"A Mountain Fire Tells Many Tales..."

We were watching the coals... the crackle and spit of the bright sparks...

The glowing so deep within... the gentle movement between light and dark...

When GrandFather said quietly, "A mountain fire tells many tales...".

I waited patiently as I knew one of these may follow...

And it did...

A tale of immense storms and difficult challenges; of elusive summits and dark valleys; of grey wolves and grizzled bears; across the rushing rivers and polished rocks; and especially of ephemeral spirits and elements of many kinds...

Mountain fires do indeed share many tales with all of us.....

DSD

"Just Climb A Little Higher..."

"Just climb a little higher..", the Outward Bound Instructor had said three times now...

"Just climb a little higher...".

We were leading our group on a difficult mountain scramble and I had taken on the role of route finding. I have since come to so enjoy finding a way over rock and scree and vertical terrain; but back then I had no experience in this artful skill at all... My novice perspective at that time and limited outlook did not really let me see past my own immediate position on the mountain.

Being so focused on my own little world of rock and exposure, I don't think I was being of much assistance to our group... It was a very good thing that on this day I was being shadowed by one of our Instructors... Always there, much like my real shadow, for support and guidance. I couldn't count the times I was confused about where to reach or step next... yet each time that Instructor just quietly said, "Just climb a little higher...". I then saw what I hadn't noticed before... almost as if a new route appeared before my eyes. Each time with a slight change of perspective came different options; more choices of where and how to move...

After the last time these guiding words were said, then there was no more route to find...

Instead a vista that brought a tear to my eye had opened up; an expanse that was there so quickly I was surprised. The most blue of blue sky's shimmered above our heads... and just to the side was the traditional summit cairn...

This learning metaphor from such real experience has assisted me so well over the years when finding my way again on new terrain in adventures and life. All I have to do, to be able to see more clearly, to gain new perspectives, is just remind myself to just climb a little higher.....

DSD

"Mapping Your Journey..."

Early on in Outward Bound, in later years during multi-day treks, and still now when wandering the waters I take out a small moisture resistant ditty bag, and uncover yet another small journal... Those blank pages have always seemed inviting to me... Like the tide, I never know just what will turn up. I often wonder what unknowns, what sorts of secrets will appear through these written musings...

Mapping our journeys in this way through the use of a personal adventure journal has many, many benefits. There is a real potency in the simple use out there of pencil and paper... Seemingly simple words can resonate with an energy; much as any warm campfire...

There are many styles of journal writing we can utilise when wandering: Writing backwards is great for the memory; while writing forwards is a powerful enhancement to ideas about future adventures and our commitment towards them. Our memories can be sieve like at times; but the written word, even drawings and symbols representing our experiences, are not. There is no perfect format to follow; no index to use. Any individual style is really up to you. Often many of us will include other items along with our words: Souvenirs, memento's, and drawings all can be symbols that remind us and tell stories from out there in ways that words alone may not speak to. Such a record, in a personal journal, is not a map we purchase and follow, but one we create as we actually go along... After years of use, it becomes such a familiar piece of gear. Many times the dreams of where we want to go next out there are from a cherished awareness of where we each have been... Such an adventure journal can, over time, become a treasure for each of us, as valuable as any of the other essentials. Most keep such writing to themselves although I recall a shared journal we also used on Outward Bound with very fond memories.

The endowment of words you map for yourself in this way Dear Finders, will become a journey in itself, and a wild place legacy like no other...

DSD

"Images And Emotions From Out There..."

"When one enters the wilderness with his camera, assuming he does so with a spirit of mystical participation, he should trust his reactions and his visions." A. Adams

Adventures and deep experiences...
Images and emotions...
Findings and feelings...
My appreciation to Trevor Anderson for sharing all of these with us today...
DSD

Trevor Anderson: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24767994@N00/

"Full Circle....."

Just as the sun was setting I spotted it... yet another smooth polished cobblestone; perfect for some small naive art... My eye often wanders in this way, gazing, looking as I was now upon this quiet secluded island beach. The end of another so beautiful day of sea kayaking... I gathered it up and journeyed home where this stone waited patiently. It seemed wanting of a sunny day scene so that is what I painted; then tucked it into an 'Adventure Muse' and set it out ready...

It accompanied me to the summit of Mt Yukness to make friends among the other stones of the cairn up there... Just after gently placing it I spotted another rugged looking shard which I gathered in my pack just before the rain started... It needed a rainbow painted upon it, much like the one viewed on the descent. Then it joined us on that rafting of the Grand to be placed at a well deserved rest point among the sparse rocks and plants by the river... When packing up at waters edge, I stepped upon another small cobble and into my life jacket pocket it went... to jostle and bounce and meet the rapids as we all hooted and smiled... The canyon scene painted upon that one may have seemed out of place in Killarney, but I don't think a 'Finder' would mind when discovering it out on Silver Peak... The view of Georgian Bay and the lakes there is stunning... By one small, very clear lake, one more cobble asked me to take it on a new adventure... This one out in the High Sierra's... It was painted with a full moon and a thousand stars like that which may be experienced out in the Yosemite highlands... The summit it rests upon is not well travelled, so it may be there a while enjoying the lunar vistas... Its brother I gathered up that day was perfect for a dual scene of night and day, which often reminds me of our northern lakes... So it was placed there by some quiet waters under the sitting log of a campsite... This northern resting place has much history and mystery there... The rocks to be gathered are of unique shapes and colors... Painting them requires musings of another kind, and after doing so, one in particular was then placed in sister waters deep among yet other coastal islands...

While standing then at that point of the compass, I saw the glint of the setting sun on another wave and storm polished cobble... I slowly wandered over, gathered it up, while turning it over and over in my old hand... And then, full circle, I begin again.....

DSD