"Who Would Have Thought..."

Who would have thought, I mused once again, that such trials within our adventure trails, would create so many other potent experiences... Who would have thought, that on a mountain side like that, among those severe edges, testing of skills and confidence, that we would begin to realise things only known when we each take that step further. Who would think, that with those doubts out there during a snow storm, that almost never seemed to let up, we would begin to let go and then sense the wonder of the unknowns... No one could have known that our anxieties upon that cliff face, would prompt us to go beyond, and discover more of what we each can then turn into powerful personal motivations. There were those chills too, in the midst of that mist and endless coastal rain, during our longest hike yet - no one had pondered how our best days would develop within such trying inclement weather. Who would have thought, that being so off course due to paddling through those relentless winds and waves, that we would again sense more within us than we ever first knew... None of us had expected that the wearing of the cold in our coldest winter camping trip, would be a catalyst for developing even deeper abilities for endurance. Who would have thought, that a whiteout above 10,000 feet, would help us now to see more clearly, how and why prior preparation and practice was so very important. Who could have predicted, that upon a northern lake and island, where we experienced so much of what was not expected, we would begin to embrace how wonderful the hidden surprises of the wild places can be. Who would have thought, that down within our darkest and deepest canyon, we would find even other depths within us, reflecting those out there among those ancient grounds. Who would have thought... I muse time and time again..... DSD

My gratitude once more Dear Fellow Wanderers, for these wonderful images that prompt such thinking.