Saw the movie into the wild last night… I had the strongest urge to run away into the wilderness… secretly begged my maker to let me live naturally sometime in the future… as in… here is the dream… get married to some amazing man and live in the wild or as close as we can for a while…
But really… the movie made me tear up a few times because it was so beautiful… and I feel this need to be a part of it… driving though mountain passes isn’t enough… I want to swim through the tops of the trees… the limitations of my body… hmmm
The movie reminded me of the more wild and free times… the wilderness working times… I have to make a point to remember those experiences… because after doing it for a while… all of the memories blend… from being a kid and swimming in ponds... to swimming in rivers on the trail...
Here are a few… specifically for Liz & Joal, Laura and Sunny & Joe… and mostly for Laura and Joal because you two actually read this from time to time...
-Liz playing I could go crazy on a night like tonight…I still love her version better than the indigo girls… and she played it for me next to the old abandoned shack… do you guys remember when Janis was so spooked by it she refused to do lone-walking… it was that week… I think Liz had to rescue her… anyone remember the whole story?
-And I remember singing in the rain with Laura… we sang behold tis eventide…along with a few other hymns… and the sun came out… and joal was walking down the creek - - maybe even in his knee high moccasins… he stopped to listen and told us it reminded him of his mission… later when I was on my mission - - I always thought of that moment when I sang that song…
-And I remember the boys groups calling joal’s moccasins his hooker boots…
-And sunny running down red creek because I left something back at camp… either a gps… or a map… something that was worth the 3-mile jog… and as we crossed the river I lost the map… oops…
-Joe playing beauty shop with me and one of my favorite young walkers… a 12-year-old from New York…
-Joe bringing my group mint leaves he found next to the creek… of course in his leather overalls…
-All of you spitting on me… because we loved each other that much…
-Adam Lindsey speaking to me in a made up language looking over a valley..."
-Dancing hands... and a young walker saying, "there is a yellow man down by the river"...
-being really hungry, tired, cold, hot, scared, excited, sad, and absolutely at peace
-Road trips…
-People falling in love
Trail days... some of the hardest greatest days… I love you all that shared that time with me!!! I would love to hear the bits and pieces that you remember most...
6 comments:
I'm almost afraid of commenting here because when I start listing trail memories, I tend to go on and on. I don't remember much about that Janis (Janice?) night except that I was recently made backup and I took Elizabeth with me on a run to town at night so that she could help me stay awake. Janice called in because she was frightened of being alone and frightened of that empty shack. We told her we would exchange her with someone else so she could be back in the group. By way of explanation for her fright, she said, "I'm not really from the ghetto." I don't know what she meant by that exactly, but it was kind of funny to me at the time.
At the time, I couldn't understand her not wanting to be alone--moments of solitude were precious to me out there--but I did understand how that old shack could be scary. There were many nights when I slept alone doing backup when I got spooked and couldn't sleep well.
One more thought. After reading your blog last night, Liz and I decided we should do a reunion trip in Arizona with some fellow Anasazi folks. We were thinking we could set up a family base camp at Red Creek and do day hikes to places we remember from being on the trail. What do you think?
i think i am going to change the title of this post to, "I'm not really from the ghetto." :)
and i think that sounds like a great idea. maybe we can plan it for september.
I don't remember the cabin but I do remember singing in the rain and sitting waist deep in a puddle eating wet dog in the sun, sleeping soundly on the hard ground, drinking greedily from cow ponds, watching the shower fill with dirty water after a week on the trail. I remember the connections - with young walkers and trail walkers - and the strong love and hope that came with them. I remember singing hyms on top of a plateau early one morning and honestly hearing angels sing harmony. The tears and testimony and gratitude that followed...The trail never failed to put things in perspective.
I was out there for relatively such a short time but enough to change me and use that time as a gauge in my life - sort of like my mission - to stop and evaluate if I'm still "me" when life carries me away. It is one of those memories that makes my heart swell.
I would absolutely LOVE to do a reunion. And I want to bring Blake, he needs to know what I'm talking about. You just can't know unless you've been there. The "when" is the tricky part. I have this goal of getting my RN and if I don't push for it now it may not happen. So, the best bet for me would be either this may or at some holiday break. Maybe it's the same situation for Joal at his school? I think Joal's idea sounds great.
Thanks for stirring up such great memories!
you are welcome
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