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That adventure day, I went back yet once more, as it seemed to echo out that there were questions only a mountain could answer...
It felt then that I simply had to return. I very much chose to go back, on a long solo climb, to a summit so very challenging for me. It had become clear that there were more things to ponder over. Other inquiries lingering in my mind. Some elusive musings yet to be grasped...
Much is called into question during our time away amidst such high place quests, and always within the far off wild places themselves. These are evidently real objectives for each of us, that most times also hold hidden gifts for both our wandering bodies and minds as well. We adventurers cross over so much terrain. Not just out there, but also with regards to the many truths we all ask about. Then we gaze towards the depths of understandings we each hope to eventually know...
We insight seeking creatures are both physical and spirited beings.
That is how we are made it seems.
So, on such adventure days of searching out, amidst our enduring curiosities and wild studies, when wanting to elicit a creative solution of some kind - it is time to return.
As there are some questions only moments upon a mountain will answer.
We all share in such wonderfully powerful, perpetual, wanderings towards our distant insights don't we my Friends..... DSD
"Climb these summits and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." J. Muir
On the classic elusive routes they are often found...
Bits and pieces, lengths and sections of them, on the more remote high places where they can still be discovered...
Most of a material not seen out there now, but yet of very enduring fibers. Even while so aged and clearly not as secure as they were in their youth, they still stand ready, even if only as an encouraging sentinel to adventure experiences past.
Such rope and slings have a memory the technicians tell us, in being now unusable due to time, weathering, and many unknown stresses. We know though, that these braids have lasting memories for other elemental ephemeral things too...
They are wise, these old ropes and slings. They have seen and learned much. They are elders of their kind, both well worn and even better aged through long use and earned experience. Some, who while being weathered, are still strong enough to continue to brave the elements up so high, season upon sunrise, sunset, and then even further seasons. Something respectful to be said about that kind of endurance...
I enjoy testing their grip when they show themselves, yet never now would only trust their strength. They always remind us to do just that. Kind of like we often sense as well out there with other strands of connections, of beliefs, also perceived limitations, and in discovering routes and anchor points to more within each of us then we ever first realized...
Old, wise, and weathered ropes and slings - cords of experience that blend with past adventures, and also to those yet to come..... DSD
"To muse: To ponder, reflect upon. In Greek & Roman Mythology, Muses were the Daughters of Zeus; Inspirers of effort, music, and poetry.
The Gods sent the Elemental Muses to us as gifts. Water, wind, air, earth, and especially fire - these are the spirits that sustain our enthusiasms." Anon
Oh, to forever Muse, while out wandering among the elements. Is there anything more full of awe and wonder..... DSD
We wouldn't really be just here,
If we hadn't long journeyed way out there.
We would not have known this,
If we had not experienced all of that.
We could not share in these beautiful things,
If we hadn't adventured in such amazing ways.
We chose to walk over those testing coals,
Then to traverse these many trials and trails...
We wouldn't feel as intensely and so much,
If we did not ponder things so very far.
We would not grasp for those ephemeral heights,
If we didn't understand the contrast of those often dark depths.
The efforts and choices continue to be made right here,
Created by such wonders and gifts from way out there.
Adventures of contrasts and for seeking truths.
Adventures of paradoxes and enlightening perceptions.
Adventures of mysteries and musings await.
Adventures of wonders and cherished memories as well.
We would never have had them just here,
If we hadn't long journeyed so far way out there..... DSD
Dedicated this adventure day to those hardy wanderers with the 2013 Ascent For Alzheimers Team.
Ancient legends tell of these stories, and the Elders of many lands speak to their truth...
At way points within all our histories, some of us - maybe even in past lives so the stories say, became the holders, the Keepers of the Stones.
These were, and still are, positions of responsibility and respect. Sacred stones were often those needed for flint and fire. Many other such stones held images upon them of great value to the persons and their group, for the stories they held within. Still other stones were themselves of singular importance for memory & meaning, considering who and where and when they were discovered. Thus they became so very cherished by their holders.
We each are Keepers of such memorable stones in our adventuring lives...
As we each wander, we also become what is now reflected in and represented by, the more current meaning of these legends - as the bearers of the stories themselves that all such 'stone' experiences represents...
We are all Keepers, Holders, and Bearers, my Friends... DSD
Dedicated this adventure day to those wonderful 'Partners In Placing' who share in the smiles all along the way.
So many musings this last while reflecting upon adversity. Those winds which will all blow across, and through, each of our lives. Then, when, we listen a bit more closely, there are so many other echoes that whisper out for us...
"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey". Miyazawa
"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere". Clark
"Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so we see ourselves as we really are". Golden
Listen for a moment my Friends. Those echoes are always calling gently out for each and every one of us..... DSD
Yes, way back then, there was that truly essential guiding, the valuable teaching, the showing and necessary skill building, and all of the wonderful leading.
Yet, there was also so much more...
There were endless hours on very personal terrain for individual training, unique navigating, and priceless encouraging. There were as many days over even longer seasons for modeling, mentoring, and motivating - things as elementally important as any other element itself.
In much later years as well there was now the sharing of memories. the humour and stories, the remindings, and reflecting on all of the experiences of so much more than ever first realized.
Then, at a farther point on our joined trails, when reminiscing about the whole journey, we talked about the inevitable. That time when our paths would diverge and then forever change direction.
I will never forget the words quietly shared right then:
"I'll be climbing with you still".
So many further years have now passed. He no longer adventures among these earthly elements. Yet his words echo out resoundly and clearly.
"I'll be climbing with you still".
And he is..... DSD
Dedicated this adventure day to all those Guides & Mentors we all have been gifted with. I am listening even more closely this last while for their words of encouragement as I find my way on this present trail...
Hello Dear Friends,
Just catching up here. It seems we all have many unexpected mountains in our lives...
Mine, recently have meant a week out adventuring, then two weeks in hospital.
Looks like this one will be a longer recovery.
I appreciate your patience with my musings and postings as there are a some new trails now being navigated.
I'll do my best to keep up with your journeys too as that kind of inspiration is just what is needed.
There are always rainbows after storms, we just need to keep looking for them..... DSD
Often we pause and linger, as the sun slowly wanders,
On its' own trails across the wide open sky...
It welcomes us and greets us, always just where we are at.
Then embraces us with both warmth and direction.
It seems to awake very often, much like we do.
Then much later goes off to rest as we need as well.
Each first arising moment, always feels like new energetic beginnings.
The other quiet time of setting invites such emotions of completion...
After so many years out on adventures,
At times I assume that the best ones have already been shared.
But these last seasons have reminded me once more,
Of the forever possible moments truly yet to be enjoyed.
Amidst the beauty and the wonder,
Of unfolding further sunrises.
Within the gentle smiles and awe,
Along with a farther inspiring sunset.
Sunrises are such eternally natural gifts provided for us.
Sunsets then reflect the inherent gratitude we then always feel..... DSD
Dedicated to those who create such amazing images, from within their own grand adventures, and who then share them with us all. My sincere appreciation my Friends.
That small stones' beginning was an historical one.
Countless years and endless elements all so very slowly polishing it over the millenia. It was the smoothness, shape, and in particular its location within a tiny sheltered cove among those distant coastal islands, that had held my attention. Discovering it way back then was a gift, as I find myself almost letting out a small gasp of appreciation when such beautiful ancient stones are first seen...
This little stones' story then became the painted scenes that unfolded upon its' rocky face. I slowly 'mixed in' each and every element also gathered up on that secluded island. Particles of sand, of ash from my beach fire, a crumbled tiny piece of a leaf, and even a few drops of that special salt water. The mixed in and painted scenes hopefully express the spirit of that wild place, and then too the journey this little Summit Stone would now be taking...
It awaited a few more seasons, then was placed within a summit cairn. High upon an elusively challenging and wonderfully engaging mountain, which I had waited years to climb.
Now, this is where the story of this stone began to unfold even further...
The Finder, R.T., sent me a message, telling of the smiles of that discovery. Then shared more as his Summit Stone had now been passed forward even farther.
It always humbles me beyond words to learn of the stories of Finder's Summit Stones...
For this small painted rock, some longer years later, within the twists & turns of serendipity and previously unknown trails, actually was returned to me once more.
R.T. had passed it forward to another adventurer. Then that person who was known to me, wanted to give it back. So within a full circle journey, this Summit Stone was returning to my hands yet once more...
I so cherish such experiences, learning of the trails a little Summit Stone has travelled, finding out about the smiles and awareness, inspired even a bit all along the way. Such good homes they do find with each of you my Friends...
But this story does not end. Not here. Certainly not now.
For while this stone was a touch weathered, its' coating somewhat scraped, and that initial date on the back a touch faded, I decided to mix in and paint yet other perspectives upon it. Ones that blended with the stories already present. Then I initialed it a second time, with that silver ink as well.
We adventurers often muse about such journeys, where connections and experiences bring us full circle, as we return to where we began, and then sense even more out there and within, than ever first realized...
So, when then reflecting on the whole of this small Summit Stone's journey, and the smiles all around, I gently placed it yet once more out upon the island where it was firstly found.
Forever moments within a full circle, never ending journeys it would seem, for I hope you yourself might now be the Finder, of this gift passed forward so many times..... DSD
Dedicated this adventure day to those wonderful Partners In Placing who journey so far and so very high, sharing in the smiles all along their paths & trails.
Within our climbing, among our forever adventure seasons, we all will eventually encounter our own mountain among mountains...
Such a definition reflects what that elusive summit means for us, and presents to us - be it the altitude, the route, the objective hazards, the subjective challenges, for companions, certain skills, long days out among even longer hours...
These are all then accepted as the price we each will individually choose to pay for our desired adventure experience.
This particular mountain for me, is about all these things, and more...
At my age, I have pondered much ahead of time that if these elements come together at a height that I have done all I possibly can, whatever the altitude may be, summit or no, then I want to still be very content with my efforts and quite happy with that outcome.
This is an elusive equation we all have to establish for ourselves...
Then, when upon this mountain of my mountains, in the very midst of such efforts, I have mused how I will not know what height I may be at - yet I will know I've given my all. I will be sure of fulfilling my intentions & commitment. I will feel I have done everything I can. Having reached deeper inside as Outward Bound taught me to, knowing that there is always more within than we ever first realize...
I truly believe that such perspectives very much fuel our motivations to then keep going. Returning again, and again, and again.
So, at whatever high point, summit or no, I've said to myself, if I am not able to carry on, nearing where I need to determine the turn back time for a safe descent - when I look back from that juncture, to all the planning, preparation, training, and practice, over the whole journey - I will still be a very happy adventurer.
An elusive, but very important equation we all eventually have to determine for ourselves..... DSD
At first glance, he seemed rather out of breath and not in the best shape too, which translated into also being much slower of pace. Our first encounter on that mountain was brief in some ways but lasting for both our memories.
It was later mid-day.
I was descending that challenging scramble route, now having climbed this favourite peak for a third time. I could see him on his ascent, likely long before he noticed me, as his head was mostly down and his pace quite laboured.
We were both on a solo adventure day out, so each of us smiled when we met, glad for a chance meeting on a distant ridgeline. While out of breath, he was very enthusiastic, asking about the route, and then telling me how this mountain had become a distinct goal for him...
He asked me to take a picture with his camera too, and broke into a huge smile as I did so. We chatted longer than I had expected and shared a few snacks. It greatly intrigued me how he was able to put his objectives, wants, and adventure desires into words of such detail, even though being a person of novice experience.
Just as we were about to depart on our own ways, I passed a Summit Stone forward to him. I thought it might serve as a bit of encouragement, which may go a long ways for all of us at times, and also as we both knew, he wouldn't be gaining the summit that day out...
But it was my sense that he just might return to that mountain - it is hard to keep an inspired, enthusiastic adventurer from their dreams.
Our second meeting was on the trail to his chosen mountain, with me returning from another nearby peak. He was coming back also after not attaining his summit, but having made it somewhat farther up the mountain and further along in his journey.
We shared some laughs once again and our tales of what adventures we each had enjoyed since our last time together. I took another picture of him with his camera and could see as I framed it, that he was looking very different at this point... There was still that grand engaging smile, yet there was also now there a person of more confidence, and in better shape too. When he showed me the Summit Stone I had given him some seasons back, I was quite surprised and humbled that he was actually carrying it.
It seems that little cobblestone in his hand had become something of a touchstone of encouragement for him, towards his goal of finally being up on that elusive chosen summit.
On our third get together, it was not by chance this time, as we had been corresponding some now. We knew each would both be in that area around a certain time. I was only going up to the pass there, which is the beginning of the scramble route upon his mountain. It was a day for gazing & musing, and pondering while writing. I wasn't sure we would meet, but later in the day recognized a familiar form on the descent.
He had made it!
The smile was even wider, the enthusiasms even more expansive. We shared a hug and some tears of joy, on his face reflecting the completion of his journey, and on mine as I so get caught up in another's emotions on such adventures. After a bit of rest and some water, even more excited conversation and snacks, he said he wanted to show me something. Out came those pictures I had taken during our last encounters. Then out came that little Summit Stone too. The pictures told the story of the seasons of himself on that journey. They also showed images of the adventurer he was clearly becoming within his quest...
He is in much better shape by far than me now, his pace assured, steadfast, and sustained. The mountains he is choosing now too have challenges second to none.
I was told back then that a small stone and a bit of encouragement had gone a long ways.
Thank you, my Friend, for allowing me to be a stepping stone within your journey, and I am so very grateful to have met you..... DSD
My appreciation for sharing your own images here my Friends, which tell their stories too of elusive mountains and our dreams for climbing them.
"Two voices are there; one is of the sea, one is of the mountains". Wordsworth
"We climb to hear - whispered in the wind, echoed in the stars - strains of that mysterious music". E. Bernbaum
"I heard nothing except the music that had seemed to accompany me throughout my climb". R. Messner
"On this sun-consumed rock pile, eternity is trying to speak - no, sing to me". R. Schultheis
"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
It always seems to be, when now adventuring and wandering, intentionally slowing my steps, I am listening more quietly and closely, for both the meanings of the words within these wonderful quotes, then too for the songs and echoes from so far out in the wild places..... DSD
"If we approach wild country with an open frame of mind... It can bestow not only the gift of understanding, but also some sort of expansion of the spirit. A lifting up, a strengthening, an enthusiasm. And later, perhaps, it can teach us to sing...". D. Pitt-Brooke
Time to listen quietly for some distant music..... DSD
It is a small meditation bell, not really a traditional gong, given to me a very long time ago as a special gesture. I have always appreciated the unique note it makes when gently struck, and then the long lingering resonations of the harmonious sound...
I have been meditating since my early teenage years. It is a practice that has taken on many varied forms, different modulations in how it is expressed in my life. At times it is simply for the enduring practice itself, other moments to settle down the vertigo I experience, or the restless legs I always have.
My intention that adventure day though, up on that isolated secluded summit, was to hike and climb, then to muse and meditate, but also to strike another tone, a different pitch of music - one that just seemed to fit, to be in accord with and very suited for up there...
When we climb we join with a mountain.
We become part of those heights, the elements, the forces that created those places, even the vistas and also the very sounds. These combine with our internal tones too, with our efforts, and then all blend into the harmony of those high mountain energies.
We deeply experience the coherent hues of our surroundings, the accents of our climbing movements, among all the colors, light, and luminosity. The tint and shades of shadows are reflected then within our own emotions, sentiments, and then memories...
It was all of this I felt when I gently struck that little bell, up in that uninhabited, infrequently visited, solitary high place.
A lone summit, where this one sound fit in so well, its' unique music resonating, reverberating out as a meditative tone would.
A poetic time of sound, adventure, and feelings, creating a composition for a forever moment of mind and body.
A simple tone atop a lone summit..... DSD
My gratitude for sharing your images once again with us all my Friends.
We who adventure...
We seek and we quest, we wander and we journey.
So very far, up so high, for long enduring awe filled days.
Then we each seem to discover, the forever moments far beyond the elements, within our adventures way, way out there.
These, then, also become wonderous treasures within...
To be truly among the elements, is to become elemental ourselves.
To be as...
Resilient as stone and rock.
Enduring as the endless ocean waves.
Forever committed as the sun.
Persistent as all the winds.
To be as...
Wise and knowing as desert canyons.
Eternally strong as the glacial ice.
Quietly reflective as our campfires.
Lively energetic as the wild ones.
To be as...
Flexible as any winding river.
As far seeing as our chosen mountain summit.
Open and welcoming as a coastal island.
Sustaining as our northern lakes.
To be as...
Beautifully enlightened as the flickering stars.
Forever sharing as the revealing moonlight.
And as giving as the essence discovered within each and every wild place..... DSD
Dedicated to you all my Dear wandering Friends, and to my so appreciated Partners In Placing who pass forward many smiles along the way.
Here again, then and there, sitting quietly during last light... Watching gentle waves reach out for my kayak, that was pulled further up the beach and nestled by my tent...
It was not about anything that I was doing in those minutes, nor even so much what I may have been thinking.
Rather, it was of those forever moments in between, where those realizations, that sense of farther awareness, began drifting in and then took me away...
At times out with the wind, among the high places too, or as within this adventure out upon the waters, our minds seem to wander even further than our bodies do.
Such wonderful, often surprising gifts, of what our far reaching adventurous perceptions provide for us out there. Especially when we keep ourselves open to developing new awareness. Those wild moments when the light goes on in our tents, when another piece on our wandering paths falls into place...
'I get it now', I said quietly to myself, as I was referring to a complexity out there that also reflected something puzzling from back here.
'I get it...'.
Or, upon pondering, was I realizing something similar but at a higher altitude if you will, of comprehending it. Maybe even, what was within this realization was not something new, but more so - something very old, very ancient, that we only grasp again such moments amidst wild place realizations...
So much more of the mystery to enjoy..... DSD
My sincere appreciation for passing forward your images to share Dear Ones...
"Whoever knows an island, or river, or mountain intimately - knows at some point, this feeling... It is among the gifts that flow from returning, again and again...". J. Turner
Time to return yet once more is it not Dear Friends..... DSD
I am just back in from some distant wanderings, catching up with you all Dear Friends, and as well as about the overwhelming flood impacts upon our Alberta mountain community, Calgary, and others. It is hard to grasp, to understand all of what has been unfolding without a tear or two, and yet, still yet, seeing the beginnings of such spirit and inspiration among all those affected.
This had me musing this day, while reflecting upon my recent journeys, and these present challenges, over echoes of those Phoenix's that always arise from all such adversities...
We all have mountains to climb in our lives it seems. If you ever have the opportunity and the honour to look into the eyes for example, of an organ transplant recipient, as I have many times, then you will have met a mountaineer of another kind. For out of tragedy here arises something very unique, from a personal catastrophe, something truly exceptional can be found.
This is the Phoenix arising, the 'Rara Avis' that is discovered in both the lives of an Organ Donor's and the Transplant Recipients who are then gifted with a renewed life.
I have known adventurers who have undergone these trials. I have also had the exceptional experience of further time with those who have had to walk these same trails due to extremely serious health conditions.
'Rara Avis' is Latin for a very rare person or thing. A very unusual and uncommon event. When something is able to be saved, to be transformed, from such suffering and such tragedy that can occur in any of our lives - that is a true 'Rara Avis'. This is a real life Phoenix that arises from the ashes of these calamities, these many times fatally unhappy events.
I am reminded these days of how Anon wrote, "Each of us is on a climb of a different sort, facing our own mountains, struggling to cross our own rough seas"...
While recently meeting again out upon a shared trail with an Organ Transplant Recipient, and then also with an adventurer who is undertaking their own challenging experiences in support of this person, what I saw were the amazingly restorative connections they have, where through this adversity each has now become revived and renewed...
We all certainly have so very many mountains in our lives.
Those who climb through such adversity, illness, and pain, and then far beyond these severe challenges, can truly say they have summited many of the greatest mountains a human being can experience. As N. Shulman mused, "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...".
Those that then choose to commit themselves to 'Adventuring For Another Reason' in support, know deeply the close connections we can create between enduring within an adventure experience, and the dedication of such efforts towards another even more encompassing cause.
Let's all do what we can to support anyone who is of need right now.
To have done so amidst such distinct adversity is a true 'Rara avis', a real Phoenix arising..... DSD
Dedicated to those enduring service workers & volunteers in Alberta.
Dedicated this day as well to the Canadian Transplant Society , Canadian Transplant Association , Donate Life America , and the US Organ Donor Site .
