Walking Under Giants
I went out on a solo tour today to explore an area that I had not trekked to before. Av risk is currently LOW and I picked a route with low vertical gain, basically a valley bottom below huge peaks. It started out like any other day of touring- gear packing, breakfast, coffee, a drive, more coffee, more driving and then parking and getting 'all geared-up.' The route in from the parking lot was pretty simple to find. Relatively quickly after I began I reached the lake and it was great to see another aspect of a peak we had skied in January.
Crossing a frozen lake with an outflow and inflow is always a bit touchy but just like the flight path of a butterfly' I managed to circle around and find the safe way onwards to my objective.
As I carefully plotted my way through a field of giant snow covered boulders on the downward edge of huge rock cliffs and avalanche paths I looked up and the mountains projected upwards, almost vertically, thousands and thousands of feet.
Not a sound could be heard. There I was, under the power and the majesty of a giga-tonne of rock. My 200lb. frame wasn't of any consequence, I didn't matter. The giants above me reminded me of the higher power of nature, of God (if you're into him), of something more powerful and omnipotent and it reminded me that in the grand scheme of things I am nothing. Just a bag of water and bones. It was spiritual.
These Giants taught me that in my hurried life, full of challenges, aspirations, and responsibilities I'm only part of a connected world and it's not all about me. My fancy coffee, my new jacket, the struggles of work the week before didn't matter. I had an epiphany moment and when it happens to me out in nature, especially when I'm out solo adventuring, it resonates. Falls Lake and the valley behind it didn't disappoint. There are numerous new routes I plan to explore and I had a spiritual, or existential moment that I wouldn't have had with a group. Yah, solo touring is a hot button subject, but I for one don't get these perfect moments of clarity where you can look deep inside yourself any other way. Peace-out.