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| Messages 1 - 8 of total 8 in this topic |
GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 23, 2012 - 03:43am PT
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My pack is heavy. The pavement has turned to soft sand, and in the dark the boulders are soft eggs cast agains the moonlight. No headlamp is needed, for this trail I've walked a thousand times.
Often cold can intimidate. It takes all of what we work so hard for – Comfort, security, warmth, protection – and reminds us that we are walking the Earth, it isn't walking us. In choosing to embrace the cold, in hiking up the same trail every morning, in summer and winter, we remove our coat of society and strip back to our base. We are animals again in a garden, searching for succulent melons on the hillside to pluck.
Today I search only the ripest fruit.
Underneath a boulder, cold as the frigid air that condenses my breath, I don't see the world. I am in its shadow, the world is only what I see in front of me – Rock, Brush, Earth. I own so precious little, and much of this is with me in a small pack. Shoes invite the feet as they claw into the leather and lace. They are warm somehow, or maybe they aren't, yet their familiarity bring peace.
Sitting, waiting, the sun is the master and I am the apprentice. The ridge above is dank, cold, grey – its colors the spectrum of Atoms and Molecules, amorphic and a quirk of topography.
In these precious moments of waiting, the mind is allotted freedom to roam. The body doesn't want to go through the paces, the mind places the image of risk, yet I am its master like the Stone is mine. Glancing up again on the ridge I see colors – Pink, orange, red. It is time.
So many times I've heard the term “out of body experience.” It is such a broad term, it is almost useless, yet my mind is still sitting on the cold slab as my body has risen to meet its challenge. By the time conscience has kicked in I am committed, high on the shady boulder above talus and branch. The manzanita below do not wish me to land on them no more than the rock in front of me asks for my footsteps. Each move calculated, yet experienced for the first time. A thousand times this boulder I've trod, and I am still surprised by an obstacle presented. Pressing, Pushing, pulling, flowing, not against the boulder but with its grain.
A short pause, before the summit, a sign of hubris. The last press is made and I am greeted by sunlight; pink, glowing and warm. The same world that is cold and uncaring is vibrant and loving – or maybe, it is the same world, but only from its cold do we understand what warmth is.
Sitting on top, the world seems different – our eyes are magnificent liers, and we can be convinced of many things. As I look below, I see the same grey rock made of Diorite, Quartz, Feldspar, turn into pink and orange gumballs, as inviting as candy.
For this is my playground, and in struggle is growth and growth is expression of freedom. A great day lies ahead, let us not waste the daylight.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Dec 23, 2012 - 04:00am PT
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Gdavis, I hear you man. Awesome post, the transition to first light brings so much life & your words put me right there, very nice- although I do question what "cold" means in SoCal :-) Thanks. Perfect photo too.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 23, 2012 - 04:19am PT
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Are you the same guy with the titty gifs?
I felt it, brother.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 23, 2012 - 04:27am PT
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The Shift.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 23, 2012 - 09:15am PT
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Time to go again! God its freaking cold out. I'm such a wimp. lol.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 23, 2012 - 09:29am PT
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Very well played, on the rock and with the words. Thank you.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 23, 2012 - 09:31am PT
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Thanks, Jay. Advice from a friend, you could say. Maybe I would trade the hour I spent writing, then, for some sleep - I think now it was worth it as I sip coffee and contemplate all the amazing people in my life.
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
WA, & NC & Idaho
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Dec 23, 2012 - 09:37am PT
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Beautiful poetry G Davis,
captures the mood really well!!!
Thanks!
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| Messages 1 - 8 of total 8 in this topic |
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