[cdt-l] Ashes to ashes; dust to dust

[Paul Magnanti]

(as a side note...man, looks like I was not too far off an saying that a good chunk of CDT hikers is an aging Gen Xer crowd. :D Should we hike in parachute pants and high top Nikes, while listening to Duran Duran on Sony Walkmans to keep it real? Anyway...)

From time to time, I've thought of the "What if I died out there?".   I've unfortunately known directly or indirectly (friend of a friend of a friend) people who've been seriously injured or even died in the backcountry. Active people my age who did things right but just had very bad luck. 

Though most of my activities are not in the dangerous category (nothing technical, most of my skiing is touring rather than alpine or big bowls), there is always a chance my number could be up. If I had to die tragically, I'd rather die doing something that I love. 

I remember seeing my grandfather a week before he passed away. Here's a man who fought a war, worked construction all his life and was vigorous well into old age. He was also a loving grandfather with a smile that always seemed to be on  his face. A stroke took away this vitality; dementia then took away the person I knew as "Pop".  The man I saw in the hospital looked like my grandfather, but was not.

Dying in the back country? I'd rather not die. But there are worse ways to go.

When I die (be it tomorrow, ten years from now or sixty years from now), scatter my ashes on Mt. Lafayette. It was the first mountain I ever climbed. And was part of the reason why I ultimately did not follow the "road map" that is advocated by many  people.
(If you are bored, you can read about it: http://snipurl.com/17dt9 )









 
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The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust 
caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau
http://www.pmags.com