Question of the day: Who are you in the wilderness?
I’ve been watching The National Parks: Americas Best Idea
However, many articles and publications tend to focus on the athletic side of being out in the wilderness. We see how fast and high we can climb and hike. We try out different space-age fabrics and lab-designed drinks and energy bars. We communicate to each other about which shoes are lighter and faster.
When I was a youth, my external frame backpack was bought from Gemco (look it up) for around $20 and didn’t have all the bells and whistles. I hiked in blue jeans and t-shirts. I slept on an Ensolite pad (still do) and slept inside used tents.
I still made it to the top of Mount Whitney, among other places, and developed my lifelong love of the wilderness.
My personal feeling is that no matter how materially- or performance-oriented we are when planning to explore the wilderness, or however much we are overwhelmed by the complexity of our multitasking modern lives, we all become philosophers once our feet hit the trail or our hands start climbing the rocks.
The question is:
Who are you when you decide to step out into the wilderness? An athlete? A philosopher? A photographer? A blogger?
All of the above? Let me know what you think and what you become once you are out there.
Lately it’s been all of the above plus Explorer, Adventurer and Dreamer.
In the past it’s just been: Explorer, Adventurer, Athlete and Philosopher.
Once I got into Photography that became part of it, and occasionally I’ll be made conscious of being a blogger as well but that part sometimes comes in after the fact when I write about my adventure afterwards.
I agree with your personal feeling though, once you go a little ways, one becomes a Philosopher formost.
Good question!
Very good questions so worth pondering…
Who we are out in the wilds is so much more than what we do out there…
We may each become the person we want to be… Be it adventurer, athlete, companion, philosopher, parent, wanderer, explorer, and of course one who muses and writes…
DSD
Nice blog–and interesting question. I think I am always part explorer, part naturalist, part conservationist. I consider all aspects of the particular environment I find myself in, and what it has to offer in aesthetics, wildlife, and what impact humans are having on it. It is usually after I get home and am savoring the memories of the experience that I become a philosopher, framing my experience with the thoughts of those hikers, naturalists, poets, and wildnerness champions that came before me.