Vaguely Spiritual Ponderings About Hiking Up Steep Things

There is something empowering about being able to hike up a steep ridge at 15 000ft, feeling not tired, but instead motivated to go even higher. There is something liberating about being able to scramble up a muddy, rocky slope with a drop off into a deep valley only one foot away. And there is a revelation when you figure out how to move your body and its muscles in ways that enable you to balance on slim rocky ledges, slide through volcanic ash, ascend efficiently, and descend without hurting your knees. The ability to engage your muscles to fine-tune your movement, protect your body, and do it all in a controlled and graceful fashion, demonstrates a primal bond with nature. Being out in the wild, having to rely on the connection between mind and body; there is nothing that makes you feel more alive. When this is combined with a supportive team to share the experience, there is nothing that makes you feel more a part of everything, whatever that may be. Your movements, the team’s energy, the land; everything becomes unified--one flow of existence.