Building switchbacks in the Honeycombs cleft. As a child, I relished the dirt beneath my fingernails. Whether it was from the garden, building creek dams or inspecting insects, the earthy highlight marked a day well spent. As time has progressed, as it is aught to do, the appeal has stayed with me and grown into a staple of adventure. Every trip, outing or excursion now seems somewhat incomplete without dirtied and aching hands. To me, this layer of dirt represents a connection with something more than just my activity. It is the connection I make with the raw materials that make up the foundation of all expeditionary masterpieces; the intimate relationship shared between human and element. This relationship has been cultured and grown by eons of shifting rocks, flowing waters and winds that tempt and inspire all of our inner pioneers. My goal is to embody this inner pioneer’s nature, the one pushing through all hardship toward the idea of something new, untainted and raw. That is why I adventure. Adventure wakes my inner pioneer and hands him a fresh biscuit lathered in bacon grease and topped with a lump of fat, saying, “always forward, brother.” It erases all need of external validation and sharpens my attention to the next great endeavor. It craves the ideas that keep me up all night trying to rationalize them. Adventure softens the hours dedicated to the hard work necessary for all things worthwhile. In the end, it’s less the act of adventure that I live for but the life that it creates. Because as much as it makes me want to study the rigid caste system of snow monkeys in Japan, or to watch the Northern Lights while moose hunting in Finland, it gives me the ability to live a life worth loving. The motivation to move forward through the hardships and work that will always be present. Adventure gives me the determination of a man facing a whiteout of the unknown, who can find focus and calm in the inevitability of quiet skies beyond. It leads my hands as they mold the elements to my need for exploration. It clears my mind and opens my eyes to a life untainted by destructive vices. It grabs the cautious pioneer of my conscience by the arm and shows him the sweeping lands of untainted soil. It removes his cumbersome gloves and digs his cracked hands deep into the loam of creativity and causes him to laugh as the rich soil of life spills through his gaping fingers. This pioneer of thoughts and emotion is given reprieve from daily toil by the exalting accomplishments that are the product of adventure. Adventure wakes my inner pioneer and dirties his fingernails.
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Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.- Edward Abbey Archives
March 2020
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