[pct-l] Tethers to the other world...

[Ed Jarrett]

Being self aware and being able to let go of the trappings of civilization are all good.  Telling my wife that I don't care enough to let her know how I am is what I have a hard time with.  Cutting all ties with the world, especially her, is, IMO, selfish; doing what I want at her expense.

Ed Jarretthttp://aclayjar.blogspot.com/

Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2012 20:10:05 -0700
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Tethers to the other world...
From: sagegirl51 at gmail.com
To: edjarrett at msn.com
CC: pct-l at backcountry.net

I didn't read this as selfish. I read it as being aware of self and  understanding the transition from being in "community" and going into "alone". And being clear about boundaries and self.


On Oct 13, 2012 7:10 PM, "Ed Jarrett" <edjarrett at msn.com> wrote:



That all sounds good.  But I love my wife too much to be that selfish.



Ed Jarretthttp://aclayjar.blogspot.com/



> Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2012 20:04:19 -0600

> From: jolson at olc.edu

> CC: pct-l at backcountry.net

> Subject: [pct-l] Tethers to the other world...

>

> 17 years ago when the listserv started there was no discussion about how

> to communicate with the "other world" while on the trail.

>

> The trail has its own reality.  It now takes me just a couple weeks to

> shift from being social to being single.  That's what it is for me.

> Suddenly, in the first hour, I'm alone, and I can project forward and

> know I'm going to be alone for three weeks, six weeks, a couple months

> or five months...   Five or six hikes of 10 days to seven weeks - I know

> this in the first moments.

>

> There is a couple minutes of elation being away from the car and walking

> away from it all.  Then there's the first glance into space across the

> canyon to the granite spires beyond.

>

> Increasingly the larger spaces come to be THE environment.  You can hide

> in a copse of trees or make sure you camp at 8000'.  Naps in the

> afternoon shade chase the bigness away.

>

> Day after day you open up on big spaces.  Increasingly these big spaces

> are internal.  When you cross the head of a drainage and cross the

> springs that eventually become the Colorado or Green or San Joaquin, you

> check in.  The long gaze down the basin across the flattening forest is

> there every time you look.  The "tether" to the "other world" is thinning.

>

> You feel an increasing sense of competence, and this competence is based

> in choices you make moment to moment as you walk along the trail.  Week

> after week you find yourself tested and your choices bear good outcomes.

>

> You abandon gear or trade for or buy more minimalist gear.  Your body

> hardens and while you can walk 25 miles a day, you can no longer jump

> vertically more than a couple inches.  If you don't watch it, that lasts

> a long time.

>

> Each moment of each day surrounds us as we walk.  The presence of one

> foot in front of the other opens up new vistas in the big spaces.

> Emotions tarnish and churl.  Not enough water, or food, or sleep - all

> are part of the blossoming, unfolding, magnetic call of what's ahead.

>

> If you can let go of the tethers - others needs to feel you're safe -

> and just leave - just head out!!!  Sure you love you Mom and girlfriend

> or boyfriend, and maybe your dad...

>

> Just head out.  If you die - well, you die.  That's part of untying the

> knots that are other's worlds wanting to control our own!  You learn to

> trust yourself, your ability to make good decisions in the moment,

> whether from ethics, or evaluation of personal safety.

>

> I think we're in an historical era that doesn't want us to carve our own

> lives.  The opportunities that exist for us in the world of work are

> pretty dull and mundane and predictable.  Whether straight or gay -

> marriage is important to others.  The tethers hold us back, are visible

> in the emotions - in the fear of stepping away from the comfortable and

> known.

>

> Can you imagine just hitching to Campo, or Horseshoe Meadows, or Hwy 50

> or White Pass and heading out - feeling, but not knowing you'll not only

> survive but thrive?

>

> Hiking a long trail enables one to step out of one life into another

> over the course of a day or two.  Suddenly, you're on the trail.

>

> No one knows when you're going to be anywhere when.  You told them you

> would contact them at your convenience, and their worry was no business

> of yours.  You are stepping into a new reality, from one, into another,

> from the past into a future you've crafted in your planning.  The

> pleadings of loved ones that they'll worry about you distance themselves

> into echos that slowly diminish and disappear. You're on the trail!!!

>

> You fully understand the risks involved and trust in your ability to

> learn quickly enough how to make good decisions, to use experience to

> deepen wisdom.  You can say this to your folks or loved ones, and to

> yourself.  All feel a bit, or a lot, of uncertainty.  Especially Moms...

>

> The bottom line is a person literally steps from one life into another.

> There just aren't many opportunities like this in modern living.  You

> can maintain contact with the "other world" if you want, but why would

> you???

>

> Jeffrey Olson

> Rapid City, SD

>

>

>

>

>

>

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