Lost in CO

Prompt: Stand still, the trees ahead and bush beside you are not lost. -Albert Einstein

 

We tied the pink bandana to the tree to mark our crossing at the stream and started the climb up the ridge.  Without ever being able to pinpoint the exact location of our camp on the map (we had drifted from the trail and the trees were too dense to triangulate a position) we knew it was jeopardous to leave it to peak the hill but decided to climb anyway.  A few paces up we looked back and saw our blue tents peaking through the trees and knew we would easily, easily, be able to make our way back to them. An hour or so later we arrived at tree line and decided to stop for a snack, after which we decided to return to camp as there was an ominous storm brewing in the distance, from which only our tents would be able to protect us. We began our descent and somewhere, somewhere, along the way took a wrong turn. We had tried our best to keep a picture of our route definite in our minds, but there were more aspen groves than we had remembered, more streams, more ridges. It was a losing battle, and we indeed found ourselves lost. In one place or another,  just at the outskirts of one of the aspen groves and along one of the streams, and at the bottom of one of the ridges, our tents were awaiting our arrival. We were clearly, clearly, nowhere near that place. With the sunlight fading, that ominous storm threatening, and an understanding that we had traveled a bit too far (or was it not far enough) east (or was it west) than our camp, we decided that we could either wallow in our lostness (A.K.A sleep out in the wilderness with no sleeping bag, no tent, and not near enough clothing), or we could allow ourselves to be found by taking the easy way out back to civilization and to pizza. In all that had happened, we knew we were never really lost, we just had to leave behind the thing we were clinging to (in this case a couple tents and sleeping bags) and follow the trail out.

backpacking!

blue tents

Ominous storm

Aspen trees and ridges

 

*The next day we WERE able to find our camp by as closely as possible matching our original hike into the valley. The trek became amusing when Marco looked down at the ground, saw a yellow flower, and confidently proclaimed that our camp was just a few yards away. No more than 20 steps brought us to the clearing we had been looking for all along. One note of advice: DO NOT eat tortillas that have been lost in the woods over a 24 hr. period. I don’t know why, but they tasted like feet smell.

 

 

Running/Walking

1. Daylight savings has put a damper on my running schedule. In two words, it’s dark. I don’t like to run in the dark. I predict that by “Spring Forward” I will have tripped and fallen due to unforeseen roots, rocks, or runners I won’t be able to see on the trail because of the darkness. That or I get hit by a car. And it will probably be Melissa because she has night blindness. There are only two things worse than running in the dark: waking up early to run in the light and running on a treadmill. Maybe I’ll start wearing my bike light attached to my shirt… and a headlamp.

2. We used to do this running drill in soccer practice called the 4-minute drill. We would jog for 2 minutes, sprint for 45 seconds, run fast pace for 1 minute and then walk for 15 seconds. We would do that for a good 30 to 45 minutes to as closely resemble the amount of each type of running one would do in a real game of soccer. I still tend to run this way. I call it my soccer gait. I don’t really realize I am doing it unless I run with someone else that doesn’t have this built-in tempo and realize that I don’t really like to run at one set pace.

3. My mom told me once that she could tell which one I was on the soccer field just by the way I walked/ran. After learning this I started trying to distinguish people by the way they walked. It’s a fascinating pastime. You’ll find that most people have very distinctive walks and/or runs. My friend Sarah always had an interesting run because a coach told her one time that if she leaned forward really far she could run faster because she would be more aerodynamic. I don’t know where he got that from but she was pretty fast.

4. My friends and I started going on walks in high school. I’m pretty sure I was opposed to the idea at first because that was something our mothers did, but I have really grown to love the walk and talk. When your friends tell you crazy things you can YELL “What? You’re kidding.” People can’t really yell like that while they talk in coffee shops or at dinner. Some people do, but other customers give them dirty looks. No one really gives you dirty looks when you use outside voices outside. Also they can’t listen in on your conversations like they can at a coffee shop; however, they may catch a word or two and wonder what in the world you may be talking about. People are curious like that.

5. Doctors say it’s good for your health to take the stairs at work instead of the elevator. Do you know what the stairwell smells like at my work?… mice. So yea, I take the elevator.

 

Mud

Why did I climb through a huge mud pit today…? Because it’s fun? Because it makes me more childlike? I think so… is that reaching?

 

Why I Like Backpacking

I traveled to Buena Vista, CO last week for a little whitewater rafting, backpacking, and hiking. On the trail Amy and I created…  a list for those that just don’t understand…Why I Like Backpacking/ Hiking: (this list was created while we were lost and tired and in need of some inspiration to have good spirits)

1. to be outside
2. to do something different
3. to face a challenge
4. to get in touch with my granola side
5. to leave the urban life for awhile
6. to further define my chaco tan line
7. to learn lessons from the Aspen trees about community
8. to really get to know people
9. to remember I am alive by breathing hard
10. to know physical pain is fleeting
11. to see the stars
12. to see the mountains
13. to see the clouds
14. to see how blue the sky is
15. to see beaver dams
16. to see trees for miles
17. to see snow
18. to reach tree line
19. to listen to running creeks
20. to listen to rain as it hits my tent
21. to listen to the wind
22. to forget about time
23. to look at my compass more than my watch
24. to enjoy simple food
25. to play in the fire
26. to pee in the woods
27. to appreciate a hot shower
28. to remember how small we are
29. to do quiet time in a tent while it rains/hails/thunderstorms
30. to be dazzled by God
31. to learn new lessons from God