"There Are Many Different Kinds Of Mountains In One's Life..."

Some think that Tunnel Mountain at our Banff, Canada town site, really doesn't deserve to be called a 'mountain'...

It certainly shouldn't be seen as any kind of summit either, many serious climbers would say...

Quite a few summers ago... during a very early morning training session, I was to learn to see this summit of sorts very differently...

It had misted during the night. One of those fine rains that touches everything, but was not heavy enough so the moisture up in the trees all falls to the ground.

It was quiet and it was very early... with just enough first light to see the well used trail up to the top of Tunnel Mountain... I made good time slowly jogging up and was now walking quietly and quickly down when I met two other early starters...

This patient father was making his way with his young daughter up along the easy grade of this mountain trail... We spoke briefly, and I could see it was going to take a long time for them to reach their goal...

"We are going all the way, aren't we," the father said to his daughter, who looked up with that innocent friendliness that many challenged persons have... "It will be her first mountain", dad said so proudly...

Then they carried on... the father guiding... the daughter walking back and forth... often distracted by the many sights, noises, and wonderments we mostly overlook on a typical well used trail...

I have no doubt they made their summit that day on Tunnel Mountain...

It would have been a long one going up, and even longer coming down... As challenging as any I have been out on... I sense they may have appreciated it more too than many other climbers out that same day, on any of the surrounding, much higher, more rugged Rocky Mountain peaks...

We all have our own mountains to climb, and our own summits to reach...

And yes, that little rocky point in Banff, is indeed a Mountain as that challenged young person and her dad taught me that day.......

DSD

"Dawning Of The North..."

The Aurora Borealis, also known by many as the 'Dawning of the North', is one of many mysterious wonders of our wild places...

Aboriginal Peoples have believed these swirling apparitions to be travelling spirits... drifting across the winter sky... Spirits who entice us with their beauty and their tales, while drawing us further and further north... They are said to inspire us to watch endlessly as their stories unfold...

While silent, you would swear on occasion that a crackling of sorts can be heard on the most quiet of nights out there during this dawning of the northlands...

Some say the breaking of the spring and this contrast of cold and sun brings out the most vivid of these swirling images... The darkest nights seem best for these dancing lights and perceiving their intense colors...

When I stand quietly out here and turn my eyes to the sky in the dark... I remember...

These mystical lights while deep winter camping among our frozen northern lakes; when snowshoeing in the calm of a cold late night; while dog sledding down a snow bound valley; and when seeing images of animals, like birds, wolves, and bears, dancing with one another across the fabric of an old canvass tent as I stayed up almost all night... for no other reason than because I could... so I could muse for hours while feeding and watching that small stove fire...

Our more scientific colleagues would describe these phenomenon as the collision of moving electrons, molecules, atoms, and other particles in the coldest winter air...

Still others believe that further elements are in play among these visions of mysterious colors, movement, and perception... And that is what I believe too, in this dawning of our north.....

DSD

"There Is More Within You....."

Five seemingly simple words.......

But as with many adventure truths, and wild place paradoxes, such apparently simple concepts have endless depths of meaning within them...

As I look in the mirror after an especially challenging training period, on course to a goal I have not tried to repeat in over fifteen years; and after a season of setbacks, distractions & doubts - I am beginning to see these words yet again through another set of eyes...

I reflect back upon the first time an Outward Bound Instructor said this to me on my very first rock climb; then said it again, as I went back to do the same climb... blindfolded...

This saying was also stated before my very first solo; and during the first few steps of the long run back to camp... I watched as this simple mantra was repeated for so many other Outward Bound students; and then observed their joy and exhilaration in finding their own truth of it...

Since then these same words have resonated with me time and time again...

I have listened for their echo in valleys before some of my most difficult climbs... They have been whispered to me over and over again on solo's, during long distance treks, when sea kayaking out among the greater ocean waves, through the forests and old trees while still moving long after sunset, and among the beats of my heart while it sounded so loudly up at altitude... These words keep calling their meaning out.....

This mantra has returned in my mind too at just those moments when I seemed to feel there was little left to draw upon... And then I sensed them being shared with me again...

There was one mountain in particular, where after two unsuccessful summit attempts, and with more than a thousand feet to go on the third try, that Outward Bound Instructors' voice was there just when the impetus was most needed...

There IS more within you...

There is MORE within you...

There is more WITHIN you...

There is more within YOU.....

Each time the emphasis became more focused, more personal... On that day, when finally upon that elusive summit, that Outward Bound mentors creed was proven true yet again...

There is indeed more within each of us... We only need to hear with our third ear; listen more closely... Really see the meanings hidden there... And embrace that truth as it supports us...

There is much about adventures that inherently arrange those challenging elements before us, that we each need to push limits outward somewhat farther; and grow inwards a bit deeper...

These 'simple' words have been such a gift... A present I have mused much over, and often write about here. They have reverberated through adventure tests and trials not just of avocation, but of vocation, of family, of issues both worried and very real...

So when you gaze at yourself in that mirror dear friends... in that compass before a long trek, in the reflection on that lake before a distance paddle, in the crystals of snow and ice during first light of your next climb...

Know the truth of there being more to be found within you as well.......

DSD

"Downtime......."

"Each of us is on a climb of a different sort, facing our own mountains, struggling to cross our own rough seas." Anon

Welcome back to both our friends and fellow adventurers at the 'Adventure Blog' and the 'Adventurist'... Jason (The Adventurist) is returning from one of those many challenges of life we all face, and Kraig (The Adventure Blog) is recovering well from multiple surgeries a few weeks back...

This gave me pause to reflect on my own down times, many past injuries, and a recent horrendous flu that I am just getting over, which left me as weak and vulnerable as a newborn...

There are many such unplanned diversions in the midst of our adventure plans and goals... Where the setbacks and ebb's of the situation are contrasted starkly against those times of flow we experience and so wish for... Many such moments I've mused about how N. Shulman wrote that: "Everyday all of us have to attempt a mountain of sorts... Those that refuse to give up and are always willing to struggle uphill, can truly call themselves mountaineers".

I vividly recall too... a participant in the Ironman, who after years of dedication, focused training and effort, was knocked flat like a wind blown forest by a subtle yet severe illness... You could feel his anguish and many looked away when he couldn't stop the tears in his eyes... At that moment he looked so lost...

It is a truism of life and a heightened reality especially in adventures' that we cannot, will not, ever achieve that state where the 'climbing is always perfect', and the 'paddling just so'... It can be as much of a challenge as being out there in the first place to accept that all such adventure experiences are never either good OR bad... positive OR negative... but more truly and naturally some of both and always with elements of each...

Many have written before that 'we cannot have the rainbows without the storms'...

I am still trying myself, to learn to appreciate both... And maybe even learn something from these down times... As M. Twain wrote: "Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful"...

And yet... we still fight it, don't we, at times... but every once in a while we may instead blend with these elements, and find ourselves at another level within our chosen adventures... and with even more hard won wisdom that may be transferred to the rest of our lives...

DSD

"It's Just A Stone....."

"The gem of meaning is set in the stone of long perseverance." Deng Ming-Dao

Here is a recent Finders story forwarded in an email from 'N'... A story of finding something simple... finding oneself... creating meaning... and in coming back...

'N' wrote:

Two of us found a summit stone on a hike in banff. My friend knew what it was but said I could have it because he wanted the adventure muse. I think I said 'it's just a stone'.

I didn't want to go hiking then. I didn't want to be there. It rained and was cold. I guess I am not much of a hiker is what I was thinking. I didn't care all day if I ever went back.

Since then I was injured while riding my bike and two of my best friends moved away. I miss them. But I think I have found over the last two winters that like this stone I am stronger than I realised. I do love the outdoors. I now understand that spring will always be there. I now understand that rainbows do exist just like on my stone. My newest best friend is a beautiful dog I've called rainbow.

I am looking forward to hiking again this summer. I am so excited about that.

It is just a stone. But not to me anymore.

Sincerely, N

Thank you so very much 'N' for sharing your inspiring story with us...

Just like you, I was... and still am... searching for all my own adventure ways and means to bring meaning into my own life...

I try to remember; "The most beautiful stones, have been tossed by the wind, and washed by the waves, and polished to brilliance, by life's strongest storms." Anon

You have given back to me so much more than the Summit Stone I placed for you...

You humble me with your words and the personal meaning you have created for yourself...

DSD

"Bone Games & The Journey Of Rob Schultheis..."

I have often mused over if you can have a mentor whom you have never met...

"Bone Games", by Rob Schultheis, is an amazing book that I found in the mid 1980's...

Since then, I have enjoyed pondering through it over twenty years of study and experiences and the intentions of 'Bone Games', meanings within it, and how it relates to our adventures in our own wild places... Here are a few choice quotes from the journey of R. Schultheis which began on Mt. Neva as pictured above:

"I hung there for I don't know how long: thirty seconds, two minutes, half an hour. I couldn't climb back up the overhanging rock, and I could not descend...". Yet he did find 'a way', and:

"Something happened on that descent, something I have tried to figure out ever since, so inexplicable and powerful it was. I found myself very simply doing impossible things...".

"I know my limitations, and I was climbing way, way beyond them. One small part of me trembled with fear and fatigue, cried out to be rescued, to be whisked away to any place other then this bleak precipice. The rest, confident, full of an unsane joy, revelled in the animal dance of survival, admired the brilliant crystals in the granite, the drunken calligraphy of ice crystals... was totally possessed by the act of mountaineering, rejoiced in the immense vertigo of the place. It was like certain dreams I have had...". "The person I became on Neva was the best possible version of myself, the person I should have been throughout my life...".

Powerful words reflecting potent experiences...

I have also included selected quotes by Schultheis in 'The Adventure Muse' respecting his depth of motivation and the life search for replicating these adventure experiences that he set out upon... He was passing forward valuable lessons through these writings in this most intriguing tome... I have found many of my own adventure elements mirrored within these pages as they mentored my own search...

The journeys written about reflect participation in many adventure sports, endurance experiences, metaphysical & spiritual wanderings, vision quests, intense solo's, among high mountains, deserts & valleys, through physical and emotional trials, with deep meditations throughout...

Read and muse over this inspirational journal and discover for yourself why Rob called this "Bone Games", and maybe even ponder how to invite such memorable experiences into your own adventures... You will not regret it... I never have, as an ordinady adventurer, and as Rob wrote of this: "Magic becomes a kind of habit after we do the difficult, the near impossible, over and over and over again; a habit that operates down in those oldest and deepest levels of the brain and the mind. Where pain and fear can be alchemized into blissful, sublime confidence, and stumblebums wake up to find themselves dancing on the business end of pins".... He writes further of such searching that, "What made it incredibly tantalizing was that It, the magic, was somewhere inside me; It had always been there, I felt, and It always would be... dormant, waiting to be awakened...".

And yes... I believe you can have such a mentor, a guide, who passes such experience, strength, and hope forward to you... even if you've never met them...

DSD

"There Is A Place We Go In The Mountains....."

There is a place we go in the mountains...
It is a place of resounding quietness, of gentle winds, talking breezes... a place of rock and trees, of stone so stark, yet inviting...
There is a place we go in the mountains of such cold moving waters... a place barren yet nourishing... a place of seasons both of life and in death...
It is mostly a place of memories... this place we go in the mountains...
I am looking at pictures of this place right at this moment... and in my minds eye I can recall the seasons passing, while my senses still feel the warmth, the cold, the sun, the night...
I have hiked and climbed in this place with my partner and close friends, sharing so much... I have been out there in solitude as well... Yet never really alone...
This place we go in the mountains is most especially somewhere we have privately named for someone who is no longer with us... A quiet person of great strength who does not share these particular elements with those of us still wandering...
We visit there each adventure season to be with him again... to join in remembering the way he lived his life and the amazing spirit he was... is...
When out solo, I talk with him still... I tell him of my year, the trials, successes, all the moments... This year in particular when by myself, I found unexpected tears welling up of joy and sadness when approaching this place we go in the mountains...
This terrain and his spirit provides much comfort and solice to me, yet a challenge too... He was more of an adventurer than I will ever be... He was able to see and understand things from a height I've only dreamed of attaining...
We all need such places to journey to...
This is a place where I learned about true gratitude, and where I feel humbled... Where I reflect upon how he was so grateful even when he was given so little...
It reminds me not to take for granted what he was never gifted with - physical health...
He never had the chance to trek to this place in the mountains we have quietly named for him...
He couldn't... He was too ill all of his short life... His legs would never carry him as far as his mind had already wandered... His existence was one of pain and suffering, yet his endurance was endless... The adventure life race he ran was more grueling than any we could invent to challenge ourselves with...
There is a place we go amongst the summits to remember a soul who never climbed a mountain, never set foot upon a trail, never paddled the ocean or any northern lake, never once rappelled into a deep canyon... yet he was more in touch with the spirit of adventure than many...
There is a place we go... He went there too... in his minds eye, when the pain became too much... He said it gifted him with a sense of comfort...
There is a place we go in the mountains to wonder how someone so weak could be so strong... How someone who never attained any summit, could inspire so many... How someone so pressed could laugh and smile so much...
There is a place we go in the mountains... to acknowledge that this wild area is only there because of the many who have passed it forward for each of us to adventure within... He was never able to go himself, but he knew this and would still say that such a wild place is a 'gift twice given'... Given to us to find ourselves in, and for us to learn about then giving to others...
I have such good memories of this place we go in the mountains... And he beckons to us all dear Finder... to see through his eyes what many may never perceive... to believe in what most never experience... to savour each precious moment out in the wild places... to enjoy the energy and strength within this physical shape we have been gifted with...
He is one of my most potent inspirations...
There is a place we go in the mountains to remember that while his form has returned to the elements we will all share too soon... his spirit wanders freely still...
In that place we go in the mountains.....
DSD

A sincere appreciation to Surreal McCoy at Flickr for his special pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/44462122@N00/

"Adventure Traditions..."

Scrambler27 of Flickr, or Rich Sobel... sparked some memories and musings this last while of our friends and my own adventure 'traditions'... Rich says of his tradition in how he has: "Used this hat for more years than I care to remember and locals recognize me from a distance... I got into the habit of taking a picture of my hat at the summit... It's become sorta like the gnome that travels in the movie Amelie...".

For years I took pictures of the views from all four points of the compass while on a summit and for decades now have gathered small cobbles from waterfalls, coastal beaches, and stones too from trails and summits themselves... The rituals climbers have when contributing to those cherished summit registers includes many creative and thoughtful gestures placed up at altitude. I have read so many priceless comments in these tiny journals...

For many, old favored adventure traditions reflect very meaningful memories of life shaping experiences out there...With special people, in wild places difficult to reach, or of gear used time and again... I always take extra time at the summit of my last climb of the year to visualize the routes, altitude, and musings gained that season...

This process of creating traditions is all about meaning; enthusiasm; humour and fun; both very personal and shared...

I remember... old prayer flags, gently waving among the incense of pine trees and the shared tradition behind placing them...

I remember... a certain Guide's tradition, who would chant quietly, to the mountain spirits in gratitude for sharing their stone secrets with her...

I remember... an Outward Bound Instructors tradition, of lifting each member of our group, high into the air... supported on our hands as a bird would fly over our summit that day...

I remember... a close climbing partner, who would always turn, and face our chosen mountain when we were descending, from alpine to treeline, as a gesture of respect and gratitude...

I remember... the tradition of telling stories... time and again, of elusive adventures, high lands, and wild places...

I remember... a fellow kayaker, who would make such beautiful prints in the sand of our island beaches, in an Eastern tradition of creating symbols of balance & power... only which then would be slowly brushed away by the rising tide...

And of course... there is my own tradition these many years, of gathering, painting, and anonymously placing these small Summit Stones, in a tradition of giving back and passing forward...

I will be watching for that hat Rich... and thank you for re-minding me of the lasting importance of our adventure traditions...

DSD

http://flickr.com/photos/scrambler27/1178121547/in/set-72157601538370059/

"The Quiet Man......."

He was written about in his homeland as the 'Quiet Man'.....

I have been remembering, and musing, over his life this last week... An adventurer needing little description who passed from these elements on January 10th.....

He is a member of that very small group of those who have reached the highest point on our mother earth... With the special symbolism that this meant on the 29th of May, 1953...

He was also known with reverence as the 'Tall Man', and 'Burra Sahib'...

There are many cultures in our world that give such persons names other than their own out of distinct respect... There are some cultures too who do not name such a person when talking to, or about them, as these individuals have become more than their 'name'... What they have accomplished and how they choose to lead their lives is beyond the name now... Now their way is more of a guiding image, a symbol, of what things could be like, of what we each could become... It is said that by doing this, the person is then remembered even more clearly and their life takes on new depths of meaning...

Such would seem the case for this Quiet Man... A person, who did not believe he was much different than you or I... Only that he had been at the right place, at the right time, and with a strong friend and brother of the rope...

Over twenty years ago I found the Tall Man's book entitled: "From The Ocean To The Sky", and discovered his musings on the nature of love for adventure... Adventures of climbing, of exploration, of rivers, of cold, and especially of living among different peoples...

I would follow his story closely after that and was truly inspired...

I was so intrigued by what he meant when the Quiet Man said; "The heroes I admired in my youth seemed to possess abilities and virtues beyond the grasp of ordinary men...", and yet years later he reflected upon how, "I discovered that even the mediocre can have adventures, and even the fearful can achieve...".

Here was a restless, ordinary adventurer, who was speaking of coming to terms with himself... In doing this and through his actions, this Quiet Man would strike a bell within each of us, that we not so much hear, but rather feel, deep inside ourselves...

The Tall Man's actions would resonate around the world and for decades after as symbolism immeasurable...

The Tall Man has been saying to us: 'If I can, then you can... and if you can... look what we all may do...'. His adventure achievements made history... yet his Giving Back efforts are legion... and his Passing Forward messages so potent...

A man himself very fond of quiet times for musing he wrote: "It is not the mountain we climbed I want to be remembered by, it is if I helped out, and what did I share".

He said also so unassumingly that; "I have had the world lie beneath my clumsy boots and seen the red sun slip over the horizon... I have had more than my share of excitement, beauty, laughter and friendship...".

Sometimes it is the quiet ones who teach us the most about real accomplishment, sustained meaning, humility, and gratitude...

The Tall Man and his partner The Tiger Of The Snows, broke trail for us... They set upon a course that may in hindsight be easy to see... but it is a path so challenging to follow...

I believe the Quiet Man would enjoy knowing of the legacy of this challenge he still invites us with in the spirit of adventure.....

DSD

"BestHike....!"

Rick McCharles, AKA 'HikerRick', is the creator and editor of "BestHike"...

Back when I first learned of this site, I was immediately intrigued by a site entitled BestHike. What adventurer wouldn't be!

At this dawning of a new year, when considering what direction and adventure paths to head out upon, Rick's BestHike is one of the places I chose to visit first...

His mission within BestHike: "Is simply to list the best, most memorable hikes, long and short, in the world." "Hikes that can change your life."

Rick's efforts have achieved both "Top Hiking Blog" recognition and Outdoorzy's "Top 10 Outdoor Blog" award. Included on BestHike are challenging, multi day adventures, as well as the very best one day wanderings...

I especially appreciate BestHike's objectives in that it; "Helps you get started organizing the trek of a lifetime". The focus on 'memorable' adventure experiences resonates greatly with me too...

Included here are excellent references, information, and many details about the most useful guidebooks. The site is very receptive to all suggestions for BestHikes and feedback about them; continually adding new options to the growing list. There is a useful search engine on site, updates by email, and even Rick's own major hikes and treks like the Annapurna Circuit, Dahab Desert adventure, Jasper's Skyline trail, the John Muir trail, Tombstone in the Yukon, White Mountain with 4Wheel Bob, and the West Coast Trail. Rick is also adventure planning to paddle and hike to Della Falls, trek in South Africa, descend into Copper Canyon, and he has got an Adventure Race in mind too!

I certainly share his particular appreciation for Lake O'Hara... the larches and scrambling there...

Rick keen sense of adventure, and great sense of humour, are characteristics we all aspire to for more enjoyment within the wild places... Upon recently turning 50 he wrote: "Happily, hiking is one of life's joys you can do your entire life, body willing." "My life-to-trek list is still very long."

HikerRick & BestHike embody all of what we seek when wanting to connect with others who also wander the trails out there...

Visit Rick for great inspiration, planning ideas, for what could turn out to be your 'besthike' this year...

DSD

BestHike Link: http://www.besthike.com/

Rick's Flickr Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickmccharles/

(Thanks very much Rick for use of these images; and also sincerely for your supportive comments on my 'SummitStone Controversy.....')

"Where Are You On Your Path....."

It seems a natural time to ponder where we each are upon our own path... of life... of adventure, within the wild places... along this amazing journey...

On Page 1 of the 'Adventure Muse', I wrote: "There are many kinds of 'summits' and many 'adventure ways'. When we push our own limits at a level, and in an activity, that is right for each of us, with a focus on safety and especially fun; we journey along paths of freedom, happiness, beauty, and truth. The 'path' could be up a mountain, along a coastline, down a river or canyon, along a trail or ridgeline, under the earth, across a lake or ocean, through any wilderness...".

So, where are you at this moment on this journey in creating you own path...

Is such a statement rhetorical.. or is it more asked at this waypoint to produce an effect of considering where we have come... and where we may want to go...

It seems that musing over the question is the important thing; not just any answer...

All paths have a very relative nature about them... relative to you, to the adventure activity, to where in the wild places, to time, to skill, to awareness, to.....

Even with such relativity, all paths have inherent value and meaning; as they are chosen by each of us; for our own reasons... So there is a real personal importance to looking back and gazing forward upon our chosen trail...

We are then more able to ponder how far and how much terrain we each have covered; to recall the exceptional experiences and memories gathered out there; and this becomes the beginnings of gratitude...

We can also then more clearly see the horizon out before each of us... and experience the hopefulness and excitement such dreaming creates within us..

We may not be sure how far we want to go, but we don't need to be as there are many, many paths leading in countless directions..

These never ending questions, asked at the genesis of a new year as on Page 1 of the 'Muse' inquire: "How will you arrange the elements in your life? What will your next 'adventure summit' be?"...

As this year dawns and the alpenglow begins to seem as fire...

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

DSD

http://summitstonesadventuremusings.blogspot.com/2007/01/adventure-inspirations.html

"A Gift Of Adversity....."

My own recent experience this early winter both at home and out in the wild places have been all about change, challenge, the unknown, and what I have perceived to very much be adversity...

It may seem very unusual to wish the same as a gift for another this sharing season but therein is the power of natural paradox... Typically in my own struggles, I stubbornly resist such uphill trials and have difficulty in reframing them as growth through challenge... Yet the natural world is truly a wild place of such challenges, of constant order yet chaos, of heightened perception about the clear unknown, of desires and elements that push and test an adventurer to and past preconceived limits...

We may not always think about it in these ways but what draws us, what we often seek out there for adventure and fun, is in many ways synonymous with that which adversity itself offers us in return...

When I recall the adversity gifts bestowed upon me for example, I remember... Fears of open ocean, wind and waves... Multi day distant treks and getting very lost... Continuously elusive mountain summits... Unexpected impacts of terrain and altitude... Fitness challenges of injury and age... 5.9 routes that always seemed just beyond my grasp... Caving and my surprising reactions within enclosed spaces... among so many others...

Yet as Goddard & Neumann write about the adventure of climbing: "Realize why you climb. Climbing is not rewarding in spite of its frustrations. It is rewarding because of the very factors that can make it frustrating." Such enduring words as this are gifts of wisdom and insight too...

A. Hobson also said: "Adventure by its very nature, involves overcoming uncertainty, fear, obstacles, adversity and the unknown." F. Youngblood mused too how, "To those who have struggled with them, the mountains reveal beauties they will not disclose to those who make no effort." While Grandfather, a Mountain Elder, said... "Yes it can be a trial. Fear, doubt, pain, discomfort - these can be part of the price to be paid. Yet the gifts you have bartered for with your blood and your breath - what wealth! They will resonate with your very soul."

Such an amazing gift is the adversity within adventure.....

The present is often in the unexpected, the surprising things we discover... most often about ourselves... The reward is in the act itself of being out there in the midst of both the sunsets and the storms... And then we know too with such real certainty of the unopened presents to bestow upon ourselves of other future possibilities still waiting to be found within our wild places...

P. Stoltz & E. Weihenmayer said of this gift: "May adversity become the pathway through which you flourish." S. Covey wrote also; "One key lesson is this: no challenge and adversity, no deeper sense of meaning and purpose."

Is this not a fundamental motive for why we cherish and wish to protect those wild places where we have devoted our precious energy, time, sweat, tears, hopes, and fears...

S. Covey himself acknowledges: "Adversity has inspired me to be an alchemist, to turn lead into gold." And that pot of gold waits for you out there at the end of a wonderful trail of tribulations...

Those who find themselves through adventure adversity are indeed gifted... with awareness and abilities and memories so vivid and valuable... The tears we may experience of frustration can be alchemized into the tears we know within joy... Because as E. Weihenmayer mused further; "Isn't there something incredibly riveting about the human struggle with adversity? Maybe it's because within the struggle lies the essential wisdom we all need to become the kind of person we hope to be".

So, wish upon those stars we may see within another sleepless night in the midst of trial by rock, water, wind and waves... And trek towards a hard to reach horizon of your dreams... Continue to seek out the possibility hidden in that alpenglow just before you begin your most difficult climb... Keep looking for that rainbow wrapped summit that you have trained yourself for over so many years... For within this season, all these things, and adversity too, do I hope and wish for you.....

DSD

"Spirit Stone....."

"Stones... chart the mysterious topography of the human spirit"... N. O'Connell

I simply love all things stone... Even a small rock, found by a stream, waterfall, ocean beach, or upon a mountain summit, can hold my attention for what seems moments of eternity... A rocky cliff... forever...

Depending on who is asked... 'Stone', may be referred to as one of the earth elements...

In the substance of stone can often be found characteristics we ourselves would aspire to... It is what it is, and does not try to be anything else... Stone is always centered, grounded if you will... Stone weathers the other elements and adversity so well...

The endless variety of rocks and cobbles reflect the countless personalities of the wild places they are found in... Their enduring nature is one of quiet strength...

How amazing are the forces that carve rock and shape stone in our natural world...

How wonderful it is that no two stones on a rocky beach of millions are ever exactly alike...

The above photographs were taken by 'Ataradrac' and posted upon Flickr. Ataradrac was so gracious to allow them to be placed along with this post...

Animated rock, spirit stone, like these have a unique history dating back to before known cultures... There are few of the worlds peoples who have not etched something of their history through stone as a medium...

Look deeply upon this spirit stone captured briefly in these photographs...

Gaze for a few moments on the beauty of the rock and the reflected spirits within...

Can you see what is also there... not apparent at first...

If you discovered these as Ataradrac did that day, might you too also muse over their charm and mystery...

DSD

Ataradrac's Flickr Link:

http://flickr.com/photos/ataradrac/5789112/

"When Our Paths Cross....."

There is one special trail in the Rockies where I wander upon about the same time each summer... There is a fellow hiker I have greeted out there at least a half dozen times... We call out as our paths cross, chat briefly, and smile as we part company with a 'see you next year'...

I find myself looking forward to that moment as I realize what day it is... A simple connectedness with shared meanings...

I was also able to enjoy some time this fall with a mentor and guide whom has shared much with me over the years, even when our moments together have been limited... A comment of his resonates with me: "People often come in and out of our lives and we rarely thank them for the part they played in our lives and we often do not realize the importance until time passes...".

Two other comments of his that are very positive musings for me have been in reference to 'being the change we wish for in our lives' and 'giving back in its many forms'...

It is a wonder to me how we may influence and touch each other's lives, even briefly at times...

These concepts seem very applicable to adventure experiences as we most often journey together with others through the wild places... Whether upon a rocky mountain path, a trail through secluded forests, upon a trek to distant summits, or along meandering coastlines and through deserted islands... there is always a moment that touches us to be shared out there...

Wild lands and adventures can create beautiful opportunities for a nexus, a connection, even a bond to occur... often in unexpected ways... I muse for example too how this happens after placing a small stone atop a mountain summit, to then be found there on a distant day... The stories of 'Finders' linked here cast morning light upon this perspective...

Then too, when sea kayaking a special group of our western coastal islands, I have shared such moments with a fellow party of adventurers... They are always together, while on those trips I have been solo... They allow me to become part of their fun and spirit for a few hours of shared laughter and lunch... When we head out on different bearings it is with a wave and much smiling... More simple connectedness out there when paths cross...

What might seem a simple moment out in the wild places actually resonates with us for years after...

Till we meet again out on the path.....

DSD

"The Nature Of Naive Art..."

After gathering, preparing, and designing upon stony dimensions for so long... then painting, coating, and eventually anonymously placing the Summit Stones for many years now, I find myself pondering again about the innocent nature of naive art...

Not only do I see myself as an ordinary adventurer, I also perceive such artistic muses to be available to us all as many adventurers are artists and poets...

Naive artists are seen to be of simple origins... and that resonates well with me because as the National Museum of Naive Art presents: "The vast majority of so-called 'naive artists' are self-taught, and come from humble backgrounds. They often choose to remain anonymous... Their works are the products of instinct, spontaneity and experience, a reflection of very personal sensitivities... They claim no affiliation with any artistic theory or influence. Each one of these artists invents their own means of expression...". They say further: "Naive Art possesses a characteristic innocence and sincerity of vision. With its bright colors, flattened perspective and sometimes unskilled brushstrokes... but hidden behind this apparent candour lie elaborate technical and optical conventions, conscious stylisation and visual harmony... The simplification found in the genre.. is more often a means of pushing to the limits the boundaries of figuration and thus creating a more powerful, very direct visual and emotional impact...".

ArtHistoryGuide.Com describes Naive Art or 'Outsider Art' as: "Representing memories, dreams, fantasies and scenes from life with an emphasis on color and shapes. 'Naive' is often associated with Folk Art."

The Gallery of International Naive Art also shares some perspectives on these modest artistic efforts in seeing that: "Whatever our association with the term 'naive art', one is struck with the near universal appeal of this exhilarating art form. Perhaps the appeal stems from the celestial, joy-inspiring palette of colors chosen by naive artists to portray their subjects. Maybe it is the genre's simplicity... Or could it be the timeless nature of the subject matter, reminding us of opportunities missed, of wondrous roads less travelled... The naive artist - often self-taught - treats us to a uniquely literal, yet extremely personal and coherent vision of what the world was, is or should be...".

A well known Brazilian naive artist, J. Ardies, sees the naive artist themself as believing: "That the magic of Art may help man to turn to the simpler things of life...".

Painting upon these small rocks is only an attempt to express ideas about the elements of nature, of adventure, and of meaning, inspiration & motivation... This painted stone endeavor is only a simple effort too that hopefully may invite ripples of reflection on giving back within our adventures... and upon passing forward about wild places.....

DSD

"A Face In The Stone....."

R & C on my Profile wrote: "On my stone I think we have found something else. It looks where there might be a face in these snowy lines of the mountain. I'm sure of it. Is this supposed to be you DSD?"...

There have been past comments as well about things perceived to be hidden upon or secreted meanings within these painted metaphors of rock... In my study of this 'Naive' art style I recall reading too how the word 'art' itself, as in 'handicraft', also at one time meant 'mystery' in this elemental trade...

'Should I let it be a mystery', I mused again after R & C left their comment...

We marvel often at the remarkable things we find and do out in wild places... We may often ponder their meanings and origins... So yes, their are many faces... and other mysteries represented in these Summit Stones...

When crafting, I often think of 'Grandfather', a Mountain Elder, who wrote: "You will feel me beside you; see my face in the stone; hear me on the wind", as I paint lines over colors over palette and attempt to even get a smile at times within these images...

These faces most often are looking up with wonder upon a shining sun, countless stars, a clear full moon, the fire of sky within alpenglow, or the rainbows that always follow each of us around out in the wild places...

I have enjoyed M. Mardon so much when he too wrote about such hidden images by S. Lyman:

"Yet another burned area presents itself further along the trail with many a scorched tree still standing, very likely to live on through many more thunderstorms. But one dead tree... seems to have stood in the ground through many revolutions of the earth... its bark peeling away exposing its wood to the elements. While the sides of the dead fir are charred, its upper surface is smooth, bleached to a uniform grey, and as inviting to an artist as a chalkboard. He takes a piece of charcoal in hand and sketches a woman's face, not in bold outline but subtly, with shadings and blurred features so that an unsuspecting hiker coming upon it later might wonder if Mother Nature hadn't drawn the image herself"...

Because I believe what surprises us... often also inspires us... we often find our expectations have been exceeded... And this is what wild lands and adventures out in them inherently do for us...

And at those times...

In that moment...

With such a smile...

The 'face in the stone'... Is you 'Finder'.....

DSD

"Alpenglow Possibility..."

When I muse over images of alpenglow I think of Tolkien who wrote: "Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight... It was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of memory, and old tales, of the high and distant mountains...".

I also ponder Muir's perspective when he said: "Sunbeams pouring through the passes between peaks... making their edges burn...".

This photographer- Dru, who took these images, while enjoying an adventure out in the wild places, seems to know well the art of intuitively taking pictures... It is not the easiest thing to do out there... To make the time and expend the energy, in the midst of adventure activities, to take just the right shot which holds within it meanings not only for the photographer, but when shared... for all of us as well.

Dru is also one of the earliest Finders from the beginning years in the journey of these small stones... His many wild lands images on Flickr are amazing.

Alpenglow is about mystery... and magic... About moments to be cherished and remembered... About challenges, people, and times very special...

Alpenglow to me, is very much about contentment for what adventure day has just passed... and even more so about possibility for what adventures are just about to begin.....

DSD

Dru's Flickr Link: http://flickr.com/photos/druclimb/711999451/in/set-72157600073602468/