"Go Where The Energy Is..."

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

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

"A Normal Part Of..."

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

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

"Beyond....."

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

Thanks S.B. for sharing these images.

"Upon A Summit By Oneself..."

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

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

"Adventure Aspirations..."

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

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

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Dear Friends... DSD

Thanks Grant for the inspiring image.

"A Silken Summit..."

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

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

"Mount Miles & Krowicki Peak..."

"Mountain summits are small places with large symbolic potential... The sublimity of mountain climbing manifests itself in two ways: as an environment to be experienced and as a medium for self-expression." R. Mitchell

Please have a visit today Dear Friends, on our fellow adventurer Andrew Nugara's site linked below. It is the story of the climbs and the naming of Mount Miles & Krowicki Peak. Andrew was 'Adventuring for Another Reason', for his best buddy Miles... He took the images above and wrote that, "I have come to respect and admire Miles in ways I cannot effectively put into words so I will refrain from trying and offer this tribute in place of." His ascents and naming of these two peaks speaks many volumes... DSD

"Listen... Listen to the songs of the mountains, the songs of the forests and the river... Then listen more closely, for you may see that it is you that has been singing." Grandfather, Mountain Elder

http://www.freewebtown.com/anugara/miles.html

"How Far....."

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go...". TS Eliot

Oh, the relative nature of it all within adventures; the inherent individuality this reflects. Our own choices, our own risks. Our personal distances, our internal heights and depths. How far we ask ourselves - yet once again, we don't know, of we don't go... DSD

Dedicated to those WCT hardy adventurers who wandered this amazing trail this past season. Especially those who 'Adventured For Another Reason...'.

Appreciate the image my Friends.

"To Beach Scribe..."

Hiking on such secluded beaches, writing so many ponderings in the sand. Words about wild places we have experienced, notes for ourselves about being here, and then where we now want to journey... Stories in the sand of who it is we each want to become in those moments. All ways to beach scribe, to journal in such a wonderful way... Another means for envisioning our adventures, while gazing out upon both the waves and such sandy musings in time. Now while standing very still, and looking out over oceans of dreams and desires, seeing our scribblings once more in the sand, being caressed and moved by the winds gentle breezes. These ephemeral ponderings become hopes for our wanderings yet to come. Now we are listening more closely, to the murmurs of the waves, for they also respond to our words and their echoes. Long coastal beach hiking adventures, with sandy words that now become paths and trails, they speak aloud of the potential and promises we feel, so very deep in our hearts out there..... DSD

"Strange, Complex, Inexplicable..."

"Songs, poems, literature, walking in the woods,evoke certain feelings...Sometimes they are strange, complex, inexplicable... often beyond comprehension." J. Masson

As adventurers we often touch upon the many connections between the wild places and the subtle poetry of it all. We have all experienced those moments of nexus, those trailheads and crossing points, that blending of feelings and knowings, from our wanderings deep within nature... Strange, yet so engaging they are. Complex, but so full of clarity they become. Inexplicable, yet so much a part of it all, and of us, as to feel that we have found something again that was never really lost... Only beyond comprehension until we recognize our ancient selves out there and what may be possible too... Then these elusive nexus become real, now a part of us again, and this potent inspiration transforms into motion and action, as we move forward, upward, onward, and even more inward... For a sense of this today, for a feeling of such poetry in motion, for some visual music of potential and wonder - take a few moments and enjoy under the 'Inspiration Link' section to the right: "Ueli Steck Going Home". The motivation and music there stirs the blood, brings a sense of wonder, and maybe even a tear to our eye as a fellow adventurer shares with us even more about what is inexplicably possible..... DSD

My appreciation to our fellow far place wanderers for the above images.

"Pathways Home..."

Pathways of wonder and feelings, trails of beauty and stone... Canyons and rivers made up of dreams, mountains and forests composed of emotions... Stairways to such mystery and wonder, pathways of feelings to wander... All going home... DSD
Composed while paddling my sea kayak, heading back from a special wild place, leaving 'home' to return home once more... This was such a wonderful adventure, amidst a season of challenges out there, and for dedications as well for those who 'Adventure for Another Reason'...
My gratitude for the above image from some wonderful water people who also so enjoy their own distant island longings...

"Distant Island Longings..."

Have we not all gazed longingly... At a mountain summit, a very deep canyon, or especially at a distant coastal island... With all the wonderings and wantings that go along with that. There was a time when such longings over some select islands were very powerful for me. I had viewed these deserted distant islands from a shoreline, during channel crossings, even by air photos, and out on other paddle trips - but had not yet ventured out to visit and touch them... They seemed just beyond my reach back then, a bit further than my skills and preparations would take me. The winds out in that particular wild place can have a mind to take anyone way off course, or even to risk much more than one might have intended when launching out. I so much wanted to belong as one of those adventurers who had journeyed among those distant islands, shared in their secrets, enjoying their sunsets and campfires. I remember a mentor saying in his quiet voice that to really belong to something, you needed to find a way to 'be your longings'... This musing has evolved to mean many things and holds certain powerful truths deep within it... It allowed me to create the ways to eventually, finally, paddle through and wander over those elusive islands. Is there a distant island, possibly an elusive summit, maybe a dark and deep canyon, that has captured your own muse my Friends... Time to create the ways to 'be your own longings' Dear Finders... And time for me to head out paddling once more as well... DSD

Thank you David.......

"The Deepest Breaths..."

The deepest breaths, in these moments, produce crystal memories of such meaning. The gasps and smiles, quite full of mystery, so much beauty for us to ponder. The deepest breaths, held the longest when, we find ourselves, among such wonders... Such deep breathing, when we push so hard, to achieve adventure desires, among our elusive choices. The deepest of breaths, within those last summit steps, we experience intensely, and not just upon mountains... The endurance of passions, require the deepest of breaths, for wild journeys out there, then on paths as well back here... The very deepest of breaths, taking in all about us, inhaling in what we are, inspiring who we may become... DSD

Dedicated this season to those adventurers who have followed their dreams while 'Adventuring For Another Reason', both this last season, and for those about to step out now...

My gratitude to our wild place friends who captured the above images while on their own adventure journeys.

"Descending Thoughts..."

"When you come back down, you begin to think about what you did... Then you start to think: If I could do that, I can do anything. But if we had turned our backs at the bottom and never gone up, we would never have learned that lesson." J. Amatt

Ascent and descent, perceptions from both. Lessons from up there, gifts for ourselves, to bring back and share... DSD

Dedicated to those wonderful wanderers who have been 'Adventuring For Another Reason' this last summer season. My thanks to our high place friends for the above image as well.

"Confluence Within A Canyon..."

Canyoneering, canyoneering... A word we softly speak, so full of inspiration, anticipation, and excitement. The lowering, exploring, searching, , and peering into those desert depths of ancient rock and even older mysteries too... Such wonderful long days, such true challenges for us within this real yet surreal blending of desert elements. It was a time to unite again with close friends, to allow that joining with the sun and temperatures that was matching our enthusiasm, among a union of movement over, among, and between special stone. Canyoneering seems to very much be about flowing with what is there; in conforming to the nature of those countless twists and turns. Between sunrise and sunset, within the convergence of the elements with our musing and wonder - it was not lost upon us how such adventures as canyoneering out there, often mirrors our experiences as well when back here. Such amazing confluences, from deep within a lost desert canyon.....DSD

My appreciation to Fellow Canyon spirits, B. Hatcher for the top image above, and to B. Model for the lower image.

"Desert Dreaming..."

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets' towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs; where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you beyond the next turning of the canyon walls". E. Abbey

Jeff's last comment, of the Meanderthals Link here, reminded me of my very favorite quote this last week as we were wandering among the canyons while simply desert dreaming... The desert and our other wild places do indeed hold out many dreams out there for us, so my wish for you today Dear Finders, which reflects what Abbey wrote above so long ago, is let us then envision these dreams and then become them..... DSD

My sincere gratitude to our fellow desert wanderers, A. Cavalli for the upper image above, and to M. Newman for the lower image.

"Desert Sun... Desert Summits..."

We have made quite a number of southern journeys now to bask under the desert sun, to wander among the canyons, and to enjoy the desert summits too. There seems to be much geomancy out there especially during the glow of each time of the day... The colors of the rock evolve from red to cream, to greys and black, and yet it is amazing how each changes form depending upon sunrise & sunset, and even at high noon. There is an inconsistency in the rock that is so different; some allows a sense of sureness in scrambling, while others demand climbing with so close attention. I took a moment to reflect on our past experiences too within Joshua Tree as we hope to return there soon to that unique clime. I do so love the mirages that are created out there... The elements mix with our mind and we begin to see, even to become, more than what was before... It will never cease to amaze me about the differences and uniqueness of desert terrain; the actual feel of the rock; the variations in temperature - what a contrast to hiking and climbing in our Northern Rockies. The desert asks different things of us, in the way we move, what we need, the timings we choose, how a route is planned, among so many other spicy variations... This wild place's uniqueness allows us to seek out deep canyons, bike slickrock, climb upon ages old rock, and hike among the towers out there as well. That nature of variety itself in our adventures can be important for us... For when we discover new places and different experiences, then new ways of seeing and being in the wild places are created too... There exists such amazingly different combinations of the elements out in the desert: Moisture where you wouldn't expect it; the unique mix of dust, earth, and stone; the feel and reflections of the sun; the taste of the water; the heated air and how it moves in unexpected ways; and the the hidden surprises are many too... There were all those unknown tracks in the sand; unexpected vibrant green in deep canyons; dark openings into the earth that look never before travelled; and just a few small painted stones, appropriately placed gently on those desert summits with the registers created there so long before... We all need to embrace such diversity of adventure moments... Those that will leave us longing and dreaming of yet other days of desert sun... desert summits.....DSD

"Adventurum Mysterium....."

Musae, Movere, Ignis. Significatio, Elementi, Vita. Ignis, Ubi, Natura... Nine words of Latin. Written on some parchment. Found in an old register. Upon an elusive summit. It seems the interpretation though, is now up to each of us. Calculus... DSD

"Grey Wolf In A Storm..."

This phrase, has become very special for me. These words have evolved, as we all do, over the seasons through many long adventures, and among such amazing wild place experiences. The memories and meanings are so vivid... It is also a powerful metaphor to live by, I have been learning, this 'Grey Wolf In A Storm...'. Especially during times of trial and adversity... On that day, so very long ago, I could sense the approaching weather - the winds were building, gaining strength, and the clouds were moving faster, getting darker. Surely a storm was coming. Now I don't know a lot about the behaviour of wolves in such weather, but the wolf I glimpsed that day appeared in a way, to actually be purposefully pausing there, standing in some safety back among those trees. We seemed to both be looking out upon the coming storm. Maybe each deciding what to do to prepare and where we should ride this out. I'm sure this grey wolf knew I was there long before I realized its' presence, and we were quite a ways apart, yet I caught a glimpse of movement, and that silver grey fur that was a real contrast to the darker woods. What mystified me next was that we both then seemed to just settle in to weather this storm through. It didn't last but for a few hours, winds gusting, rain casting shadows in sheets through the air, clouds alternatingly covering the peaks as if they were trying to hide them away... I watched for that Grey One as often as I looked up at the storm. That wolf never moved, never seemed to flinch, never ran, even when the thunder was right over head. It simply waited it all out, with a patient and knowing strength of purpose. Maybe in it's own wisdom realizing, that this too shall pass... Therein is what has become my metaphor, therein were my meanings... Now when my health issues or other adversities, like a recent back injury while out climbing challenge me, over and over again like that storm did - I think of that 'Grey Wolf In A Storm', and I find and draw upon the energy of its presence from that day to weather it all out once again..... DSD

"Fortress Mountain Moments..."

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware." M. Buber

Fortress mountain is a spectacular peak hidden away in our Kananaskis, that guards its summit and secrets closely at times... While it is described as an easy scramble, as in many adventure experiences 'easy' does not always mean simple or straight forward. My moments out on this Fortress have evolved over a number of years and many long days upon it. While the mountain itself has stood fast and ready for those who would join with it, I needed a series of adventures up there before its' elusive summit was shared with me. Each trip had its own distinct trials, yet also very special and unique moments. I remember the first time out, among snow & sleet & wind, and leaving that cold clime with only an intense commitment to return. My second journey was during a time of injury that took away the speed and endurance needed to wander deep into that valley leading to Fortress Mountain, and the thousands of feet of rock to be covered. While the injury took away the energy, the spark of desire remained... Number three was not a charm but was still a gem. It became a special time out with a close friend; a col gained above a hidden tarn, and laughter ringing out among the close surrounding peaks, even when our summit that day was not attained. Another year passed, more seasons of patience, then a solo day out with no one else about at all, only sensations of covering a now well known approach, with feelings of tenacity and a deeper understanding of persistence, as well as affirming for myself once more that re-creation of one's own motivation for such elusive experiences has a value that resonates as no other... All in all, a very long journey in total, such a series of trials, many long days, many longer hours, so much effort and desire, all leading only to moments, simple moments, upon a guarded vault of a summit upon this mountain called Fortress. Even still... I think I just may go back... yet one more time... DSD