"Picking Up Where We Left Off....."

So when does a good friend become an old friend... After a very long paddle trip, over just one trek, a single Outward Bound course, or after decades of connection... All could likely be true...

There is one close old friend I have in particular who I have shared caving with, who has hiked and rafted rivers with me, parachuted and climbed mountains as well, and as each season comes we meet to talk and dream again, picking up where we left off... And then begin planning our next adventures.

Almost always the preparation and anticipation are as much fun as the adventure activities themselves. He is such a 'glass is half full' kind of friend; one who can look out from a tent into the rain and say 'this could be fun', and really mean it... He relates this back to an epiphany he had when scuba diving overseas years ago, where during the last dive he remembered that with such little time left, it becomes so very important to relax, go with the flow of it all, and focus upon the enjoyment of each moment. He tells this story so well...

There is that sense of humour he has too, which comes out at just those moments when others need it. I truly enjoy even the limited time we have when we catch up a few times a year, then pick up again where the trail of our laughter and memories left off... That seems to be the nature of lives full of family, vocations, and other equally important things. Each adventure season though, there are those days out in the wild places where he reminds me to look back upon the trail just covered, ahead to the horizon, and so enjoy the moments in between...

This friend of mine actually has a mountain , a high place, with the same last name as his... While it may not have been originally named for him, such good friends should indeed have this kind of namesake in their lives... Good friends become close, old cherished friends, as they share even a few, or many years, of such adventure experiences.....

DSD

"It Was So Hard....."

While being used to challenges, as we adventurers inherently learn to be... This particular climb, this single day, had turned out to be so hard... so very hard...

The approach had been laborious; no easy path at all to follow even just to begin. The route finding then was perplexing, most troublesome; unyielding in what is usually given to us if only we keep at it long enough...

We thought we had trained well, yet some of the physical trials were unexpected; this mountain was much tougher than what we had thought, the angles, that kind of rock, the sustained straining hindered us almost at every move we were to try...

The sky was sullen also, our mood as dark at times too and it was so difficult to keep lightened up with much humour at all. The conditions themselves only worsened the harder we attempted to overcome one obstacle after another, after another...

It was harder too then to bear the realization that there would be no time at that summit to enjoy, nothing to celebrate at that moment except a more severe descent, an even more unclear route back...

We were so tired, so bruised, had so much adversity that day...

It was so hard... Yet it was one of our very best days out.....

DSD

"Talking With Raven..."

At the entry to a valley I have wandered in over the years is a wooded area full of life and noise and wonder... It was here I first met Raven... Such a large bird of glistening black with so irritating a voice. Having returned there so many times, this Raven and I seemed to develop a connection of sorts, that went from simple awareness to something very much more...

Every time I went back was usually for a different reason, some to just walk, many to hike further, even more as the approach to a mountain then chosen to climb. Raven always seemed to be there... watching and waiting... In the early years, Raven stayed up in the trees, and let me know I was not likely welcome with that loud call, the fluffing up, and the spreading of wings. During later times though it appeared we were becoming a bit more used to each other and I would even call back on occasion in fun. To my surprise, Raven would then pause and give me the most inquisitive look as if I had said something of some meaning... These last years Raven actually came closer when I called back, flying over, landing near, hopping back and forth, all the while keeping those clear, sharp, curious eyes upon me. I am not sure when exactly our conversations started, but I think they began when I was returning from an unsuccessful summit attempt one year... I was upset by my route finding and less than optimal fitness that season. Raven probably heard me mumbling to myself as I neared and cawed out more loudly than ever before... "I know, I know", I said out loud in reply, and then took Raven's response to me as one of laughter over my overreactions and a reminder not to take such things so seriously... After then landing closely nearby, I looked over at Raven and that bird simply sat there, calmly and more quietly than I ever remembered, and just stared at me for the longest time. I couldn't help but just laugh out loud... Over the seasons and recent years Raven and I continued to converse about many things. Our chats became more personal as we allowed each other to get physically closer and I believe trustingly, more emotionally closer too... That loud brash voice so bothersome in its call, and yet so comforting in its messages... Our talks have gone on for over a decade and in that time I think we began to know the other better; we were more able to understand each of our worlds, and very much enjoyed a connection out there...

On each visit, Raven would hop about, clacking that dark bill, kind of whistle occasionally, peck at my pack, and remind me with a shrill screech that I wasn't paying attention to the moment. "I know, I know...", I would say yet again and again; and then laugh in response along with Raven's intelligent stares at me.

Raven always reminded me to remember the truly important things, always chided me when I was distracted, never allowed me to just wander past without pausing in those moments to say hello, and to share how each of our adventures were going.

Raven wasn't there this last season..... I knew immediately something was amiss... It was too quiet and the silence lacked the welcome I had known there so many times before. I did later find two beautiful, long black feathers laying out there... Raven's last gift to me I am sure...

I like to think Raven's voice can still be heard out there though, all his kin seem to have taken up the call... To simply remind us to laugh and wonder, and to bring our attention back to those special moments that we mark our lives by...

I do miss you old friend... Your voice irritating and so very beloved... You were such a friendly cherished bother.....

DSD

"Shared Sunsets......."

"Some who have observed bears in the wild speak of them sitting on their haunches at sunset, gazing at it, seemingly lost in meditation." J. Masson

I have always so loved this quote...
It reflects upon so much yet to be understood and the words resonate with such wonderful meanings...
That the Great Furred four legged Ones also share in the beauty and moments when meditating and appreciating a quiet, wonderful sunset, is a metaphor for all we need to know at times.....
DSD

My appreciation to Rosing for the upper image and to Greenburg for the lower image.