There is something about that distant peak, something that enthralls me and sparks this curiosity in me that not a lot of other things do. I can't help but wonder what is out there, and have the urge to just go for it. Hiking and climbing is a happy place for me, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
I am the type of person who would rather be on a trail somewhere, hiking up to the peak of a mountain than sitting on a beach. I want to trail-run, climb mountain faces and just be in that atmosphere. I love the outdoors, and it's my happy place. Being away from a big city, or just population in general, is something I have grown fond of from time to time. Don't get me wrong, a big city has its perks, and I could spend a lot of time in them. But there is just something about the sounds of nature when on a trail, or a slide. There is something about getting dirt on your shoes, and sweat on your brow.
Being in the Adirondack Mountains (ADK) for instance, gives you time to shut out the rest of the world. It is like its own little planet, unlike anything else. It gives you plenty of time to just think, and be with your thoughts. Which is something everyone should experience at some point in your life. Being alone, on the top of a mountain, with a views 360 degrees around you gives you a sense of how much things really matter. That sort of bad grade on a test last week, or that shitty game suddenly doesn't seem to matter as much. At that point you realize that it's all relative, and you should take everything with a grain of salt.
At that point where it's just you and this wall face, with seemingly few hand-holds, and feasibly no way up. At that point, you nut up and start your ascent. It turns into you versus the mountain, you versus that particular wall even. And once you start your way up, you leave the ground behind and every worry along with it. None of that seems to matter anymore, because you're climbing a damn mountain. You, just a human being are climbing some of the highest points in your perspective area. Just 60 or 70 years ago this wasn't even thought of as a possibility. And nearly 50 years ago, it was seen as purely naive and a rebellious activity. Now you can truly make a living doing this. And even if you don't make a living doing it, it can be a reason to live.
Adventuring is a bug, and once you contract that bug you'll never lose it. It sticks with you. It is something that I personally would never want to go away; I hope this bug stays with me my entire life, and I hope I pass it along to my children. I want a wife who has it. Out of every bug you could catch, any sickness, I hope its travel fever.
