"What Is It...."

We ponder, wonder, then ask of the elements: Are those northern lights, or might they be the muses dancing with each other. Is that an old tree, or maybe it is an ancient one who has seen and endured more than we ever will know. Is that a northern lake, or is it a place of reflections of the wild places and of ourselves. This is a simple summit we think, yet it can too be a place of such secrets, elusive treasures from both without and within... Is that a canyon we see, or cathedrals of sand and stone, of ageless history, shadows and wonder. This mist before us is just moisture in the air we ask, or maybe this is a veil that may hide away more than terrain from our awareness... Over there is an approaching storm, and yet very likely too a symphony of sound and light and energy. That appears to be a rainbow, yet we all have felt the majesty and symbolism of this too. That looks like a river that is passing by, or more so like a personal metaphor for the journey we are all on... Is that an island we are about to land our kayak on, or is it terrain so beautiful as to seem to have never been touched by time. Is this just about an outdoor activity, or more importantly, very significantly, more so about who we are as adventurers out there... Are these simple adventures we set out upon, or are they journeys, means to wander, among paths for dreams and hope and fulfillment's, for the moments and mysteries and memories we create... What it is, it seems... is much more than what it may first appear..... DSD

My sincere appreciation to those Wandering Artists who created the above amazing images.

"One Foot In Front Of Another..."

I am very much reminded this day of...

"I think that one of the lessons of climbing is perseverance, having a vision and continuing on in spite of obstacles, putting one foot in front of another steadily until you get to your goal. Learning that lesson in mountaineering helps you apply it to all other activities." A. Blum

Further truths from the wild places... DSD

Thanks as well my Friend for the Alaska image.

"Memorable Whisperings..."

Quietly resounding, powerfully yet softly, through the tall trees, touching our faces... Quietly rewarding, of momentum and energy, brushed by the elements, painting each landscape... Quietly telling, gently whispering, of both warmth and our memories, always so giving... Unseen yet present, quietly recalling, of emotions and connections, gentle breezes of remembrance... DSD

Dedicated to Alan Arnette and his Seven Summits Climb for Alzheimer's -"Memories Are Everything".

"Wondering If....."

"Yet another burned area presents itself further along the trail with many a scorched tree still standing, very likely to live on through many more thunderstorms. But one dead tree... seems to have stood in the ground through many revolutions of the earth... its bark peeling away exposing its wood to the elements. While the sides of the dead fir are charred, its upper surface is smooth, bleached to a uniform grey, and as inviting to an artist as a chalkboard. He takes a piece of charcoal in hand and sketches a woman's face, not in bold outline, but subtly, with shadings and blurred features, so that an unsuspecting hiker coming upon it later might wonder if Mother Nature hadn't drawn the image herself." M. Mardon

Oh, the wonders when we finally perceive what we eventually all see out in the wild places... Great to hear your season of adventures is going so well Andra... DSD

"Go Where The Energy Is..."

I've heard Mountain & Sea Kayak Guides, as well as our Outward Bound Instructors, all mention it. We've seen it in action in the Grand Canyon; experienced it in ways hard to describe while climbing and when out upon the ocean; felt it so sustain us on longer treks... And we are still seeking out the meanings of to 'go where the energy is'... I believe this to be a quietly, profoundly, simply important concept for those of us who wander. We only need to witness its' magic once in a fellow adventurer, after seeing them so tired and worn out past where a person would be expected to last. Yet they do... We see them discover a different source of energy, a whole new wellspring of enthusiasm and motivation to keep on going. It is then we ask: What is this means for motion have they tapped into; what elemental energies have they aligned with... While as individuals we do vary in our physical makeup, our internal energies of motivation and drive, and as well in how our external objectives then pull each of us forward - energy is the essence that any adventurer draws upon to make their wild place dreams become real... Ability is only the beginning. Energy is what makes it sustaining. So, what does this mean - 'to go where the energy is'? Could it be about those places of geomancy where a force, some kind of latent power, emanates from the elements themselves... Might it be the synergy of shared vigour and fun that group activity out there radiates in countless dynamic ways... What is hidden behind that which incites each of us, that causes our hearts to beat so, that stimulates our mind, our spirit, the very core of our being... Maybe it is the potential to be discovered within every new experience; possibly the passions each of us have that fuels our personal flames; or also quite likely the endless variations of the elements themselves that never cease to inspire each of us out there... So wherever your elemental enthusiasms wait for you Dear Finder, trek towards them, embrace them, allow yourself to be infused by them. Ask yourself right then, why does this stimulate me so, what is it that I want here, what do I want this to mean, why is this so important for me... Such questions and the resulting musings will surely guide each of us to where your own lasting energies await..... DSD

Thank you Carol, for the inspiring images above of the energy within those wonderful storms.

"A Normal Part Of..."

"You have to fail occasionally... sometimes you miss by a mile, and still there will be lessons to learn... And sometimes you have stupid ideas... Some you just lose... It teaches humility. If the problems we set for ourselves are not to be trivial, failure is a normal part of mountaineering...". V. Saunders

Great catch in belay and image. Good that we are all getting back up there too... DSD

"Beyond....."

Right from the my very first step on that trail, I was beginning to see, how today would be an adventure for going beyond... Beyond the end of this trail, for it was only marked some of the way on this map. Further than the far end of the lake upon which I had heard a faint path continued to meander from there. I could see in the distance too, a kind of apex of water, rock, and trees that then met just up above. Beyond my lake, past the remnants of this trail, above that apex, were then the fast flowing waters of a mountain stream. It would surely fill even more with the rising heat of the day. Yet I would journey beyond it too, and wander close to its' smaller headwaters up among the remaining snow up there. Then beyond these fields of crystal, covered with trails of little fallen stones, up before me was the rock of a blue mountain. To day it felt I was seeking out something very much beyond this too; pushing some skills past certain limits, personal perceptions a bit further, and testing my endurance beyond what my age say it should be. Eventually I was moving across and up past those ridgelines, and then finally, wonderfully, having attained this small summit, I now felt closer to those elemental sources of my seekings. There I found many feelings very much beyond what I had expected... That happens to many of us up there, doesn't it my Friends. As I quietly stood there at the edge of the sky and stone, wind and clouds, my gaze looked out further and beyond - very much beyond what was now just before me..... DSD

Thanks S.B. for sharing these images.

"Upon A Summit By Oneself..."

To stand upon such a summit; quietly, resolutely, calmly. Listening by oneself, to our most inner adventure selves... On our own, yet never alone. Gazing out before us, upon a sea of summits, and wonderful experiences too... To rest upon a summit in this way, to begin to know our mountain, so very personally and closely, is to touch the hidden and elusive, the most ephemeral, the very enduring, the truly elemental. Upon such a summit, simply by oneself..... DSD

Just feeling quite grateful on this weekend of appreciation. Thanks to our Dolomite wanderers for the above image.

"Adventure Aspirations..."

"What we earnestly aspire to be, that in some sense we are". A. Jamson

"To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but what he aspires to...". K. Gibran

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Dear Friends... DSD

Thanks Grant for the inspiring image.

"A Silken Summit..."

What a silken summit day it was... During a long flowing summer season of adventure's. Such soft early dawn light; glistening dew in the calm valley. The gentle breezes, brushing across our faces and smiles. The unusually warm temperatures up there so welcoming. A blending of effort and challenges as well, not too much, nor too far they were. The touch of that fleece vest I put on, such a familiar comforting old friend, one that has shared much out there with me. The feelings inside were a reflection of the warmth and touch of those rocks up there, and the close emotions we had for this welcoming elusive peak. To blend and connect with a mountain in this way, is to know something more, is another way of embracement, another of the elements to be discovered in our wild and high places. There was nothing barren or harsh about it at all. What a silken summit day it all was..... DSD

Much gratitude to our fellow wanderers for the above magic images.