadness when approaching this place we go in the mountains...
This terrain and his spirit provides much comfort and solice to me, yet a challenge too... He was more of an adventurer than I will ever be... He was able to see and understand things from a height I've only dreamed of attaining...
We all need such places to journey to...
This is a place where I learned about true gratitude, and where I feel humbled... Where I reflect upon how he was so grateful even when he was given so little...
It reminds me not to take for granted what he was never gifted with - physical health...
He never had the chance to trek to this place in the mountains we have quietly named for him...
He couldn't... He was too ill all of his short life... His legs would never carry him as far as his mind had already wandered... His existence was one of pain and suffering, yet his endurance was endless... The adventure life race he ran was more grueling than any we could invent to challenge ourselves with...
There is a place we go amongst the summits to remember a soul who never climbed a mountain, never set foot upon a trail, never paddled the ocean or any northern lake, never once rappelled into a deep canyon... yet he was more in touch with the spirit of adventure than many...
There is a place we go... He went there too... in his minds eye, when the pain became too much... He said it gifted him with a sense of comfort...
There is a place we go in the mountains to wonder how someone so weak could be so strong... How someone who never attained any summit, could inspire so many... How someone so pressed could laugh and smile so much...
There is a place we go in the mountains... to acknowledge that this wild area is only there because of the many who have passed it forward for each of us to adventure within... He was never able to go himself, but he knew this and would still say that such a wild place is a 'gift twice given'... Given to us to find ourselves in, and for us to learn about then giving to others...
I have such good memories of this place we go in the mountains... And he beckons to us all dear Finder... to see through his eyes what many may never perceive... to believe in what most never experience... to savour each precious moment out in the wild places... to enjoy the energy and strength within this physical shape we have been gifted with...
He is one of my most potent inspirations...
There is a place we go in the mountains to remember that while his form has returned to the elements we will all share too soon... his spirit wanders freely still...
In that place we go in the mountains.....
DSD

A sincere appreciation to Surreal McCoy at Flickr for his special pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/44462122@N00/



Thursday, January 24, 2008

"Adventure Traditions..."




Scrambler27 of Flickr, or Rich Sobel... sparked some memories and musings this last while of our friends and my own adventure 'traditions'... Rich says of his tradition in how he has: "Used this hat for more years than I care to remember and locals recognize me from a distance... I got into the habit of taking a picture of my hat at the summit... It's become sorta like the gnome that travels in the movie Amelie...".
For years I took pictures of the views from all four points of the compass while on a summit and for decades now have gathered small cobbles from waterfalls, coastal beaches, and stones too from trails and summits themselves... The rituals climbers have when contributing to those cherished summit registers includes many creative and thoughtful gestures placed up at altitude. I have read so many priceless comments in these tiny journals...
For many, old favored adventure traditions reflect very meaningful memories of life shaping experiences out there...With special people, in wild places difficult to reach, or of gear used time and again... I always take extra time at the summit of my last climb of the year to visualize the routes, altitude, and musings gained that season...
This process of creating traditions is all about meaning; enthusiasm; humour and fun; both very personal and shared...
I remember... old prayer flags, gently waving among the incense of pine trees and the shared tradition behind placing them...
I remember... a certain Guide's tradition, who would chant quietly, to the mountain spirits in gratitude for sharing their stone secrets with her...
I remember... an Outward Bound Instructors tradition, of lifting each member of our group, high into the air... supported on our hands as a bird would fly over our summit that day...
I remember... a close climbing partner, who would always turn, and face our chosen mountain when we were descending, from alpine to treeline, as a gesture of respect and gratitude...
I remember... the tradition of telling stories... time and again, of elusive adventures, high lands, and wild places...
I remember... a fellow kayaker, who would make such beautiful prints in the sand of our island beaches, in an Eastern tradition of creating symbols of balance & power... only which then would be slowly brushed away by the rising tide...
And of course... there is my own tradition these many years, of gathering, painting, and anonymously placing these small Summit Stones, in a tradition of giving back and passing forward...
I will be watching for that hat Rich... and thank you for re-minding me of the lasting importance of our adventure traditions...
DSD


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

"The Quiet Man......."




He was written about in his homeland as the 'Quiet Man'.....
I have been remembering, and musing, over his life this last week... An adventurer needing little description who passed from these elements on January 10th.....
He is a member of that very small group of those who have reached the highest point on our mother earth... With the special symbolism that this meant on the 29th of May, 1953...
He was also known with reverence as the 'Tall Man', and 'Burra Sahib'...
There are many cultures in our world that give such persons names other than their own out of distinct respect... There are some cultures too who do not name such a person when talking to, or about them, as these individuals have become more than their 'name'... What they have accomplished and how they choose to lead their lives is beyond the name now... Now their way is more of a guiding image, a symbol, of what things could be like, of what we each could become... It is said that by doing this, the person is then remembered even more clearly and their life takes on new depths of meaning...
Such would seem the case for this Quiet Man... A person, who did not believe he was much different than you or I... Only that he had been at the right place, at the right time, and with a strong friend and brother of the rope...
Over twenty years ago I found the Tall Man's book entitled: "From The Ocean To The Sky", and discovered his musings on the nature of love for adventure... Adventures of climbing, of exploration, of rivers, of cold, and especially of living among different peoples...
I would follow his story closely after that and was truly inspired...
I was so intrigued by what he meant when the Quiet Man said; "The heroes I admired in my youth seemed to possess abilities and virtues beyond the grasp of ordinary men...", and yet years later he reflected upon how, "I discovered that even the mediocre can have adventures, and even the fearful can achieve...".
Here was a restless, ordinary adventurer, who was speaking of coming to terms with himself... In doing this and through his actions, this Quiet Man would strike a bell within each of us, that we not so much hear, but rather feel, deep inside ourselves...
The Tall Man's actions would resonate around the world and for decades after as symbolism immeasurable...
The Tall Man has been saying to us: 'If I can, then you can... and if you can... look what we all may do...'. His adventure achievements made history... yet his Giving Back efforts are legion... and his Passing Forward messages so potent...
A man himself very fond of quiet times for musing he wrote: "It is not the mountain we climbed I want to be remembered by, it is if I helped out, and what did I share".
He said also so unassumingly that; "I have had the world lie beneath my clumsy boots and seen the red sun slip over the horizon... I have had more than my share of excitement, beauty, laughter and friendship...".
Sometimes it is the quiet ones who teach us the most about real accomplishment, sustained meaning, humility, and gratitude...
The Tall Man and his partner The Tiger Of The Snows, broke trail for us... They set upon a course that may in hindsight be easy to see... but it is a path so challenging to follow...
I believe the Quiet Man would enjoy knowing of the legacy of this challenge he still invites us with in the spirit of adventure.....
DSD



Thursday, January 10, 2008

"BestHike....!"













Rick McCharles, AKA 'HikerRick', is the creator and editor of "BestHike"...
Back when I first learned of this site, I was immediately intrigued by a site entitled BestHike. What adventurer wouldn't be!
At this dawning of a new year, when considering what direction and adventure paths to head out upon, Rick's BestHike is one of the places I chose to visit first...
His mission within BestHike: "Is simply to list the best, most memorable hikes, long and short, in the world." "Hikes that can change your life."
Rick's efforts have achieved both "Top Hiking Blog" recognition and Outdoorzy's "Top 10 Outdoor Blog" award. Included on BestHike are challenging, multi day adventures, as well as the very best one day wanderings...
I especially appreciate BestHike's objectives in that it; "Helps you get started organizing the trek of a lifetime". The focus on 'memorable' adventure experiences resonates greatly with me too...
Included here are excellent references, information, and many details about the most useful guidebooks. The site is very receptive to all suggestions for BestHikes and feedback about them; continually adding new options to the growing list. There is a useful search engine on site, updates by email, and even Rick's own major hikes and treks like the Annapurna Circuit, Dahab Desert adventure, Jasper's Skyline trail, the John Muir trail, Tombstone in the Yukon, White Mountain with 4Wheel Bob, and the West Coast Trail. Rick is also adventure planning to paddle and hike to Della Falls, trek in South Africa, descend into Copper Canyon, and he has got an Adventure Race in mind too!
I certainly share his particular appreciation for Lake O'Hara... the larches and scrambling there...
Rick keen sense of adventure, and great sense of humour, are characteristics we all aspire to for more enjoyment within the wild places... Upon recently turning 50 he wrote: "Happily, hiking is one of life's joys you can do your entire life, body willing." "My life-to-trek list is still very long."
HikerRick & BestHike embody all of what we seek when wanting to connect with others who also wander the trails out there...
Visit Rick for great inspiration, planning ideas, for what could turn out to be your 'besthike' this year...
DSD
(Thanks very much Rick for use of these images; and also sincerely for your supportive comments on my 'SummitStone Controversy.....')






Thursday, January 03, 2008

"Where Are You On Your Path....."




It seems a natural time to ponder where we each are upon our own path... of life... of adventure, within the wild places... along this amazing journey...
On Page 1 of the 'Adventure Muse', I wrote: "There are many kinds of 'summits' and many 'adventure ways'. When we push our own limits at a level, and in an activity, that is right for each of us, with a focus on safety and especially fun; we journey along paths of freedom, happiness, beauty, and truth. The 'path' could be up a mountain, along a coastline, down a river or canyon, along a trail or ridgeline, under the earth, across a lake or ocean, through any wilderness...".
So, where are you at this moment on this journey in creating you own path...
Is such a statement rhetorical.. or is it more asked at this waypoint to produce an effect of considering where we have come... and where we may want to go...
It seems that musing over the question is the important thing; not just any answer...
All paths have a very relative nature about them... relative to you, to the adventure activity, to where in the wild places, to time, to skill, to awareness, to.....
Even with such relativity, all paths have inherent value and meaning; as they are chosen by each of us; for our own reasons... So there is a real personal importance to looking back and gazing forward upon our chosen trail...
We are then more able to ponder how far and how much terrain we each have covered; to recall the exceptional experiences and memories gathered out there; and this becomes the beginnings of gratitude...
We can also then more clearly see the horizon out before each of us... and experience the hopefulness and excitement such dreaming creates within us..
We may not be sure how far we want to go, but we don't need to be as there are many, many paths leading in countless directions..
These never ending questions, asked at the genesis of a new year as on Page 1 of the 'Muse' inquire: "How will you arrange the elements in your life? What will your next 'adventure summit' be?"...
As this year dawns and the alpenglow begins to seem as fire...
"May the spirit and meaning you create for yourself on your adventures be forever present..."