"Time Will Pass Anyway......."

"This time, your time, will pass by anyway. Will you simply watch it come, then go? Or will you embrace this time and direct the very flow of it?" Grey Wolf

Time is a construct that plays different roles in our lives, our age, and within adventure plans and goals... It is a means by which we often describe that which may be working for us; or that which knocks us off course...

Time has been described as the fifth element... that which overshadows all the other elements...

Adventures' are too important not to make clear our values about if the time to dream, to plan, and then to set out upon adventures is truly our time; or to let our time and ourselves be at the whim of external circumstance...

Time will indeed pass anyway... So... between now and then, what do you want to see happen in your life and your adventure experiences... Between then and now... where and who and why are these happenings important to your chosen path...

Has there ever been 'lost time', time taken from your life and your adventures that will never be gained back? Is there now a found opportunity... found time... for renewing, returning, re-energizing your adventurous self with the time now before you?

Then... when looking back upon years of adventure experiences, as I often muse over my own past three plus decades out there... we sense that our lives have been a more chosen course, even if the twists and turns of circumstance and time are always present...

The time will pass anyway.......

If we see it as the fifth element that it truly is... time is then all we really have anyway...

So seize this very day, embrace this very moment, and grasp closely this time for adventures' you have been gifted with.....

DSD

"Carrying On....."

"Somewhere along the line you ask yourself, 'What am I doing here?' It is then that you must think back and remember that it was the right thing to do at the start. Therefore, the right thing to do is to carry on and finish whatever it is you've started." J. Hughes

Oh how I've pondered, and the moments I've spent musing, about the struggles that have occurred at home and out in the wild places... With carrying on... before, during, and after... through the trials, the high summits & low valleys, of many adventure and life experiences...

Hughes adventure writing and this quote in particular doesn't simply ring true for me; it hits home... especially this very spring...

Adventures, like much of life... are hardly ever a straight course from trail head to summit and return...

The essence of them, the elements within them; like the obstacles, setbacks, complications, and unexpected hurdles - both internal and external, can do as much damage over time as a dull knife if we are not careful... They can wear away at the substance of what we seek about adventures... the nature of their value for us and how they may contribute to our lives...

Yet, if I really try, purposefully focus, truly remember in my minds eye the reasons for, the 'why' of, and the genesis behind... where a particular adventure experience began... or a trial of life ends... I can still find a few coals of motivation and enthusiasm there...

With some gentle but firm efforts they can be brought back to life and provide us with a renewed energy and purpose...

Keep going dear Finders... keep carrying on... and I will too.......

DSD

"Thoughts......."

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

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

"During any climb we all have to fight those demons lurking on the mountain itself and those inside our minds." C. Bonington

"You can spend your energy trying to calm the storm; or you can let the storm rage, and calm yourself." Anon

"When it seems too hard, ask yourself: Compared to what?" Mountain Guide

Just some thoughts; just over a week later.......

DSD

Sincere thanks again to Vida for some images at this time:

http://flickr.com/photos/seawallrunner/

"Our Little One...Our Tiny One......."

Our little one... our tiny one... our furry girl... is gone.......

We are among the many adventurers who choose to share their lives and dreams with a small animal... Little four pawed wonders who journey these trails with us...

She was so special, and so strong...

Years ago there was that lump; three years back that serious abscess; and then last year a diagnosis that wasn't going to go away...

We had such a good winter taking care of her. Even though she was ill, her old self was still present and we were able to share a few more seasons of so precious moments...

She taught us about connection with creatures of this earth... about trusting bonds that develop ever so slowly between humans and animals... about the spirit within our small companions that is truly there... we only have to open ourselves to it...

They wander these elements with us... They look up with love as she did with her blue upon blue eyes... They share so willingly in the fun and challenge of life's many adventures...

That time will come, as it did for her, as it will for all of us, where we will set out upon a different path and then adventure no more... Thus the importance of musing and remembering and cherishing each moment...

The last month has been so hard, has been so deep a valley... so dark a forest...

Yet we remember and remind ourselves, that this trial was only a small fraction of the last decade and a half of beautiful days and nights together...

It is hard to see the computer keyboard through the mist of tears in my eyes as I write these words, but I know there is another side to this valley of anguish... It is out there... the trail will be one of a very deep sadness...

We have done everything that can be done, both day and night, but it was her time...

We will never, ever, forget the gifts that she has given us...

The ashes that remain will travel and adventure with us to coastlines she could never go to... to a mountain summit she would never see...

She may be gone in that most physical sense, but the countless memories and the essence of her so special spirit will always be with us...

We are so very grateful to have shared much of this life with her...

Our furry girl...

Our little one.....

Our tiny one.......

DSD

A Parable On This Day For The Earth: "The Wise Woman's Stone..."

"A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream... The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him... She did so without hesitation... The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime... But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman... 'I've been thinking', he said, 'I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious... Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone'...". Anon

A parable of meaning within the context of the gift of a simple stone...

Like the Wise Woman... Our Mother Earth gives to us all each moment of each hour of each day... It is then up to us to then ask, and learn, and become, someone who then gives back and passes forward also...

Have a special Earth Day today.......

DSD

Special thanks to Vida Morkunas for the above images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seawallrunner/

"Outdoorzy Enthusiasm..."

Wade, Emile, Lynn and the whole 'Outdoorzy Crew' have said to us: "If you've ever been called 'Outdoorzy', welcome home"... I just love that invitation...

All the elements of our wild places and fun to be enjoyed out there are represented on this lively adventure activity site - kayaking, canoeing, rafting, hiking, climbing, sky diving, parasailing, mountaineering, geocaching, running, mountain biking, adventure travel; among many others as well. There are also extensive forums, useful gear reviews, adventure links, and trip reports about all of these; even an engaging outdoors blog!

Wade himself as a co-founder of the site with Emile, and Lynn as the lead developer, are web entrepreneurs and outdoors enthusiasts. Wade for example includes in his accomplishments climbing Kilimanjaro, hiking the Inca Trail, and plans for trekking in the Himalaya's. Emile & Lynn are said to love hiking, mountain biking, and much more...

Enthusiasm is the key theme of 'Outdoorzy', for our wild places and all manner of adventure fun out there. They want to help us all attain: "The goal of connecting outdoor enthusiasts online and providing tools to help prepare for and improve their outdoor experience".

With such a goal and already over a thousand eager members, Outdoorzy is giving back a great deal to us all...

Accept that invitation, and join the fun over there...

DSD

Outdoorzy Link: http://www.outdoorzy.com

"A Tribute To Stephen Lyman....."

It was on a multi day sea kayaking trip in the San Juan Islands, during a rest day, that we first set our eyes upon a Stephen Lyman work of art...

It was displayed in a small shop, and it needed no light to illuminate it, as it seemed to glow from within... This was his 'Mountain Campfire' creation...

That was decades ago and we have still not lost our appreciation for Stephen's wildlands muse, and his artistic and creative genius...

We all lost Stephen though, on April 16th 1996, in a high mountain accident.....

He was a truly talented artist... one who inspires me still in my own naive way...

I can only imagine now much he is missed by so many...

The 'Greenwich Workshop' says of him, "Stephen Lyman was an explorer who specialized in painting the most elusive moments in nature", and that "Through Lyman's art, you can travel into a wilderness very few have experienced. You can share the sensation of being in the true outdoors - exploring, discovering, studying and enjoying the all-encompassing beauty of nature"...

Stephen himself said, "All my paintings have their origins in my experience and perception of beauty in the wilderness"...

I hope you too, dear friends, have been gifted with the wild place opportunity to experience what Stephen has portrayed through his artistic adventures...

Today, April 16, is a day to remember Stephen and respect all of what he has passed forward to us.......

DSD

"Finding Kananaskis....."

Kananaskis... was established in 1977. A few years after my first beginnings in the wild places...

In 1858, the explorer J. Palliser named a pass there Kananaskis; and since then the surrounding mountains, lakes, river and the areas out to the foothills, are now known as Kananskis Country...

It is indeed a small magic kingdom... and when there you do sense you are in the presence of something royal and very meaningful...

This special wild place embraces many rugged peaks; a pass higher than at the Columbia Icefields; beautiful rolling foothills; even canyons; and an amazing white water river... I believe Kananaskis means 'a meeting of the waters'. It is one of my earliest, most favorite areas for adventures and for placing these small Summit Stones...

I remember... Ridge walks and summits like the Fortress, the Fist, Indefatigable, the Windtower, among so many others...

I remember... River kayaking and rafting on so powerful whitewater through rocks and mist...

I remember... Extended pristine hiking along the Continental Divide route...

I remember... Exploration of the Highwood and the hidden valleys there...

I remember... Endless wild back country, many with trails, some with none... Canyons too; even touching old ice of an ageless glacier...

Finding Kananaskis... has deep meaning in finding one's spirit out there and to discover oneself among the wild places... And that is its true gift to us...

I recall reading of the Visions Quests of others gone before me... and my own to Three Isle Lake in the quiet season...

Kananaskis 'Finders' of Summit Stones have been many including the Link here to the "Two Jonathans", and that of Traxx whose images are above, and who writes himself...

"Memories are stored in the mind but shaped by the heart... The day I found this Summit Stone I was 'on patrol' in the back country. I had a few hours left on my shift so I rolled down the road to Spurling Creek. I found two Summit Stones that day. The Stones were in little ziploc bags that I initially mistook for garbage left near the trail. It didn't take me long to realize how wrong I was - The Stone I currently hold was discovered early in the hike and, I'll admit, I hiked all the way to the pass that day reading the Muse... I sat in the sun (and wind!) at the pass, enjoyed the view, ate the last of my food for the day and finished the Adventure Muse (twice that afternoon)... Having often mused on the topic of adventures myself - familiar with many of the contributors to the Muse and learned of others thru the Muse... Continue to muse my days away - just in the process of becoming a (temporary/permanent?!?) fixture out in the mountains of Kananaskis. I do treasure the find - I think this little gift is an interesting way to communicate - a one way conversation of sorts... One of the things I like about the Muse is that it reaches every finder at their own levels of understanding and it is something one can return to at a later date and continue to find new meaning and new levels of meaning there. These days the Summit Stone is an integral part of a small shrine that is accumulating out of my work in Kananaskis and the Adventure Muse is on my bedside table. I'll think I'll hold on to them a while longer until I find a safe spot to pass them on (I think that they may not be as easy for the next person to find)"...

Traxx is one of those adventurous souls who has taken on the additional responsibility of caring for such wild places...

So many adventure experiences are still patiently waiting for us to wander and muse over while discovering ourselves as we find Kananaskis.......

DSD

Traxx Flickr Link: http://flickr.com/photos/jeremymcivor/1009028546/in/set-72157594300892168/

"High Mountain Musing..."

"The state of being active within life activates the fundamental questions of life...

But when I am up on a mountain, I rarely question what I am doing or why I am there. The climbing, the concentration, the struggle... those are the answers - because those are the basic purposes of life. In effect, I become my own answer." R. Messner

The nature of musing on such questions and answers seems to be a theme we all share as mountaineers...

Messner is one who offers unique perspectives for us to ponder.....

I found myself reflecting on this very quote, as I was enjoying and gazing upon the images of MickRange on Flickr...

DSD

MickRange's Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mickrange/

"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/