• life too short not to
• greatest beauty has mystery/spontaneity

Avid backpackers will get a yearning for breaking from the routine and shouldering their pack up a trail after a few weeks of their normal life.

This yearning can turn into a pretty good ache if a couple months go by since their last trip.

They browse backpacking web sites, drop into the outdoor stores to look over the newest gear, daydream of waking up to a cold mountain morning in an evergreen forest and sipping hot coffee while waiting for the sun to climb over the east ridge. (the smell of dew-soaked needles and steaming coffee and fresh mountain air is one of those events that tends to be remembered, like a smile from a beautiful woman).

Heading out to the wilderness can be the antithesis of civilized life, especially if one favors exploring different regions. Much of the appeal has to do with the apprehension of heading into the unknown, to hike a trail we have not been on before.

Mystery is a powerful force, and the wilderness is full of it during these trips to new areas.. We never know what we may come across as we head out, what may be around the next bend, cannot anticipate the mountain view that we find at the crest of the pass we have climbed for 2 hours, or the light that breaks out under the clouds just before sunset, clothing the mountains in a golden glow.

The greatest beauty has spontaneity (and mystery) associated with it. (the echo of thunder from peak to peak during a power thunderstorm, the sudden rainbow that appears as the storm moves off, the mystery in the eyes of the beautiful woman who turned and smiled)

Do yourself a favor, and get busy planning your next trip. I guarantee you, life is too short not to. I also can pretty much predict that you will come home with images and stories that will make the hardships of the trail seem like a walk in the park. (assuming you survive to tell the stories of course).

(P.S. : Be very adamant about holding your pack weight to a level you know you are comfortable with a too-heavy pack can diminish the pleasure of a backpack trip more than anything else.)

"Without Mystery Life Shrinks"

- Edward O. Wilson.