"Of Adventures And Kinhining..."

To Kinhin - To go straight.
An Eastern concept, reflecting being on a course of philosophy and meditation.
To be within our Kinhin is to be immersed in a meditative meditation while moving; often as a walking meditative state. Other motion can be embraced though as well.
The Kinhin process is linked to our breathing, part of each step, yet found between our steps too... The Kinhin experience is an awareness of body, joined in movement. The gentle focus upon position of our head, shoulders, hands, the transfer of weight, our balance & center, all step by measured step...
This is contemplative motion.
A single step, then another, each step, by step, within a further step...
Our mind, core, legs, feet, and then the earth, all joined, blending, while looking down, yet ahead as well. Feeling like yet another kind of ephemeral trail dancing.
Being within Kinhin requires only a gentle focus of sorts at first. But the goaless goal is simply to do it, be it, without over thinking, thus creating the eventual meditative movement within each moment.
If our mind wanders, or the vistas attract us, or a conversation engages us, then we eventually just return to the meditations, the movement, the motion...
We adventurers are usually quite mindful about all the kinds of terrain within our perceptions out there, as it is important often for safety, and also fun to do so.
Yet the Kinhin quieting is another level to our awareness out within the wild places. As we hike, drift in our kayak, in the midst of our climbing, all blending elemental rhythms of self, earth, air, waters, and the energy all about and within us... DSD

"Of Serenity..."

"Serenity does not cancel hope or adventure, work, or love... It flows through the landscape... quiet and strong, clear and gentle. Refreshing all we do or dream...".
Patrick Brown
Serenity, contentment, peace... What gifts we discover as we far adventure... DSD

"You May Surprise Yourself..."

Way back when, in the midst of a beginner's uncertainty, among some of those natural initial doubts, our Outward Bound Instructor quietly said: "You may surprise yourself...".
In later years, on a technical route I was sure was way beyond my skill set, an older Mountain Guide mentor rightly said too: "You're going to surprise yourself...".
Well, after so many long years, and even longer adventure seasons, I have come to accept the meaningful wisdom and distinct truth in those quietly supportive & encouraging comments.
We never really know, if we don't go. We never truly see, if we don't push past. We never really realize, if we don't test it all out.
As adventurers we seek the unexpected, have trekked for the unknown, and are excited by the unusual. As wanderers we have also sought out the surreal, quested for the mysteries, looking to be captured by the many endless wonders out there.
So why does it surprise us when we find as many similarly elusive elements within - deep inside our hearts, minds, and spirit...
Contrary to what we first assume, a significant 180 degrees to our expectations, we just may surprise ourselves time and again as we adventure further and higher, as we wander farther and then discover there was always more within than we ever first realized...
What gifts that Outward Bound Instructor and that older Mountain guide passed forward to me, that I still find myself remembering again today. I will very likely surprise myself yet once more. As you will surely do as well Dear Friends, out upon your very next journey..... DSD

"Always Gazing Into Canyons..."

"It was in the sublime depths of this stony domain that ancient canyon dwellers, explorers, surveyors, and river runners helped define the modern concept of canyoneering. And it was from this canyon realm that I gleaned lessons and perspectives...".  J. Annerino

Gazing, always gazing, forward towards further, forever moments, out among those endless canyons... DSD

"Forsaking Soreness..."

There are always subtle choices to be made when adventuring out there... In the ways and means we each choose for our own paths. Especially knowing all the while we will need to forsake soreness.
We press past our perceived physical limitations so many times.
When mountaineering, hiking, and paddling, we deny the discomforts and refuse to give in to whatever pain is often present.
Being tired and sore is a price of admission we have each committed to pay, as we break away from whatever soreness used to mean to us. When preparing and training, we already know that it not just about pain & gain, but respectfully, purposefully, guiding ourselves past those prior points of reference.
As many have mused before, and as I have always held closely to, we would rather be worn out than not have gone, and soreness simply tells us we are chipping away at the rust of it all...
While forsaking such soreness, we do not withdraw our enthusiasm, nor renounce our intentions - we simply refuse to allow such fatigue and physical discomfort to make us abandon our chosen adventure objectives. We will not desert our goals for wandering out there.
We have broken away from more commonly held notions, because we know in our hearts that the toll & price of the pain of regret is much higher than the costs of our efforts. For if we relinquish what is truly important to us, if we give up on what is distinctly meaningful for each of us - then we have forsaken so much more than soreness..... DSD
Dedicated to all those who keep going, putting one foot in front of the other...

"Within..."

"Hiking is a conversation with the earth... Heading out doors eventually leads you within...".  Kathy & Craig Copeland

"Quid Pro Quo..."

What is our own 'Adventure Quid Pro Quo' we sometimes wonder...
What are we willing to give up to get. What is our equation of 'this for that', our own 'what for what', our exchanges of effort, of transactions reflecting value or worth.
This seems to be a key theme many times out there: the worth of these experiences for each of us adventurers; the meanings within it all...
Are the efforts worth it? Is all that training a price we are prepared to pay? Is the endurance & sweat and the endless preparation going to be exchanged for an object of value to us? All of that study, practice, need for coordinating ourselves & others - is all of that equity going to transition into something worth its' weight in...
The time especially might be a crucial measurement in our accounting, as is the possibility of injury, setbacks, and risk.
Are these worth it all?
Is the Quid Pro Quo of these fundamental elements going to match the meaning, the importance, the significance of the journey for us?
Absolutely my Friends.
For we most certainly always create an internal value, a dearness, a lasting utility, and a goodness - reflecting the virtues of our adventures and the essential meanings they hold out for us.
There will never be a more equitable Quid Pro Quo..... DSD
Dedicated to all those who are Adventuring For Another Reason this early wandering season.

"When Learning To Linger..."

A long ways back, after often finding myself the last one up, I slowly began learning of the wonderful moments to be discovered in also being the last one off, or the last one down, even the last one to launch depending on the kind of adventure day.
Here was the experience, the natural lessons, when learning to linger out there...
Like within those special minutes when we put off the departure of our sea kayaks from finally leaving those secluded distant coastal islands.
Many of us also want to drag out those cherished moments upon an elusive summit, as so much has been given to get us up there.
The protracted time in a desert canyon becomes precious beyond words too, so we stay as long as we can amidst the eternities present there.
It all seems so natural. We can't wait to get out there, and are also then reluctant to come back. Kind of as I find myself moving even more slowly at the end of an adventure day, not only because of my age and an earned tiredness, but much more so as I don't want to leave that wild place just yet...
I want to grasp, and embrace more closely, all the lingering perceptions and emotions that have been gifted to us on our journeys.
For such determined, disciplined, and goal oriented adventurers that we all can be at times - there is such a positive tardiness we can also practice too. We are so wonderfully, naturally, paradoxical at times aren't we my Friends..... DSD
Thank you once more for sharing your timeless images my Friends.
Dedicated this adventure day to all those who are Adventuring For Another Reason this season.

"Mixing In - A Forever Changing Process..."

When not out wandering this winter, and also for a special occasion this upcoming March, I have been continuing with this forever changing, always evolving process of 'Mixing In' as I paint these little Summit Stones.
For years now, and ever since the beginning, this unfolding process of ancient artistry keeps me focused, amazed, and so very intrigued as well. Within each adventure experience I find myself not only gathering up a few selected touchstones, but now as often especially chosen elements from far out there. Then into these small nalgene containers & bottles they rest.
This is not really a well known style of artistry, yet still a timeless tradition, that only some artists seem to blend in with their kind of painting. It has its' own unusual discipline, and with the over 200 colors of paints I am able to apply in this style of Naive Artistry , the results are simply wonderful.
Certain elements like small drops of glacier melt, or from ocean waves, often pure rain from storms, even tears of the deepest desert moisture, from snow & ice too, and the northern lakes, mountain streams & tarns I so enjoy - all mix in really well with these bright colors before painting.
Other elements like crystals of desert & coastal island sands, finely crumbled leaves & pine needles, tiny particles of ash & charcoal from campfires, or bits of shell too - need to be gently prepared, then slowly mixed in during different stages and with each layer of paint.
There is such a Mystery & Magic to this ever evolving process...
Later, when the right time and image presents itself on the face of these revealing Summit Stones, the very tiniest strand of a wild ones fur, like that from a Bear's rub tree, a Grey Wolf tuft I excitedly discovered, of from near a Beaver's dam - can be snipped so small, then deliberately and gently mixed in within the swirls of newly placed paint.
Later too, often when almost finished painting, and when the right time and symbolism presents itself, I have mixed in the very smallest section of a Loon's, a Raven's, or other bird's feather.
Then too, the powder from bark of a tree or driftwood, alpine flowers dried by endless winds, and the ancient dust from so many summits themselves are blended in.
In recent years I have sought out high ridgelines, and other such exposed areas, where at times the remnants of a lightning strike may be found. A little scrape of that rock provides yet another truly unique element for the paints' layers and thickness.
This little Summit Stone endeavour has always been about giving back & passing forward. Hopefully too it invites a few smiles from Finders of them, and Partners In Placing as well. Raising a little awareness along the way for all of the amazing Fellow Adventurers here, who Adventure For Another Reason is key to this journey. If my little renditions of Naive Artistry and 'Mixing In' within the images of the sky, mountains, forests, waters, campfires, flowers, beaches, and rocks of your discovered touchstone have invited these kinds of gratefulness - it's all good...
As another approach or technique is developed, a further element included, the more involved the process becomes. Which means I complete fewer Summit Stones each year. But as well, with each new element that is discovered, each new paint to be tried, this process changes yet again in ways I usually never expected. This affirms for me yet once more, how there is always more within than we ever first realize. An Outward Bound Metaphor that continues to echo out for us all...
Thus, hopefully, symbolically, all of the elements we each love are reflected upon and come alive among the slowly applied layers and swirls within every one of these little Summit Stones.
Then, like the stones in the image above, hopefully too they provide some moments where a Partner In Placing and an eventual Finder are gifted with a Hmmm Moment , like Jeff wrote so eloquently about.
A continually changing, always evolving process, much like the forever unfolding moments within our adventures as well, that I am so happy to share with all of you Dear Friends..... DSD

"No Watch... No Worries..."

What an interesting construct we have invented in the concept of time, especially when it reflects moments from far out there...
For those who journey the wild places, we mark such passings in so many intriguing ways. Time to get there, when to return, available time to wander, time up, down, across, then over. Time to rest and get up. Time as safety, a personal best time, the pace of it all, even being present among the moments...
We watch the sun, the shadows, the traverse of the moon phases, the seasons, winds, freezings & meltings, our energy, then our aging too...
Sometimes things seem to speed up, other times many things slow down nicely as well, or do they, or do we...
On occasion, halfway through an adventure experience, when the battery of my watch is done with all its work, I have often been concerned. Then many times I simply let go of that sense of having to be on time.
Rather, as on a past Outward Bound course, when we turned all of our watches in, it becomes more about intentionally losing oneself within each and every moment, and becoming a part of the natural passage of things.
Then the moments are marked in very different ways. Like when our Outward Bound Leader said, "No watch, no worries". Now we get closer to the elements, and maybe even with the rest of our wild family out there, and we develop a more evolved natural sense of this thing we refer to as time.
Then, my Dear Friends, then, we have the time of our lives..... DSD

"Of Meaningful Connections With Our Wild Animal Friends..."

Remember, the last time you heard an eagle's voice. Those who have also heard the longing calls of a loon out over a northern lake know how moving this is as well. We who have listened intently to the haunting music grey wolves create in our forests and mountains, have felt so much within those meaningful moments too. When sea kayaking out near grey whales, or nearby orca's, these momentous experiences become unforgettable memories.
Who has stumbled upon the tracks of a wild animal, like a mountain ram, or those of a grizzly bear out among the high peaks, and has not known the wonder, the tingling, the impelling attention such a discovery invites within us all...
When we ponder the distinct significance of these moments, as we muse over the importance and symbolism within these lasting connections, we then discover such amazing meanings ...
We are all seeking so many things out there. Something reflecting our personal purpose, our individual insights, our own unique motives, These are enduring perceptions that affirm what is most moving for each of us.
It truly can be those ephemeral connections with the wild ones, our wild animal friends, that present exactly that kind of wonderful possibility.
Then, when we share something of our intentions and commitments with them in turn, we begin to understand our most inner selves as well..... DSD

"Any Glimpse..."

"Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way...". John Muir

Just pondering some quotes and gifted images from other adventurers, while I am 'Mixing In' some fine strands and bits of the wild ones fur discovered out wandering these many last seasons. They are often the last elements mixed in with my paints upon these little Summit Stones. I always hope they add to the character of each and feel they tell a story all of their own too. Muir's musing really says it all doesn't it my Friends..... DSD

"Time To Wake Up..."

 

 

Maybe the first time I heard this on Outward Bound, I was tired and a bit grouchy, but now years later these words echo out with so many more memories and meanings...
Our Outward Bound leaders said it only a few times to us, then expected us to do so for one another. Responsibility and owning the moments were a big part of the lessons back then. These same Outward Bound mentors said this too when it was now time to concentrate, to really focus, and to be vigilant as we climbed and crossed over those high mountains. They quietly stated this as well when we struggled with our attitudes & beliefs about the adversities we were facing, and how they inspired us to forever find more within than we ever first realized...
Those many other Mountain & Sea Kayak Guides who I am also very grateful for, said this too in so many ways, as they shared and mentored those essential skills and elemental perceptions for being safe and sure of ourselves out there.
"Time to wake up...".
An informed, centered, quietly yet lively expression for learning.
These words have also taken on such meaning, as a mantra from my teachers who gently taught us about meditation. Then invited and challenged me in particular to practice this while I was actually out wandering the wild places.
We each awaken in our own ways out there don't we my Friends. As when below the stars, or gazing up too towards the rainbows following us. We eventually see what we did not before, amidst all the storms and up among our summits. We become more sentiently inspired and aware, like about the wild ones and their vulnerable lives.
Then everything from the crux's, the solo's, to the winds and waves, the edges and efforts, from resting under our tarps & tents - all become possibilities. Also to the canyons, mountains, coastlines, and northern lakes - which all invite us to awaken and further perceive & understand, to now distinguish and truly begin to know...
Even when I notice I've felt like my adventure day did not go as expected, usually due to health complications, then it also a time for waking up and being aware of the whole journey. Because difficulties are relative, and endurance can be more than fitness - as each and every one of the links under my 'Giving Back & Passing Forward' section courageously show us time and time again. They give name to what it means to be mindful of what is really important within it all...
"Time to wake up...", echoes out those beautifully attentive meanings.
"Take notice", quietly says the wild places. "Let ourselves see...", then invites our adventures.
Such an important yet subtle message.
When we do become even a bit more awake, and we are also no longer 'sleeping' in those ways, then we seek further edges, the challenges are so full of fun, the journeys are farther freedoms, the trails will all surely lead towards connection, and our attention can be seen in our shared smiles and epiphanies.
Time to awaken, an echo long ago from Outward Bound, now a readiness to carry on..... DSD

My appreciation again Dear Friends for sharing your images with us all.

"From Where We Started..."

"We shall not cease from exploration, and at the end of all exploring, will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time...". T.S. Eliot
On Outward Bound, on these many adventures, over all these long wonderfully full years, we share in learning more regarding what the mountains, the forests, the oceans, and the canyons are all really about...
On Outward Bound, through such adventures, over these endlessly amazing seasons, we then share in the knowledge too about who we are truly becoming as we are out wandering...
For we learn so much about all of what is out there.
Then we discover as well that there is so much more within than ever first realized.
For as Henry miller wrote too: "Our destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things...".
From gazing back upon where we each started .
Look at where we are now..... DSD

Dedicated to all those about to undertake their first Outward Bound course this year.

"Sharing Your Wonderful Inspiring Images..."

Thank you once more my Friends for allowing your wonderful inspiring images to be shared here!
My intention with including such images & pictures of beauty and awe, is in support of all the links on my blog under 'Giving Back & Passing Forward'. There will never be anything commercial about these musings.
I have always acknowledged that the vast majority of the images shared here were not created by me, as I am not talented in that way. Many have been suggestions provided by fellow adventurers, so I am unable at times to give specific acknowledgements unfortunately. If I can do this it will always occur as best I can right when such images are posted. I will also certainly acknowledge others work if you let me know, and then I will attribute creative efforts where they clearly belong.
It is with deep appreciation that your sharing images in this way is felt in support of those who are Adventuring For Another Reason . My whole adventure blog speaks to these initiatives.
You have such amazing pictures and metaphors within them, reflecting these links who give back and pass forward with their ongoing enduring efforts.
Please accept my sincere gratitude for your sharing and understanding in allowing for such support of them.
Thank you all so very, very much! DSD

"This Old Weathered List....."

 

 

"Fortunately, more distant summits are always being discovered... Man throws a stone - his desire - into the unknown, then throws himself in pursuit." T. Cesen
Here is this weathered list I see before me. This very old weathered list. Just some scribblings on worn paper, but a precious thing it has become...
The ideas started long ago, even before my Outward Bound experiences. Sparks of thought, notes from being inspired, longings I was yet to really even understand.
This old well worn weathered list. But still does it always engage me. Especially when a new year dawns and during the beginnings of each kind of adventure season. Every spring too does it seem to call gently, yet invitingly and persistently as well. It almost feels at times too, that this old weathered list, has been like another kind of map and compass. Always there for navigation, for setting course, to keep oneself on track.
This weathered, folded, even a bit torn old list. It has aged, evolved, and shows the wear much as we all do. From objectives, to totals, check marks, and completions. Now it is changing once again more to an endearing tally.
This long old weathered list. Seemingly, wonderfully, amazingly endless. A never completed process it is. So happy am I that this is so. For a list like this is as much an adventure journey as our actual wanderings out among the wild places...
This old, composed, weathered list. I hold it in my hand, but it really has been what has supported me. Always full of hope, inspiration and wonder, enjoyment and awe, and endless enduring forever possible moments. For as J.B. MacKinnon wrote too: "A life list is, in the end, nothing more than a tool to look back on our lives and consider how we spent our brief moments on earth. And what if, in those final breaths, you realize - I never gave anything back...".
An old parchment of sorts is this listing. It has charted what was wanted from out there. Then pointed gently to so much more than was ever first realized from within ourselves here..... DSD

"Of Bearings..."

"We all have our own inner compass... The bearings are such that we can only read our own...".  Anon
An old compass, my even older weathered list, a new map, and now to follow the inspiration... DSD

"We All Start Low..."

To have those people in our lives is so profoundly special. Our mountain Mentors, wild place Guides, and heroes too - whose experience, enthusiasm, wisdom, and perceptions become such examples for possible wonders for us to reach out and up for...
Yet, just as often, I am reminded that even with all their adventure achievements and heights attained, our wild place Mentors all started their outdoor lives on the valley floor as well. They all started their climbs towards personal goals as low as we each have.
Those we admire had humble beginnings much like ours.
We aspire to be so like them, and we are in many ways, because we all began down here. We all have shared in those lower levels of inexperience, and within the challenges of being a novice as well.
We are more alike than not.
We share in so much more than we ever may first realize.
They have gone so very far, been up so amazingly high, went for such long enduring distances too. And now they knowingly look back, and wonderfully encourage us on, as we set out on our own courses and bearings...
More is being shared here than the summits of our own adventure experiences.
To keep on going together in order to attain such meaningful wild place experiences, it can be important to gently realize, that we all start low..... DSD

"This Is What They Mean....."

"It was the emptiness... The vast, quiet solitude that caught and held me.
I thought: This is what they mean by wilderness.
The word took on a new dimension...". Colin Fletcher

We all still very much miss you Colin.
Every new dawning year, I look over your many books, and am so inspired yet again. Thank you Old Friend..... DSD

"Stand Out Like Stone..."

"Life is mostly froth and bubble.
Two things stand out like stone.
Kindness in another's troubles.
Courage in your own..."  A. Lindsay

Lindsay's new years poem rings out true for us all... DSD

"In The Quieter Moments....."

Of course, there is the endless wonder among the summits, the thrills of the rafting, the intensity of lowering into those deep canyons, the anticipation of beaching our kayaks on an untouched coastal island. Countless special times of exhilaration, and excitement; so crystalline and amazing in their intensity and memory. Of course, they are very much a major 'why we do what we do' in our wild place adventures...
Yet, we very much know, we feel deeply too, that when we pause in between such wonderful stimulus and our euphoric responses, when we linger among those subtle quieter moments - that we just as often touch upon other elements within our longings, and for why these experiences call out to us...
These are the softer seconds, those more gentle moments of rest and repose, like when after our summit has been achieved, and we simply sit quietly within our elation, then surprisingly find that we may have tears too upon our smiling faces...
There are those slow pleasurable peaceful times, among the eddies of a river, even as the waters continue their fast journey, where we find a stillness among all this motion, and sense something else profoundly there too...
These are the moments within the calm we feel after the adrenalin has passed, once that cliff face has been climbed, and while our muscles and mental focus are still so resonating from all the energy and excitement. We notice an unruffled peace of mind there as well, even while still on the very edge of it all...
There is a deep tranquility that we touch then too as our sea kayak begins to slow , just before we beach, at the end of a very long day of wind & big waves, and endless paddling - finally, so finally, on that secluded coastal island, so far it seems from everything else...
These are our motionless moments out there. Among whatever trails and paths we have chosen, as we realize we are free from so much, and more free to do and feel and experience and then to know so much more, even without trying so hard...
Then there is that very special silence, of the deepest undisturbed desert canyon, or after those wild summer storms, or in the middle of a truly crisp cold winter night, or after the stirred ocean settles, or atop the apex of the peak of our most elusive summit. A silence that is so compelling, so very embracing, that it quietly, softly, speaks a language of its own to our heart, our spirit, our very being...
There is also the soothing sensation when resting in our sleeping bag, within the shelter of a tent, among the gear we each have carried, knowing the modest comfort of managing this small world we each have chosen to journey in...
There are the moments after the rainstorm and thunder, after so many days out on a long distance trek, on that last bit just before the trailhead, when the breeze of a quiet wind caresses our own and our partners faces - and when we share a smile much later across the warmth of a campfire...
So many beautiful, subtle sensations of quiet moments and memory.
So many eternal seconds of soothing stillness.
Patiently, quietly, awaiting for our return.
A very happy new year to you all my Friends..... DSD

"We All Have Them Within Our Dreams..."

We all have blue mountains within our dreams, and distant endearing islands too,
Hidden wild places we very much hope to see, with so many possibilities awaiting there...
We all have blue high mountains within our dreams, and hidden islands too,
Elusive experiences we simply call adventures, our personal journeys of effort, mind, and spirit...
We all have blue stormy mountains within our dreams, and misty islands too,
Such ephemeral memories that are yet to be, true paths and trails we are each destined to share...
We all have countless blue mountains within our dreams, and endless islands too,
Always echoing from our ancient selves, while we forever seek such horizons to this very day... DSD
Composed during a long winters day adventure.
A bit tired and sore I will be later.
Yet many smiles amidst the snow storm were found.
While composing simple new years poetry we all may share.
Journeys out there are always like this.
Inherently more than only challenge and adversity.
For our wanderings always take us farther.
Then we ever first really understand.
Dedicated to your new years dreamings my Friends..... DSD

"Our New Years Odyssey..."

"Make this tale live for us in all its many bearings, O Muse...".  Homer's Odyssey
So many bearings for us to ponder,
New directions to envision so,
To dream, to muse, to wonder, then wander,
Here's to our new year adventures Dear Friends..... DSD

"Say It Is Thus..."

"Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead... But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me...".  Ebeneezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol".
Time for celebration and enjoyment,
Moments of such connection and remembrance,
Then out upon courses we all hope to set,
So renewed in our enthusiasm and commitment.
Happy holidays to you all my Friends!  DSD

"Echoes Of Our Inner Selves..."

Very deep down, I think we all sense, that we 'hear' many things more closely out in the wild places. We often discover ourselves listening for them on our journeys, actively seeking out these messages within our quests, even surprised by their quiet unexpected whispers so many times as well. But I think as adventurers, we all truly sense them being as much a part of the experience out there as any other element.
The wild places inherently, naturally, resonate with such echoes, especially those personified reflections of our inner selves...
Our adventure experiences echo as answers to our questions, assents of that which is most important for each of us, close invitations of the way we hope things can be, and representations of the adventurers we want to become...
Echoes among echoes, resonating from within our efforts and dreams, revealing why we do what we do out there and the significance this has for our lives.
In those canyons we first heard words, but now know meanings.
On those distant coastal islands, we began to truly understand the echoes of what at first we only see.
The resounding experiences upon mountain summits provides endless vistas of perception and echoes of messages never to be forgotten.
Our northern lakes quietly, calmly, release their secrets too, as we listen for the echoes of our loons and their longings for the connections we all seek.
So, let's all take some slow precious moments this season Dear Friends, and listen a little more gently and closely out there, for those quiet but sure echoes, reflecting from our inner adventure selves too..... DSD 

"Struck By Lightning But No Storm..."

"I have had the world lie beneath my clumsy boots and have seen the red sun slip over the horizon after the dark Antarctic winter. I have been given more than my share of excitement, beauty, laughter and friendship...". Sir Edmund Hillary
When we climb on further, as we then attain such altitude, in those long moments along the way, and then finally up there among the ancient rock, maybe snow and ice, clouds and winds, of our chosen summit - we can be struck by so many things, even when no passing storm is present...
It doesn't matter at this point how hard it was, or what efforts and endurance were asked of us. We have paid the price and often see how inconsequential this is now. For we would do it all over again, because of those meanings are worth every step.
In these forever moments too other things of significance hit home as well. Those insights, those epiphanies, that awareness, which takes us beyond ourselves and the vistas before us.
Within those lasting seconds, in however we each define this, the inexpressible now becomes illuminated, the physical is now transcended.
Such philosophical time up at altitude within our adventures is indeed so very striking...
We begin to truly realize how lucky we are to have a body, a mind, the ability, will and spirit, which takes us upon such wild place experiences.
We have all felt that depth of appreciation when at such heights of emotion.
Then to remember those connections for those present with us, those who have gone before, and even those yet to come. Now we too, are of that family, whom the mountains' embrace...
There is indeed an elevating hopefulness and thankful gratitude that at times surpasses explanation up there. For suddenly, surely, completely, these heartfelt moments take us away and we stand in awe and wonder, as if struck by lightning, yet with no storm passing..... DSD

"The Giver Should Be Thankful..."

"It is written even still... that the giver should be thankful; only then is it a sharing... Somebody accepted you through your gift...".  Osho
"In becoming a giver... we establish an affinity with all creatures in the world...".  Dogen
My sincere gratitude to you all Dear Finders, and Partners In Placing , for your having allowed me to gift you with a small Summit Stone..... DSD

"The Trail Always Meets Us Where We Are At..."

This is true, regardless of wherever on our maps we begin, or whenever we finally set out on those paths. However we start, full of anticipations & excitement, possibly a touch of doubt or anxiousness, maybe even wanting to leave behind some of the distractions from back here, and surely seeking out fun & freedoms out there.
Wherever, whenever, however - the trail always meets us right exactly where we are at...
This is not only a profoundly simple metaphor we mused over back on Outward Bound, nor only some kind of symbolism we have pondered over longer years since. For whatever adventures we choose to embark upon, we each can always be assured of the endlessly hospitable invitations of the wild places. These are our very own quiet accepting callings from far away...
The consistent greetings from the wind are always there. The embracements of both sun and moon forever present. The close connections around our campfires are truly lasting. Then there are the welcoming affections from the waters, the stone itself, and from all the elements then blending together.
The reception we are given, the genuine greetings always made, are the ways wherein the wild places truly make us feel at peace and at home out there...
What initially may only seem like terrain under our boots, becomes depths of emotion and such lasting memories, reflecting the experiences of every unfolding step thereafter.
Oh, the trail does indeed always meet us just exactly where we are at, and forever gladly received do we then forever feel..... DSD

"Breathe......."

I was reminded recently by Andra about taking moments to quiet oneself, and to remember to breathe... Our breath is both means and an end, a way for centering so that we may then embrace many meanings. Here is a favorite poem my Friends, for you to breathe in and enjoy this adventure day, from Deng Ming-Dao...
"You breathe,
Frosting mountains white,
Exciting trees to verdant flame,
Dancing sparrows on your wing,
Swirling waves into long sighs,
You breathe,
And all things live...".
Remember to breathe..... DSD

"As We So Journey....."

Countless dreams, endless visions, like eternally polished stones,
As we so journey, very far away, we then discover home...
Hand worn wooden staff and paddle,
Ancient trails of rock and water,
Along paths of such immense beauty, enduring memories then to share...
Elusive summits, among open valleys,
Overlooking deep canyons, at first so very hidden,
Islands of wonder, wild rivers and oceans,
Seeking the whole mystery, becoming even quieter still...
We are able to discover, so much eternal wonder,
While musing and pondering, lingering and wandering,
Seeing with new eyes, within our many adventurous ways...
Finding such connections, along our shared paths,
As we so long journey,
We will surely then discover home..... DSD

Dedicated this early holiday season to all you Fellow Wanderers, who are out still 'Adventuring For Another Reason'. 

"Elemental Fog & Mist....."

The mist and fog we journey through is a special nexus of elements. Where air and moisture mix and blend, to create something so much more. We adventurer's so love the grand vistas out in the wild places, yet when they become gently misted and slowly blurred over, when the fog quietly rolls in with its surreal opaqueness, we seem to enjoy it all the better.
We each remember our own adventures, like drifting far in a sea kayak, then resting while listening for the breaking surf, as the fog rolls over both you and your vessel, blanketing everything in such soothing calm and yet building anticipations...
We recall as well, the settling thick mists and very dense fog among deep low forested valleys, where the shifting of these elements eventually hides everything - except the rock of that singularly elusive mountain we are climbing upon in those exact moments...
Finally, then standing upon your own 'island peak', set out higher than the misted sea of summits encompassing it and you. This is a truly unique adventure experience...
We remember too, the distinct stillness of those foggy northern lakes, and then the quieting of everything else, including our own heartbeat and minds, so that in the midst of such diminished views everything becomes so clear...
Simply air and moisture, then just the right temperature, all blending, melding, and mixing into a sentient element that embraces us, and then always whispers to each of us too as we wander far out there..... DSD

Our appreciation my Friends for sharing your images above.

"In The Clip Of A Carabiner..."

There are certain sounds out there that so clearly resonate with each of us. Certain things we so enjoy to hear, some we especially listen for, others we then sense as well. Like as with the sound of a friends voice and the encouragement that is always subtly there. Many others are both unique and also very special - as with the wind itself, powerful thunder, the welcoming crackle of a campfire, the crunch of a snowshoe upon a new crust, the swish of a paddle, endless movement of waves, the creak of our pack, among countless other soundings among our wild adventures.
Many seem simple, yet can carry such profound meanings of challenges, close familiarity, and symbolism of potential and promise.
In the clip of a carabiner for example, I have heard, learned, been inspired, and remember now so much...
There has been the excitement and assurance of trust & expectations. The intense feelings of anticipation within such sensations just before a climb. Within the clip of a carabiner are both beginnings and endings, among smiles and loud voices calling out to each other in excitement and then completion.
Long after an Outward Bound Instructor first clipped me in before top roping on a first rock face, to now clipping myself and others into such wonderfully joined adventures, the memories continue to unfold... Journeys meaning so much, all reflected in a seemingly simple sound. A noise like no other for those of us who climb, kayak, or cave.
Even after these long decades, I do so love that very unique sound, of the clip of a carabiner. It inspires me still. It reminds me of what is waiting out there for all of us. That simply powerfully resonating sound within the clip of a carabiner..... DSD

"Hmmm......."

Recently, Jeff Clark of the wonderful hiking adventure site Meanderthals commented on my post "The Metaphor Within 'Mixing In'..." , and said musingly, "D, "mixing in" is one of my favorite things about the summit stones. The mystery enables the mind to wander just as our feet do. With each little rub on a stone, there is wonder; wonder about that little tiny bump, wonder about its derivation, wonder about its history. I have found myself more than once sitting on a craggy summit, rolling a summit stone in my hand, and simply saying, "hmmm."
I am very grateful for Jeff's insights and intuition about this endeavour and the meanings within it. His comment about the 'mystery' in particular echo with the 'why' behind it all... For that is exactly what I always hope for, that 'Hmmm...' moment. Where it just might spark someone to ponder why someone does this kind of thing, why they might be inspired to pass a little rock forward so. Then maybe, just maybe, another fellow wanderer might then give back something in their own way, on a journey of their own making.
As I first learned on Outward Bound so many years ago, there is always 'more within' than we ever first realize.
Maybe, within such a 'Hmmm...' moment, a fellow adventurer will discover this...
DSD

My gratitude to Jeff for passing forward some smiles, and for both his image of his Summit Stones and the comment above.