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27 December ~2009
Years ago I would debate whether I should go backpacking when I had things to do at home. It's no secret that I invariably chose freedom or adventure instead of home maintenance.
I at least try to keep my house clean and uncluttered (I took 10 loads of stuff at Goodwill last year). Eventually I will get to the rest, but it might have to wait until I retire. The beauty of it is my house companions don't seem to mind, and the excitement they show when the backpack and tent and sleeping bags show up in the living room makes it clear their heart's desire is the same as my own.
So I headed up Sunday, as far as me and the dogs could go and still have to time set up camp before dark. We found a gorgeous campsite on the edge of a cliff, and a place we had never been to before..
It was damn cold up there, maybe the coldest night I have ever spent in the backcountry. My water bottle a foot away from my sleeping bag froze hard, as did my boots a half hour after I took them off.
Mollie hasn't yet grown a thick coat like Ben and Maggie, so I put a fleece dog sweater on her that I brought along. I covered Ben and Maggie with a blanket I normally use as a pillow. My Kelty sleeping bag kept me warm, and we all had a peaceful night's sleep. I read in a cowboy poetry book once that cold nights make for good days.
I had a fire going a few minutes after I got up. It warmed me up enough that I could appreciate the glory of the winter sunrise.
This trip felt plenty adventurous, high in the mountains alone in the mid of winter. The wilderness seems to expand this time of year, with so few people up there.
It was just right, to be immersed in the cold beauty of winter, and the simple pleasure of a warm campfire.
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Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art
of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the
elimination of non-essentials.
- Lin Yutang
We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy,
even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.
- E.B. White
It is the sweet, simple things of life
which are the real ones after all.
- Laura IngallsWilder
To know you have enough is to be rich.
- Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Dare to be naive.
- Buckminster Fuller
(Let the video below load once to get it in the buffer, then hit the arrow to play it)