Monday, June 28, 2010

"Such Poets And Bards Are We....."



Such Poets and Bards are we...
All those who adventure and ponder,
Sharing in all that we see.
Within the beauty of experience and motion,
Such summits of visions and dreams,
The songs of spirit and emotion,
For those who wonder and wander,
Such Poets and Bards are we.....
DSD

Monday, June 21, 2010

"A Scar To Be Proud Of....."




There are many kinds of scars we bear. Some cannot be seen and heal so slowly. Others adorn the body and are worn proudly as any award or medal for our efforts...
There is one northern Rockies mountain, that has not one, but three unique and separate summits. each of which holds out its own challenges in style and their difficulty for climbing. While scrambling all three is possible, each also has their own technical routes that have been developed slowly over the years. Those who first ascended these summits, usually carry scars of various types as memento's... Some are upon fingers, even elbows, a few written upon legs, even faces... There seems to be an old tradition of sorts, in the bonding of blood and sweat and rock at altitude in our journeys up there...
On this particular summit, out on a day of a past summer solstice, I was finding the nature of that exposed rock to be quite unique, with its sharp and pointed edges, with a mix of fossils among them. I remember them well when I feel for the scar on my leg where that jagged edge tore through my pants...
I didn't feel nor notice exactly when the gash occurred and there was no time to stop anyway. It opened and closed a number of times throughout the day, as I added a bit of myself to the colors of that bright rock face. It was a challenging, rewarding, very long summit solstice day...
I fondly recall gathering and placing a few selected stones at the summit cairn, yet my more personal memento was the scar which was to later form on my lower leg. I'm not sure exactly why I cherish it so, especially as it was likely caused by inattention, yet it reminds me of so many things... Of friendship, being out under the sun, of rock and warm breezes, about losing oneself within effort, and those feelings we all have out there don't we Dear Friends, of emotions so intense and heightened that they can make us smile so many years later...
Over a simple scar.....
DSD

Monday, June 14, 2010

"When Dreams Take Flight..."



There is a very old legend, an ancient positive omen, that tells of a flying Eagle and the mysterious huge shadow it makes upon the waters they often journey over...
The legend says that if you are timely enough, likely even skilled enough too, you may become part of that special moment when an Eagle takes flight over water. If you indeed lucky enough, this positive omen also suggests that then your own dreams, the things you hold most dear, will also take flight as well...
Adventures are all about dreams...
Adventurers are inherently dreamers...
We live our dreams out there as we wander and trek, scramble and climb, paddle and raft, among the mysteries and wonders of the wild places.
It's as if we have all at one time been embraced by the Eagle's shadow over the waters.
On my latest sea kayak trip, in order to fulfill some distant island longings, I was drifting closer to a rocky shoreline with many old growth trees reaching far up and out over the waters. The shadows I drifted among shimmered with the occasional ray of golden sunlight and reflected sea bottom. I then noticed that very large, darkly shaped shadow on the water, which could only be a very certain unique nest up so high in these old trees. When my kayak touched that shadow, it moved and grew in size and shape, and when I gazed up those huge living wings could now also be seen.
To drift for such a long time in the shadow of an Eagle over water...
What wonderful, elusive moments...
Now I am pondering, and especially dreaming even more, as I very much believe in such ancient omens and timeless legends.....
DSD


My thanks to N. Rosing for the top image above and to K. Daniel for the lower image.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

"Embracing Motives....."



"But if adventure has a final and all embracing motive it is surely this: We go out because it is in our nature to go out and climb mountains and to sail the seas, to fly the planets and plummet into the depths of the oceans. By doing these things we may touch with something outside or behind, which strangely seems to approve our doing them. We extend our horizon, we expand our being, we revel in the mastery of ourselves." W. Noyce


Embracing why... we embrace our selves...
DSD

My thanks to S. Alvarez for the top image above and to B. Hatcher for the lower image.

Monday, June 07, 2010

"Become....."



On that high mountain side...
Become the adventurer, become that person, you've always wanted to be when out there.
When overcoming those white water rapids, take on the form of that courage, you've always envisioned in yourself.
Deep in those canyons...
Or out upon that distant trek, face into those risks and trials, you've chosen to be part of your journey.
While out with your kayak, riding upon those immense waves,
Embrace the changes in yourself as the wind embraces you...
When out in such wild places, my Friends, we each may become the adventurers, the individuals, we've always wanted to be.
The wild places and our adventures are such wonderful, powerful, means...
We each are the medium...
Becoming something...
Do you hear your new self calling.....
DSD


My appreciation to G. McCormack for the top image above and to K. Thompson for the lower image.