"Which Is Stronger... Spirit Or Stone..."

I was recently able to catch up on a most engaging and intriguing article by Tom Stienstra called, "Hiking Now, Under A Rock Two Years Ago". (Linked below and whose middle image above I have borrowed, by Kenny Karst, is included there) It is a story of severe adversity and the amazing journey towards recovery of Theresa Ho... A story of trial and challenges, the unforgivingness of stone and accident... But mostly - most significantly, about the power and potency of the human spirit...

In his report, Stienstra writes of the horrendous accident where Theresa was crushed by a moving boulder while scrambling in Yosemite. Her injuries were life threatening and only the immediate response of her husband Tom Lambert, and the heroic efforts of the Yosemite Search & Rescue Team, spared her. Please read Stienstra's article as it truly captures the gripping details of this story.

What also profoundly resonated with me, in what this article and Theresa's story shares with us, can be discovered in the words found there... "She said it's given her time to take stock of what is important, and what is not", and that Theresa "Found herself at a crossroads"...

Words you might hope a courageous survivor would say as they navigate their way through such a journey; words that indicate a different kind of energy, a new growth of vigour within, a potency of vital energy that speaks of something more than physical recovery...

Such words reflect what I have always believed in, and have been drawn to, within accounts of overwhelming and trying experiences, and over the many years of adventuring and connecting with adventurers out there. There is a spirit to be found behind these words... We can see it in their eyes, hear it in their voice, as they tell us their story. There is a depth of being there, a new way of knowing, that we all wonder of and can hopefully learn from as it is shared with us.

On Outward Bound years ago I was first to sense the truth of the saying that 'There is more within us than we may think'... Stories like Theresa's reflect the meaning and spirit of these words too. They illuminate the potential to be discovered when our horizons seem to be obscured by dark mist and imposing gloom.

Imagine for a moment... the stress, the fears, the doubts, when something happpens which can just as easily crush us as any boulder might...

Imagine... the worry, the unknowns, the long tests and trials themselves, and that which visits us in those darkest moments that someone surely faces after such events...

Which is stronger, I have often asked myself... The stone of circumstance that was the cause of such distress, or the spirit that then is asked to respond to this...

Stone is a substance that may wait out a millenia, yet the human spirit to me is so much more enduring...

Stone and rock may last the ages, but the spirit behind such a journey of recovery is everlasting...

There are moments when among the pressures within our lives, during the epics of our adventure experiences too, and especially in the midst of such trials as that which Theresa, and also her husband Tom have faced, where our spirit is so very tested...

Theresa & Tom have graduated yet again.....

We adventure among stone as one of the elements and in doing so we are certainly, humanly vulnerable... Yet the spirit within us is as elemental as any boulder, as any mountain, as any ocean, and those fires that burn within each of us are so powerfully elemental too...

It is the essence of spirit such as Theresa's, and that supporting synergy of spirit of her husband who stood beside her - that we are all drawn to; that I try and grasp for in these musings here; and that something of this inspiring spirit is what I hope to blend in with the painting and the sharing of my small cobblestones.

We cannot help but be touched by Theresa's spirit, and also further inspired by the passion she continues to have to now in returning to the wild places, on another beautiful waypoint within her journey to recovery.....

DSD

Tom Stienstra's Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/26/SPTV18TMK9.DTL

"With The Pipes & Drums....."

It seems so fitting, that when out among the high lands about here, reflecting the Celtic-like mysteries which many high places hold... that a certain music echoes out once or so a year...

We have hiked from here as home base so many times over the decades, climbed the face of nearby Ha Ling, and scrambled routes like Lady MacDonald and Mt Rundle. Mountain biking in this area can be very challenging too. We've also adventured upon and near waters close by like the quietly hidden Grassi Lakes and across the great Bow. There is even caving and a wonderful canyon on a mountain across the way. Yet it is this music that haunts many of my memories...

Powerfully, beautiful piping and drumming that is played when the chosen Highlanders meet for their Canmore Games. This is a music that evokes the spirits of the past, the spirit of our inner desires and goals, and sparks many of the wild places spirits too it seems... These timeless rhythms are reminders of our ancient selves and the Adventurous Clan we all belong to. There is an energy to the pipes and drums that is both boundless and timeless. It resonates across cultures; with both young and old... It echoes from the valley back and forth between each mountain range and across the nearby waters. It echoes of the past, of our youth, maybe even of past lives and of times when we were much closer to the nature of things.

There is just something very special about such echoes out there, something wonderful and nearly indescribable. Such music reflects elements of myth and legend too, those we tell stories about across the campfire, and those we create ourselves when moving over the rock and the trails out there...

I guess we all might be highlanders of a kind are we not my Friends, when we wander among these ranges, dancing to such rhythms...

Listen closely, Dear Finders, for your own such music out there and how it makes your heart beat so. I know later this season I am looking forward to moving again over stone as I listen for the calling of these pipes and drums.....

DSD

My thanks to Dow Williams for the surrounding summit images above:

http://dowclimbing.com

"Hours Lost.....Moments Found....."

Such a long solo sea kayak trip... So very long even though the days out were few... Longer even than many past trips because the journey was not so much of distance but more seemingly through time...

It was around a very distant point I kept going past in order to discover a lovely cove behind those great rocks. There tides and currents and waves all conspired to keep much hidden away, but then would share their secrets if a wanderer was persistent and determined enough.

When first stepping out upon that sand, a slow stretch was needed, and it was then that I felt more than I just saw of this Island being stood upon, more than the very old trees and the even older rocks nearby. I needed a moment to allow whatever was trying to gently seep into my consciousness the time necessary to do so. So I just sat down... half in the ocean, half upon this secluded shell and sand beach.

It was only when my kayak began its slow movement away from me that I realized how far I was drifting myself, and thus began a time where many hours were lost, yet so many moments were found...

I can't say all of what I guess took place, as those endless waves of thoughts moved about, through, and around me. Many I wrote in my journal but too many others drifted away with the gently receding of the tide. I think I must have lived many passings of the moon, maybe even of the seasons, that single day... such was the meanderings of the moments, the wanderings of what we usually think we understand of this concept and metaphor of time.

I remember two eagles, and a few other more cautious birds come and go with the whispering breezes. I was pondering them as they were surely wondering about me and why I was there. Those other previously planned objectives were not to be met that day, but that was no matter, as so many other meaningful and wonderful things developed instead.

I recall losing count of the larger waves I was watching that would roll up in that secret series that they have, but instead gained a sense of some other rhythms that were not known to me before... When another stretch was needed I simply stood up, walked a bit, although you couldn't really call it a walk. It was more of a drifting, strolling movement where my legs moved from rock to rock, sand to tree, through wave after wave, and the rest of me simply followed along. Then there were the endless pauses where so much time was spent just standing, gazing, dreaming, breathing, all of this simply second by second upon second.

The small meals I ate throughout that so alive quiet day were nutritious and tasted so good, as if they were made of more than just food; which is often like that out in such places of wilderness...

Some of the tracks in those sands I knew well, others belonged to those shadow creatures, the very small ones, who only come out at night or when you invite them - more with attitude than with foods they shouldn't have anyway. I sensed them there as well, basking among the rocks, hidden in the sun dappled trees, watching me to see if I had yet to become one of them, and then could be trusted with their treasures...

I think it was also that symphony of those deeply quiet resonating natural sounds that took away any need to keep moving back upon the ocean. Sounds that invited me to linger longer among those musical longings... Sounds which came and went as did those images in my mind of places, people, loves, and other lives we each have all shared out there and back here...

There were none of those other kinds of disruptions during that day of countless hours and endless moments. It was a day I will envision again often when in the midst of traffic and concrete, distractions and disputes, and other so seemingly important demands, which will all eventually ebb away into the background, where they really belong anyway.

We are often so grasping of schedules and other things we are told are so necessary, that such ephemeral moments as those on that island, of subtle but more true importance, are often lost in time...

There is just something about the very waters edge where the ocean holds close to the land, and where the rocks return that embrace, which speaks to our most inner being, and how we live out our lives...

Many of us who wander the wild places can attest to the experience of living a lifetime during the span of a day out there... We know that the clock many times has no function during such journeys of the sun and the moon and the wind. We have all instead felt that the heartbeat inside of us, and of those around us, are the only real measure that an adventurer needs an awareness of... Where the only timely elements that matter are the winds that caress our face, the sun which glides slowly across above us, the waves that gently rock us, and the animals who still themselves and come to sit beside us...

Hours were lost that day... Treasures within the moments were found...

DSD

"Adventure Expressions....."

"The passionate creed of all adventurers regarding life is the expression of desire... perceived as a fullness of meaning... I know that I don't ask during or after strong experiences what I am living for. It is as if I can feel meaning in my body, as if I catch sight of it in the wilderness like a clear thought." R. Messner

It is a paradoxical, beautiful irony of sorts when...

We journey to the wild unknown places only to then discover something out about ourselves...

We often lose ourselves out among the outdoors in order to find the most meaningful things...

We push so hard towards an elusive goal when in so many ways we are already there...

We often discover after... what was really faced during... and the world we believed in shifts yet again.......

DSD

"Wolf Running....."

"If you could be an animal, what animal would you be? Answering that question creates a powerful personal metaphor." Grey Wolf

It was to have been a simple run out upon an even simpler trail... A short distance over rocks and roots, by water, and in concert with the wind... Some time would be needed to get the rust off these old knees yet again, and I know that such movement out there works well for me. When starting off I began to tune out the troublesome noises, both external and internal, to be left behind and to focus now instead upon the more subtle wild place sounds waiting to be discovered out there... Quiet sounds, that may only be heard with a very relaxed attention, especially above ones' laboured uphill breathing.

Just a long slow loop was the plan; but after the sensations of soreness and slowness eased back from my mind, I became a bit more aware of something else also gently taking place... Another level to this moment was opening up. The quote above took shape in my mind... Then along with the cadence of my breathing and the movement needed to run trails, these words then evolved into a mantra as I allowed myself to become lost in their meaning and the sensations of the wild surroundings about me too...

And then...

It almost felt as if my ears drew back some, my nostrils flared a bit, and the pupils of my eyes surely dilated more... Then I wondered or just imagined... Did I so much stumble, or simply drop onto all fours at some point. I began to feel, to sense, to understand what real running was truly about. Like the natural way a wolf moves along with such quiet speed and grace. There was nothing else to think about; only the trail, only the movement. I saw so much more then should have been seen. I sensed that which only a being of the forest would. I moved with an ease only my cells could remember. I was at that moment... A wolf running...

I glanced with new eyes to the left as I passed a mountain lake. A brief reflection in the still waters was of an image of something moving very near to the ground, with eyes so dark, with fur so grey and sleek.

I looked to the right and there moving through the trees were others of my kind. Running so silently... Moving so beautifully... Each of us following along with the others as it was always meant to be...

It went on forever, yet only brief moments had passed... This running as a wolf... Moving as we all know we can... Being part of our past and our future...

Then I saw the trailhead, slowed and then more slowly felt as if I stood; or imagined that the actual standing and that style of movement was feeling somewhat foreign than what was experienced moments before.

I slowed, then rested, with hands upon my hips, breathing more calmly now but deeply, so deeply... I looked back, trying to grasp and understand what just had been shared with me. It was then I heard that long, haunting, meaningful howl way, way back in the forest..... DSD

The image above of 'Wolves In Clouds' is by David Terrell, and is titled "Song Of Running White Wolf". Thank you David for the inspiration!

"To Be A Yosemite Explorer..."

Our last special visit to Yosemite is some time back now, and I recall how we spent hours and hours ahead of time searching and reading and enjoying everything we could find about the High Sierra's there. It was then that we discovered Yosemite Explorer...

Tom Lambert is the creator of this great site and together with Theresa Ho they are the spirits behind it. Tom is by profession an Historian and Editor, and Theresa's specialty is in Neuroscience. Their love for hiking, climbing, and skiing adventures have clearly endeared Yosemite to them. Now they share their wonderful experiences not only on this site, but also through teaching outdoor skills to others.

It seems that they have both been bitten by the 'explorer bug' for the hidden treasures to be found out there...

The many sections on Yosemite Explorer include those on hiking trails, rock climbs, ski tours, wild flowers, as well as many terrific photo's, and other news about this wonderful area.

In our communications, Tom & Theresa have shared their deep enthusiasm and spirit for the special place that Yosemite is... I appreciate how this site reflects the commitment they have for both these Sierra Highlands, and the many of us who have wandered there.

I especially like their, "We are all visitors here...", sentiments and the personal ethics that accompany this.

So, journey on over, and have fun exploring with Tom & Theresa!

DSD

The top award winning image above is Jeffrey Murray's and may be found at:

http://yosemiteexplorer.com/

"Two Climbers Humble Story....."

In early Fall, a few seasons back, on another solo traverse of Mt Edith's three summits, I was on my way out late in the day... It was then I was to enjoy a unique experience when meeting two other mountaineers. They seemed very tired, yet very content. They were moving quite slowly and also in a quiet manner...

We were to share the next few hours on the trail together; talking when it felt right; passing snacks back and forth; each of us reflecting upon our own adventure experiences just passed. I sensed that theirs had been a much greater challenge than mine that summit day... They stopped and looked back on occasion; I believe it was to catch the last glimpses of the mountain which had just tested them. Finally, I asked, "Was it Mt Louis...", and then they just smiled...

Great big, full, meaningful, tired smiles that told the rest of their story as few words can...

"I know...", I said, as I had touched the stone of Mt Louis some years ago... and I did 'know' as Louis is a distinct wild place, so memorable for any adventurer who has chosen to embrace the rock there... They shared a bit more about the route taken, the exposure, that so small summit, and the challenging descent. What they mused more about though was what I leaned forward to more closely listen to... Their day had started with the energy and ego and confidence we all display at times out there - things that can carry us forward and through the trials, yet can also be occasionally, paradoxically limiting at the same time...

Their day had ended on a different height... While clearly enjoying their accomplishment, the tone of their voices changed and the substance of their words did too, as they shared further... There was no pretense at all, only a more modest account that mirrored an experience of being humbled... A part of them had moved past any ego or bravado, now too there was a deeper respect for the mountain, for the ones who first bravely ascended that route; also a shared feeling of companionship with all others who have gone up that so distinctly vertical rock face...

There is a secret strength to be found in being humbled in our adventures...

When paired with our success and the confidence our elusive wild place objectives allow us to create, such earned humbleness gives us clearer perspectives; even allows more connectedness, and like certain precious metals, we go through a higher level of tempering...

What remains is significantly more enduring.

These two quiet climbers had indeed attained their adventure summit that day, yet what they found out there had impacted them more deeply and was worth so much more.....

DSD

My appreciation to Dow Williams for the above images: http://dowclimbing.com

http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150423/mount-louis.html

"My Thanks To You....."

"Two simple words, so many meanings. Two simply powerful words. Thank you."

GrandFather, Mountain Elder

Such a full wondrous year of adventures for us all... Yet at this moment I am not musing so much about how far or pondering how high I have come... At this moment I am reflecting this season more about saying aloud my appreciation and thankyou's...

I find that by doing this it anchors me at this point in the journey, as it would anchor us upon any climb, as this does when out in a canoe or kayak, and as is always the case in our tent when out wandering with the winds.

This day I want to anchor this point on our shared journey by saying thank you...

A very appreciative thank you to Google & Blogger.com for providing this amazing forum for our connections here...

A sincere thank you to the many Finders whose comments have been shared here and by email along with all their excitement and enthusiasms...

A very special thank you as well to those who have joined with me these last seasons in the simple karma of passing forward a few Summit Stones, while becoming a part of the fun in doing so, and in the creation of awareness and smiles for others out there...

My gratitude to you all as we pause at this waypoint, for sharing in these adventures of wandering, placings, musings, and writings here and out within our wild places...

Thank you so much.....

DSD

"The Beat of The Thunder Drums..."

Walking quietly by the waters we stopped and stood still, very still...

The air seemed heavy, calmer even than the crystal clear waters before us, yet it felt so close upon my skin... He looked up, then around in each direction, and in his quiet voice GrandFather said softly... "Do you hear them now. They call to us once again... They beat with our hearts, they beat with the flow of our blood, they beat as do our steps on this earth. It is the beat of the thunder drums".

We then walked further and more time was to pass before I then indeed began to hear them. Many seasons would pass too before I began to understand them...

DSD

"Outward Bound Symbolism..."

"Yes, there are sacred things. A pine cone, a feather, bones, a herb - or even one of your stones. All are sacred because of the deep meaning given to them. Sacred things help you focus; yet consider where their real source of power is." Grey Wolf

On the final day... during some tired, quiet, yet very happy moments... I don't remember exactly what our Head Outward Bound Instructor said, but it went something like this: "I won't be presenting these Outward Bound Pins to any of you. They are not mine to give. Each one was earned by their bearer. They are just waiting in this box to be chosen".

For many of us who were more used to the usual practice of being awarded and handed any kind of parchments or trophy; this gave us real pause... These seemingly simple words and the significance of their intentions was just one of many potent experiences within Outward Bound and the adventure symbolism out there. In choosing our own pin the emphasis was on creating our own meaning. Then while sharing why we made that choice and how we came to be at that point, we took more personal responsibility for affirming our role in that journey...

Over the years I have time and again, season over season, found meaningful examples of the importance of such symbolism in our adventures and for our life journeys. The pin I selected looked a little rough around the edges, like it had already been worn, as if someone might have put it back after some other distant experiences... That is a symbolism I carry forward to this day in my wanderings with these Summit Stones. The gathering of these small rocks from many wild places started as one thing and has become, has evolved, to something very different. These little cobbles, these tiny painted stones hopefully reflect such spirits and meaningfulness of symbolism as that small piece of metal has for so many...

Then as to your adventure emblems my Friends, what symbolism, what totems have you discovered and created for your self from out there... What images have been branded within your mind... What beautiful realizations are there to be found within the potency, importance, and power of your adventure symbols and the emotions they bring forth for you...

Such symbolism is indeed sacred.....

DSD

"Desert Canyon Kayaking..."

During a past return in an early season to the desert we adventure kayaked through a mysterious canyon... There were deep side canyons there too, as dark as the river that runs by, which wind away like the many branches of a very old tree...

It is my impression that not many kayak these sections of this desert river, as we saw no others and few tracks or traces of those gone before... Only a number of old camp rock fire rings, blackened by the flames, and washed by the sparse winter rains...

This is a place of solitude, of sun, of secluded beaches, and overhanging desert foliage. It is a place of reflection from the waters and reflections within the mind... as one paddles, and drifts, and gazes upon the landscape. Places where the water and the land mix are always special; there is a nexus of the elements there, one where we more easily become a part of the mystery...

Rock formations by desert rivers have their own special nature too. Many are too old to count the seasons they have seen. Each is so very unique and I often trace my hand over them the way a close family member or friend may gently touch your face... The passage of time means little here; my few moments only so brief among the millenia...

The sun was so hot; the waters so cold. I enjoyed listening to the creaking of the kayak, the sounds of the paddle dipping in and out of the sun speckled waters. There was a broken paddle washed up on one shore... What a story it must have to tell. It was sun washed wood and a very old style. Maybe it was broken during a past time of fast water and furious challenges...

The reflection of myself in the kayak upon the water gave me pause to be grateful for that day, the canyons created here, and the adventures we are allowed there too. The shimmering heat across the water and rock, when looked at just so... could have been the movement of desert spirits on their own journey... They were likely watching the placing of a few simple gifts of Summit Stones by those fire rings and where some established trails met the river waters.

Such desert entities, such canyon spirits, would understand my intentions... Being there, they would already know the importance of such messages...

DSD

"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.

"Joining With My Nemesis....."

We all have one... a certain adventure goal, an elusive summit, a particular set of rapids, that so distant island... Maybe it seems a bit strong to refer to them as a Nemesis, as our own personal infernal goddess of retribution, that bane to our adventure aspirations, or even as an act in a play of some sort of outdoor tragedy - but they surely do feel that way at times...

My own personal downfall of motivation at times, an opponent of progress in years of scrambling seasons, had been our Mt. Smuts. A mountain of a seemingly unassuming name, but with a quietly intimidating reputation. It is spoken and written about as one of the most difficult scrambles around here, as a ridge route of distinct exposure, where many begin but few actually attain the true summit of. Friends who have tried also state it is 'Not' a scramble, not really a 'climbers scramble' either, not even made simpler or easier when a piece of rope is taken, but rather a route that dictates things to us and then demands as much from us...

Mt. Smuts has a longer approach giving you lots of time to contemplate its challenges, and is also a scramble requiring a certain skillset and a distinct commitment. I have engaged with this objective every second summer over a long course of years now. The first time out was in reasonable weather but became a test of my beliefs and confidence in the abilities one needs on such slabs of rock with a very real exposure endlessly pulling at us. Later this challenging, yet enticingly angled stone was less daunting but not very dry, and again the nature of Mt. Smuts and its history of keeping its summit secret remained. Another set of seasons passed and the elements still conspired to stall my intentions as did an injury which undermined my efforts too. A further two years would close until during what should have been a calm day, instead grew into high winds that on such a ridge would have been way to risky to push on through. Many times this beautiful peak with its taunts and teasings has eluded me...

Then came a reading of Andrew Nugara's account in 2004, when he and his brother Mark were turned away in July, only to return again that August, with focused energy and new found determination. His enthusiastic account and encouraging words prompted me to head out to Smuts once more at a later point as the gauntlet still remained thrown.

My return then became a very different experience though... While the summit itself was still not to be mine to enjoy that day, as the weather again was in no mood to cooperate, I wandered around and upon that mountain in a most interesting way... I felt I was beginning to understand Mt. Smuts even if I did not know its summit. The peak was yet to be known for those brief moments, but rather than opposing one another, maybe the mountain and I were now sharing in a company of a higher kind...

I began to wonder if this wild place of rock and stone and dreams, was not something more of an Elemental, something other than what first impressions were made of... Not a Nemesis as such, but something much, much more...

In more obscure historical literature any 'nemesis' are also written about as beings more like the Muses, who shroud themselves in hidden forms to see if we mortals deserve their time and wisdom and gifts... They make us endure trials, long journeys, odysseys of another kind, to test us, to see if we are more than just the shell we inhabit. These kind of Elementals are more truly there to teach each of us rather than just acting within the assumed role of a nemesis in supposedly being there to defeat us.

It has taken a number of long journeys, over even longer years, but it seems I have learned more now than just the lay of the land out there. These are the lessons from enjoying such an adventure experience regardless of the outcome, in gradually understanding more in that the nature of a mountain is not just the summit, and the value of embracing such challenges because that is why we are truly out there in the first place, is it not my friends...

I needed to shift one stormy and stony perspective after another in trying to see what this mentor was attempting to teach me... Mt. Smuts has become more of a wise old friend. I think we share in an alliance now, an association, a connection - where in testing each other we have become more united than opposing, more respectful of each other.

My brooding mentor and close elder friend has allowed me to take my due because of what I took part in upon its slopes. These are the earned lessons and so useful teachings that have now been applied on other adventures... In that so very dark and deep southern canyon, upon a northern lake that is hardly ever accessed because of its incessant wind and waves, over a waypoint on a coastal trek very few wander through, and on another summit in the Yosemite highlands which only some have actually shared in...

I think Mt. Smuts is a place of spirits too that I am more aware of now also... Other spirits reflecting a certain kind of effort, spirits of lost ground but gained experience, of better understanding oneself, and other spirits there also I am sure I have sensed...

Over a decade will have passed when I likely will decide to plan and prepare a journey back, for furthering my continuing education with Mt. Smuts. I will review others and Andrew's account again of their experiences for sparks of enthusiasm. Then a return to that class will occur, for a further course, hopefully for other lessons and affirmations of patience, persistence, and passion... For a joining with, a blending with, rather than just a struggling against, me dear wild place nemesis.....

DSD

My real thanks to Andrew for both the inspirations and the above images:

http://members.shaw.ca/anugara/index.htm

http://members.shaw.ca/anugara/smuts2.htm

http://www.freewebtown.com/anugara/log2.htm

"A Mountain Meditation..."

"It is only in the intentional silence of vigil and meditation, or in the quiet places of nature, that we encounter the song of the universe. Like the wind... this song echoes along the pathways of the cosmic web; it includes the celestial spinning of the planets, as well as the hum of insects and the dancing song of the grass; it includes the song of all the ancestors and spirits as well as the beating of our own hearts...". C. Mathews

Here upon the quiet side of this long ridge, I sit enjoying long moments of solitude as hardly anyone ever comes this far... My intention this day is for simple high lands meditations; like those I also practice near places of water & waves, wind & trees. The music of meanings we may experience in such places is of our own making; we are soloists in those meditative moments, and yet we may connect also with a symphony of breathing with the elements in a synchronicity that many of us have shared in out there...

As I write this after a sitting mountain meditation, I find myself looking across at a summit climbed over twenty years ago; gazing back upon memories of younger years and earlier adventure experiences, so profound and defining of life...

In the wilds we are offered a unique clime in which a focus on breathing, heart beat, and other mantra's calms and gives us focus during times of risk and adversity. I do so now also with a visual attention to the clouds, and the rock, the past route to that summit, all while listening to the wind...

We may lose ourselves in these kind of quiet meditations as we may have done in the actual past wanderings themselves...

I have accomplished no summit this day, but gain and affirm certain perspectives that I live by still that evolve from simple vigil and a quiet sitting mountain meditation.....

DSD

My appreciation & gratitude to Dow Williams for the above inspiring images:
http://www.summitpost.org/user_page.php?user_id=19503
http://dowclimbing.com/

"Our Modern Hiker..."

Casey Schreiner's great blog is entitled 'Modern Hiker' and has very much lived up to this moniker since 2006. Many of our peers like 'Best Hike', list Modern Hiker as one of the Top 10 Hiking Blogs, and the best source of information for Southern California hiking, with many of the most detailed trip reports available anywhere online. There are great elusive wild places still to be discovered in Southern California, like the San Gabriels', Santa Monicas', and Joshua Tree. Casey gives to us in depth reviews of such areas, graphic photos & videos, GPS tracks, as well as Google Earth instructions. He has detailed discussions on the latest outdoor equipment too.

Modern Hiker also provides great trail map overviews with all the hikes listed by difficulty.

Casey moved to California from New England in 2003 and has been writing about journeys out there since 2005. He has logged many personal miles and is hiking his way near to that elusive 1000 mile waypoint. We have always been drawn to the enthusiastic tone of his blog site. Readers like the regular energetic and informative posts. I particularly enjoy the 'Motivation Section' which touches upon why we do what we do out there...

So head on over, visit, and share some time and a coffee with our Casey at Modern Hiker.

DSD

Modern Hiker: http://www.modernhiker.com/

"Points Of The Compass....."

Standing on that high summit I focused on my position, ensured I knew and sensed where the edges where, and then gazed out... one at a time... upon the four points of the compass...

In the North I could just make out, encased in clouds, a mountain climbed decades ago with a friend no longer present... It was a summit of the past but one that has never let go of us, such a challenge it was...

I turn and in the West I could not make out a coastline yet could envision it in my mind, and feel the motions of my kayak, the sensations of the paddle, and the gentle rolling of the waves...

I turn again, and to the South flows one of the rivers I admire out here... They are the veins and life blood of the land... Inviting in their energy; demanding respect for their power, allowing us to touch them by kayak, canoe, or raft...

I pause for a moment to muse how we all have such points of the compass in our own adventures and life... They point out from us yet reflect the desires, inspirations, and memories within us...

Then I turn once again, and in the East, I spend more time gazing, upon looking, within wondering... as I could just make out the course of a future trail yet to be taken. It will be a long journey of another kind... Along that point of the compass.....

DSD

"Outward Bound Canada...40 Years Of Inspiration..."

What an exciting point on the trail this is! Outward Bound Canada is celebrating a so well deserved 40th anniversary. This May is a time for affirming their history, for moments to put our packs or paddles, maps and compasses, down for a moment to rest and reflect on their wondrous story...

40 Years of service, of striving, of not yielding...

40 years of seasons out there developing so many young minds, and moving as many older hearts too...

40 years of facilitating the discovery of there being more within all of us than we ever first knew...

40 years of holding so true to a Mission of "Igniting the human spirit, Inviting self-discovery, and Inspiring human potential", all through wild place journeys. Don't you just love a 'Mission' that hikes and treks, paddles and climbs, and makes itself become real in such ways...

There is so much that I, family and friends, hold so dear about our Outward Bound experiences.

(You only need to use the search section at the top left of this blog, for my postings here on many reflections of these so special moments) There has not been a season passing these many years, where we have not remembered, laughed, pondered, and mused about the many directions our OB experiences set us upon over the course of each of our lives...

This is a celebration too about renewal... Renewing our memories, renewing our energy and outdoor interests, just as Outward Bound Canada is renewing their commitments as they set out on a course for another forty years of wild place adventures and cherished connections to be discovered by each wanderer out there...

A very happy 40th anniversary to our Outward Bound Canada!

DSD

"More Similar Than Different..."

"I believe that we are all climbing our own mountains, that every striving individual or organization is climbing its own mountain in pursuit of its own goal." S. Wood

"We are all climbers. We all have impossible dreams. We all have the potential to stand proudly on the summit of our lives." J. Amatt

There is so much within the metaphors of climbing and summits... In so many ways we are all more similar than different through such life adventures...
DSD

My thanks again to Dru for the above inspiring images: http://flickr.com/photos/druclimb/

"A Simple Bow....."

We were not sure what we were watching, but were certain it was important... when a fellow climber had stayed back some during our descent. And when finally alone, she quietly turned and slowly gave a simple bow in the direction of the mountain...

We needed no explanation at that point... A mountain upon this Earth is an elemental entity like rivers, canyons, and oceans that as adventurers we learn to respect...

Adventures are experiences that may instill such reverence too for these elements, the challenges, and the wild places themselves out there...

Well known among our Eastern Family - the nature of the bow; when we incline our head or body; when we bend or kneel - is an acknowledgment and appreciation for something we find very important to us... Something that is often perceived as greater than ourselves... In bowing down before or to something in such salutation, we are saying much without words...

What seemed to be a simple action by our fellow climber has resonated with us now in a profound and powerful way. Experiences are often ushered in or out with a bow; a moment of distinct pause; where we wish to express our respect and thanks together for what has been passed to us... Something I intend to practice more of each sunrise in my wanderings... and especially on this Day for our Earth.....

DSD

"A Passing Year......."

"While seeking the secrets of nature I have watched the salutary effects of stillness and peace on human hearts and minds. I have seen the overpowering beauty of dawns and sunsets reach into troubled breasts and heal hurts that were thought beyond medicine and philosophy. And I have seen those burdened with grief take on the silence of forests aisles until they could hear that still, small voice which lifts hope and faith with wordless assurance." S. Campbell

Time passing..... A year of days and nights flowing by...
Your presence so loved... so loved... no longer there...
Yet only in the most physical sense...
Ashes taken to the mountains, and to the ocean waves...
Spread with tears... Yet too with smiles and many memories...
In our hearts and through our spirit, your presence is always with us... Always...
Among the trees and rivers... Over the waves and winds...
With our tiny one... Our little one... Within our wild places...
DSD

In Loving Memory: http://summitstonesadventuremusings.blogspot.com/2008/04/our-little-oneour-tiny-one.html

"Thank You Again Stephen....."

"The glories of a mountain campfire are far greater than may be guessed. One can make a day of any size and regulate the rising and setting of his own sun and the brightness of its shining. You gaze around at the illuminated trees as if you'd never seen them before... Sparks stream off like comets or in round, star-like whirls from a sun. They fly into space like Milky Ways of lavishness and fall like white flakes, feathery and pure as snow..." J. Muir

Thank you again Stephen, for your endless inspiration... DSD

In Tribute to: http://summitstonesadventuremusings.blogspot.com/2008/04/tribute-to-stephen-lyman.html

"Wild Place Karma....."

"Our experiences strike us, like the stick hitting the bell, and we learn about ourselves".
Deng Ming-Dao
What resonates within each of us, what we seem to already know, and that which we each deeply sense... all have been related to karmic understandings. The sum of a persons actions, the impact of one's life, and the ripple effects upon others and our world... are also sometimes thought of as being karmic. There is much within adventures that echoes the meanings we may discover about karma. A real theme of my Summit Stone intentions, and the many musings on this blog, reflect ideas about giving back and passing forward out there... Such a theme is a very personal one for each of us. Any choices we make about giving back and any 'karma' we each create also in passing forward is as unique as we are... We each are both cause and effect; and that seems to ring true in understanding the nature of wild place karma.
Karma also seems to be about mystery... of things before, during, and after. It resides on that mystical plane that flows through time, the elements, and the moments of our lives. The wild places inherently have the optimal mix of these elements for us to sense the importance of our own mystery's. Can we really be an influence upon such things is a question often asked... Maybe an answer of sorts is that we might each just simply choose to act as if this is indeed true. Then the question has answered itself.
Some define karma as a fate of sorts... many clarify that accepting karma as part of life does not mean being helpless and as having no choices. Like all of life and just as inherent for adventures, karma seems to be mostly about understanding that such experiences are a dynamic process where we each play a very active role in both instigation and outcome... There is nothing fatalistic or passive about this; just as there shouldn't be about our influence upon the natural world.
It is said that the most powerful karmic connections are those which we distinctly sense but never really see... Have you ever felt that out there... It is written as well that a very potent source for karma are those experiences which are unexpected, that surprise us, with their presence. When there is little to gain, really nothing of material benefits to be found in an action - that is a karma that sustains itself... And much of what we each choose to do in our adventures and wild place journeys is done for the simple enjoyment within the activity itself.
Can you sense how your own karma is created during your adventures out in the wild place Dear Finders.....
DSD