Anonymity & The Last Blue Mountain.....

I had to also post this quote and images here as I have on my other closed blog...

They are so meaningful...

"The acid test of a true adventurer, if presented with certain anonymity, is whether each of us would still have made the journey beyond the last blue mountain."

I find myself beginning another year of giving back, of anonymously placing these small 'Summit Stones', and now Blogging, while re-minding myself that this is not about me... Rather it is about you, the reader of these musings, and the finder of these gifts... Where such a gesture may just be a touchstone to spark adventure musings of your own... And if you enjoy these, just maybe you will pass forward a little experience of yours too...

Giving back, with no expectation, where the act is the reward itself, reflects on the essence of what can be discovered within adventure experiences.....

DSD

Throwing A Stone.....

"Fortunately, more distant summits are always being discovered... Man throws a stone - his desire - into the unknown, then throws himself in pursuit." T. Cesen

This is yet another of my very favorite quotes. It's a simple, yet profound musing, about what type of 'stone throwing' inspires each of us...

Like this early year Blogging, a developing of new outdoor interests, gaining momentum on our ideas and planning... which all reflect a genesis and movement towards new adventure objectives and wilderness goals not tried before. There are endless opportunities out there to kayak, hike, climb, canyoneer, or whatever...

And as I was told years ago, 'By journeying towards a goal; we give birth to children of our soul...'.

Just day dreaming about a skipping a few stones.....

DSD

"Simple Hiking....."

It seems that today has a bit of serendipity in it, as just after posting yesterday on 'Hiking' musings - I find myself today wandering through my early morning reading and meditations and the first is called "Simple Hiking"...

These musings are by Deng Ming-Dao, whom I have often read, quoted in the 'Adventure Muse', and consider posting on here. He writes: "There are times when simple hiking is literally the best activity. When one walks in the woods or climbs mountains, there is a wonderful unity of body, mind, and spirit. Hiking strengthens the legs, increases stamina, invigorates the blood, and soothes the mind... One is freed to observe nature's lessons... Erosion. Gnarled roots...The high spiral of hawks. Just budding bare branches. Gray rock, cracked, shattered, and worn. A fallen tree. A lone cloud. The laughter of plum branches. Even a little circle of rocks beside the trail - who put them there, or did any hand arrange them, and no matter which, what are the secrets of that circle? There are a thousand meanings in every view...".

Such words resonate with me...

I especially like the reference to rocks, placing, and secrets...

I have been reading and musing over these words for years. Maybe someday I will grasp more of the depth of meaning and experience they seem to reflect...

For today, I think the path to follow is to keep it simple and simply enjoy...

DSD

Hiking...Hiking...Hiking...

I've often began adventure planning by musing on hiking...

I page back through my C. Fletcher books, especially my early 1980's edition of the "Complete Walker". It's kind of falling apart now, and I do see the ironic reflection of myself considering yet another recent injury... Fletcher's books are full of notations, where I was trying to remember the rumination he was making and the quotation I was hoping to remember...

Like one of my very favorite ones: "You will discover as the years pass that hiking becomes a beautiful, warm, round pumpkin that sits up on a shelf, always ready to be taken down... It wouldn't be the same round and personal pumpkin, of course, if you hadn't grown it yourself... And its always sitting up there on the shelf - that big, beautiful pumpkin - just waiting for you to wave the wand and turn it into something more magical."

The adventure of hiking is one of my first enthusiasms. There have been those that took me through the Canadian Rockies, across coastlines and deserted beaches, among the Colorado mountains, meandering within deep canyons, more recently above the High Sierras, and those towards the many summits I've then climbed...

What has seemed to be a simple act of walking within our wild lands, has had a profound effect upon my life and so many others I know while soloing, being with family & friends, even leading challenging groups...

What often reminds me of these experiences, interestingly, is not just the pictures, but the checking out of gear... Especially the boots, the packs, and now over the last years the staffs and hiking poles I now use...

Lately I've been visiting and appreciating great Hiking Blogs like 'Two-Heel Drive', who have such a unique means of passing forward ideas, images, and experiences...

I have probably placed more 'Summit Stones' while out on long hikes and at hiking trailheads than on any other type of adventure. Even a short day out hiking has never been lost time... And as Muir wrote: "I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in...".

I recall too, within my current frustrations that, it was the Romans who would muse and say: "Solvitur Ambulando", which I believe means 'the solution comes through walking'...

I am so looking forward to the enjoyment of another season of growing more pumpkins.....

DSD

"Spirit Animals....."

When musing about adventure inspirations, for many reasons I often find myself thinking of connections to various animals...

Grey Wolf said, "If you could be an animal, what animal would you be? Answering that question creates a powerful personal metaphor." I believe that we are much closer to the meaning of this than many would expect... We are indeed linked... and in so many ways...

Have you ever watched an animal at play or their energy when they run or fly, or even the gaze of a wolf or grizzly...? They help us 'see' that our experiences out there are not just physical, mental, or even emotional; but can be very full of spirit as well... Sometimes we are allowed a glimpse, a glimmer, of energy and enthusiasms that are difficult to describe...

There are many kinds of spirit within the wild lands, like those felt around ancient trees, or near ageless rock, but it has often been the spirit of animals who I sense have shared something of their enthusiasms with me...

In my over a hundred summits, there were too many to count where I had the fellowship of an animal to share the climbing experience with. Many were highlands birds, others were rams and mountain sheep, so many were the small four legged furries who talk so much in their chitters and whistles... Then there have been the crows and ravens, who seemingly were laughing at my ordinary outdoor mistakes and trials; but who I eventually learned to chuckle along with as I felt they were trying to teach me to not take it all so seriously... All have shared something of their spirit with me , and all have become part of what I've needed for adventure inspirations...

What often gets us going, or carries us through, challenging adventures can be said to be found within the 'spirit'... Aboriginals in many cultures believe that upon birth, or later through certain quests, that the spirit of an animal may enter and become one with an individual. Powerful meanings can be found too in the Animal Totem's that exist out there, and also within the metaphors that these then represent...

R. Ridgeway wrote that in one such experience he found that, "It wasn't until I returned to my own world that I figured it out. In that shaft of light in the jungle, I'd watched the Yanomami transform into a wild animal. For the first time in my life... I had seen who I used to be...".

Grandfather, a Mountain Elder said about the spirit, the energies, we create for ourselves out on such adventures, that, "I see in you... A wolf who now walks as a man...".

I'm inclined to believe that he is very right about us...

DSD

Adventure Inspirations.....

"Inspiration is a fragile thing... who can say where it is born, and why it leaves us." M.Sangster

And that is reason enough for musing... Because as B. Cardozo said, "Method is much, technique is much...inspiration is even more."

Inspirations reflect imagination and can mean an in-spiriting, a breathing in, an inhalation of those energies, moments and influences, that animate & invigorate each of us... even in the midst of adversity or change...

Think of your own enthusiasms, the fire in your belly, and times that were for you ones of optimism and endless possibility. Inspiration can be like the coals the ancients carried with them that provided continual life for the tribe...

"Enthusiasm is the inspiration of everything great", wrote C. Bovee.

In my own journeys, such sparks came from Mentors, Mountain Elders, Guides, good friends & family, within moments of the adventure experiences themselves, and the many wilderness places I have seen, and aspire to yet see... Each style of adventure has often been an inspiration for undertaking the next...

Then there are the images, the readings, blogs, and posts, of so many others who offer unique perspectives on why we do what we do out there... Their quotes are not simple words but a language of enthusiasm and wonder that I breath in as I read, and which can illuminate as any sunrise can...

Then...when... "The well of inspiration dries up, and the muses fled", as C. Lint said, I know these sources are still there. Waiting to be visited again, especially during times of adversity, so we can recreate our passion for adventures...

These catalysts for enthusiasm may then become a means for creating and recreating our own enduring motivations, much like what I envision seeing in the face of a finder of a 'Summit Stone & An Adventure Muse'... And hoping that this may spark a few musings of their own as to what is inspiring for them...

Inspirations... A simple word, yet powerful meanings...

DSD

Page One Of The Adventure Muse.....

This is what is currently on Page One of "An Adventure Muse"...

"We all have our own mountains to climb and our own 'summits' to achieve. Our quest for these 'summits' is as important as attaining them... The arduousness of our quest is part of how we come to understand our motivation. Creating and recreating our own enthusiasm and motivation is the very essence of adventure experiences. There are many kinds of 'summits' and many 'adventure ways'. When we push our own limits at a level, and in an activity, that is right for each of us, with a focus on safety and especially fun; we journey along paths of freedom, happiness, beauty, and truth. The 'path' could be up a mountain, along a coastline, down a river or canyon, along a trail or ridgeline, under the earth, across a lake or ocean, through any wilderness... The 'means' could be by going solo or in a group, with boots, runners, rope, crampons, bike, ski, snowshoe, kayak, canoe, raft, or... Achievement is determined by our own efforts and not just results. How will you arrange the elements in your life? What will your next 'adventure summit' be?

A 'Summit Stone' for you... May the spirit and meaning you create for yourself on your adventures be forever present."

There have been many versions of these page one musings over the years... I have tried to describe there my intentions and reflections about the Summit Stones that are given with each 'Adventure Muse', and as a simple introduction to the many quotations contained within this little reading...

Like the image of 'Whymper Musing' above, we all could take a few moments here and there, while sitting quietly, to ponder over our endeavors... (I am trying to ensure to acknowledge where many of these images have been saved over the years, and sincerely apologize when I am not able to)

I often re-read these words, and am doing so now with this injury, to re-mind myself how within each word of each sentence are portrayed many levels of meaning...

These may speak to musings about why we started to adventure, and why we still go, especially in the midst of turmoil and doubt. There are indeed so many different kinds of 'summits' and these will assuredly lead us down countless paths... Such lands are often more discovered inwardly even as we travel out there...

It has always been good for me to return to such beginnings and first pages.....

DSD

Yet Again.......

"Fall seven times; get up eight." Japanese Proverb

"The bamboo, which gives way, survives a storm, while the brittle oak may be uprooted...In the adversity of life's storms, we should bend, but we need not break." Deng Ming-Dao

"The ultimate 'trick' was simply this: to fail, learn, and start over; to fall, reflect, and rise again - to keep moving, to keep going on." R. Messner

Yet again have I injured myself... When in the midst of a powerful winter storm, I simply fell, and it feels like I have awakened an old river injury...

And there have been many as it seems that one of the prices of admission for being adventurous are lingering souvenirs such as this. I put my shoulder out in my teens while using a tree branch to clear a winter campsite, then my back when lifting a loaded kayak, and my achilles while training for a long trek foolishly on hard pavement... My knees now talk to me too with their funny little sounds after over twenty years of climbing and descending, as does my back and neck after so many years of carrying a heavy pack...

But I wouldn't trade these aches for anything, as I've earned them, as I did the lessons they taught me, during experiences that are priceless...

I don't know what that symbol is that represents both crisis and opportunity and do have difficulty seeing the upside of such an injury early on in the process. It is a challenge in itself to get past the frustrations. Sometimes I think these situations bruise the ego as much as they do the body...

It does seem to also remind me of why I have been drawn over the years to the many historical accounts like Shackleton, or more recently Simpson, who have experienced severe adversity during their adventures yet have endured so well... How I admire their spirit and the creative ways and means they adapt and carry on. They are so human in their mistakes, and in proving how we simple humans can find so much more within ourselves than we might have ever thought before...

So, once I've had my time getting myself upset, ruminating, and feeling sorry for lost time and missed outdoor opportunities - I think another kind of musing is in order. I think I will revisit these old friends, these many writers of adventure, and mine their experiences yet again for the gems of wisdom and fortitude they always have hidden within them...

Not quite what I had envisioned to start the year with, but I believe we all have a bit of Phoenix within each of us...

And when I am physically a bit more able, I will paint a few more Summit Stones, and ponder some other quotes, and look forward to placing these little gifts while planning to be out on another trail of my own...

DSD

New Year Map Musings.....

"Who has not spread out a map on the table and felt its promise of places to go and things to do and see... Maps embody a perspective of that which is known, and a perception of that which may be worth knowing." J. Wilford

This seems such a natural time for musings during these early dawning days of a new year... To me, maps are visual metaphors for new ideas... Maps are more than useful for finding one's direction or sorting out some kind of navigation. Yet they can also reflect a true genesis of creative ideation and imagination. This is pure fuel for our enthusiasm and motivation...

This timing and kind of effort inherently reflects new beginnings and the nature of our 'beginners mind', the ability to see things in new ways and with fresh eyes...

Such new year musings and map reading are all about fresh starts, about things worth wondering over, adventures to ponder about. There is so much fun to be found in the planning of climbs and scrambles to unknown summits, deep canyons to explore, kayaking routes to enjoy, hiking and biking trails to set out upon...

I have always been so intrigued by maps... And believe, as R. Schultheis said, "There are many potential maps of course; physiological, psychological, biochemical, theological, and anthropological." There can be many dimensions to maps; more so than are just apparent on a flat piece of paper...

Especially the exploring, of new places, of ourselves in those places, and of unique perceptions...

These are all means for adventuring...

I have so many maps... Those upon my wall, rolled in protective tubes, old worn folded maps, and those I enjoy discovering while paging through the endless excellent adventure guides to be found out there...

Further to our year end reflections and our new year hopes, map musings re-mind us of what memories we have created and what adventures we wish to have...

DSD

"Just One Thing......."

What if we each did just one thing.....

What if... we each took just one step towards understanding our individual role in supporting the natural world we adventure in... Decided upon one small effort to maintain and preserve the natural environment... For one time our energy is expended for something or someone else... Or even one moment given for support and encouragement of another seeker within the wild lands...

These represent a different kind of generosity; one that is more about practicing a simpler kind of charity... I've mused many times regarding how it's not just about each of us, on our own... Rather, it is more about all of us, and even more so, about our stewardship for these special wild places...

I've pondered how adventures are not just about a focus upon an objective... that it can also be about a gesture, a very different way to expend energy, a reflection of a certain kind of effort... And then it is only a matter of letting this simple kind of philanthropy ride the wave of its own momentum... The impacts can be immeasurable...

Just imagine if even half of the people who enjoy adventuring in our wild lands did just one thing... made even one such gesture...

Some of my own simple efforts this recent past have been to put some extra time into restoring a much used trail, some moments of support in assisting a few young adventurers, giving a few dollars to an animal charity that unknowingly gave me something very precious years ago, leading a group of novices to their first 10,000 foot summit, and of course... gathering, painting, and placing anonymously these small Summit Stones...

This is not really about doing 'yet one more thing'... often it is only making such efforts part of the adventure experiences we are there for anyway...

We hike and paddle long distances one hour at a time, and are very amazed when we look back and see the distance we have covered and the height we have attained... We journey for many days and are in wonder as we reflect on the experience and how much terrain and how many emotions we have travelled through... If I can give back one small thing, then anyone can, and if anyone can, just imagine what could happen with just one thing.....

DSD

"Wind Musings......."

"My friendship with the wind has been long lasting..." Grey Wolf

"After listening to it in all kinds of winds night and day, season after season, I think I could approximate to my position on the mountain by this pine-music alone." J. Muir

I love wind swept shores, wind sculpted trees, wind blown snow, and especially the many sounds of the winds themselves... I would like to muse that the wind has been a fellow of mine as well...

I remember... wind caressed summits where I had a tear in my eye after the multiple efforts to be there... and just closing my eyes for a few moments to feel the wind and the rock to ensure that the memory would be forever present... I remember winter storms when camping by a northern lake, during a long dog sled trip, and cross country skiing at night... I remember gentle summer breezes and movement of the trees just before arriving back at so many trailheads, almost as if the wind was helping me along that last bit... I remember listening to the wind and then finding myself humming along endlessly with the words of 'Yellow Submarine' on a solo long ago... I remember wind driven rain and trying to look under my rain hood to see where to land on a tiny island... and I have a sense of the many voices on the wind of friends long gone, guides no longer present, and mentors I wished I could have shared the day with... I recall seeing those prayer flags and watching their movement while wondering who put them up in those trees...

I love the symphony of sounds that the wind plays for us, that are never the very same, and seem to often reflect the emotions we might be having at that moment...

It is not just the movement of water that polishes these little stones... the wind plays its part as well... and I do try to capture something of this element in the painting of the Summit Stones...

We may not be able to 'see' the wind, but we cannot deny its presence... nor can I not listen when I find myself preoccupied and the wind returns to remind me again about why I am out there...

DSD

"Rivers......."

"Rivers... are greater than their grandest canyons and biggest drops... for nearly all there is something more, something ineffable yet deeply satisfying, as we join with the ancient currents and flow, for a brief time, between the timeless banks." Bangs & Kallen

Grey Wolf also said, "Rivers... not only give life... but have lives of their own."

I have been watching our river slowly freeze over these last few days... and have been musing about memories of rivers in my life... Rivers are such a varied medium for adventures. We hike beside and across them, kayak and canoe upon them, play at that special place where rivers meet the ocean, feel the ebb and flow as we drift through deep canyons, and enjoy the sound and power of rivers as they flow and fall over rock and cliff...

River are often found in the wisdom literature as a metaphor for journeys...

I am often reminded out in the wildlands how water in its many forms is one of the primary elements within our natural world. I find the sounds of river water flowing especially pleasing to my senses... And I can watch the movement for endless hours... When we travel along this medium we often lose ourselves within, or give ourselves over to the experience... And of course, I have admired many stones that have been river polished...

Recently I read a quote by Twain that was discovered and posted by B.R. Thomas on his Blog "BRT Insights - Whitewater Kayaking", where M. Twain said: "The face of the river , in time, became a wonderful book... which told its mind to me without reserve, delivering its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it had uttered them with a voice. And it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, for it had a new story to tell every day."

Rivers weave their own magic through the lands, our experiences, and our memories.....

DSD

"Outward Bound..."

"Attitude is one of those words that gets thrown around like it means something. It does, but not what most people think. It's not about how you look, dress, move, talk, or anything else you can work out with your bedroom mirror. Attitude is if you see somebody struggling, do you help... It's walking a moonlit forest like you belong there. It's going up against real obstacles and getting knocked around. Once. Twice. A zillion times. Then getting up. That's it. Just getting up over and over until one day, you're up all the way. And it can be anything. Sailing. Sea kayaking. Canoeing. Rock climbing. Whatever...". Outward Bound

Oh, how I've mused over the years, about these very words... As a teenager I discovered Outward Bound but was not able to attend until later. I dreamt longingly of what I would experience there and was not disappointed. My first experience set the course for many adventures to follow. This was also not to be my only Outward Bound course either. I was mentored about attitude and adventure... I learned that what we often believe is only 'out there' we actually can create 'within' as well... And there was indeed 'more within me' than I had ever thought. My first solo was with them and these too have continued to be enduring, powerful experiences... Outward Bound is an experiential adventure metaphor in motion... and has been the first such exposure that many great adventurers found for themselves in their youth. Kurt Hahn and the Outward Bound Schools have such an attitude of service and have given so much to both individuals and their communities. I am proud of my OB memories and pins... and grateful for the instructors and their guidance... It was during these experiences that I first started thinking that if I can do these things, so many others can too, and if so many of us can then.......

DSD

"Grandfather......."

The concept of 'musing' was something passed on to me by many of my mentors...

If we are only open to the possibility of allowing ourselves to listen to the mentors, guides, and elders in our lives we may see that their hindsight and experiences can become our own foresight... I believe the original 'Mentor' was the name for the advisor of young Telemachus in Homer's Odyssey.

The soapstone sculpture above is symbolic of one mentor in my life... It was found on Salt Spring Island while hiking and kayaking out in the Gulf Islands. Unfortunately I cannot recall who the artist was. There have been many guides who shared with me... and took the lead on a classic mountain where I would not have otherwise reached the summit... who challenged me in swiftwater that I was doubtful about... upon Outward Bound courses where I relearned what was within me...

T. Des Pres said that such openly shared experience resonates with, "A deeper knowledge, an elder wisdom...". This kind of knowledge then becomes literally embedded in the cells of our bodies because of the importance we give it and the trust we find there...

And this is something worth honouring...

The mountain above is named "Grandfather", whom was an elder guide in my own life... I would like to think that such a mountain could have been referred to in his honour.....

Whom do you honour as an elder, guide, or mentor in your own life...?

DSD

Campfire Musings.....

There is a piece of music I have listened to countless times that has the sounds of flames crackling, old dry wood snapping, along with rain in the background... and a steady, yet subtly increasing tempo... I can hear it in my mind right now by just closing my eyes and listening again...

Musing and reading by the flames of a campfire or an old wood stove is an experience of joy... It is an environment that promotes the opening of one's mind and the presence of possibility... In the flames dance the muses themselves... We have only to listen to their music...

D. Brower asked, "Why is it that memories of campfires are so long-lasting...".

Grandfather, a Mountain Elder, said: "Our dreams are like a fire at a campsite. We can go off and do other things, but in coming back to the fire, we return to the center, to the warmth, to the energy."

Painting these small stones, with a fire glowing across the room from me, has become a special time...

I have tried to portray something of the fire and the movement of the flames in these tiny Summit Stones...

Then I sit quietly back and remember...gazing at the coals, seeing the flames dance, listening to the comfort of the hiss and the crackle...finding the remains of fire's in those islands, in the northern woods, at trail sites not used in years, while pondering who was there, and what their adventures had been like...

Have you ever seen a face in these flames? Have you ever discovered meaning in the coals?

Do you ever wonder why we feel such warmth around these fires in our hearts, and not just on our hands or feet?

Just some campfire musings...

DSD