Blog Revival

Here you will find trip reports and the amateur photography to support them.  There will also be some haphazard, poorly researched opinions and if by some strange cosmic anomaly something makes you laugh or think anew on a subject, or maybe you find a picture to be particularly appealing, then please consider how we impact the world in which we live.  Whether or not you choose to do something about it is entirely up to you.

Adieu

This pretty much sums it up for me:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/guy-with-10000-tweets-15-followers-about-ready-to,31851/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=standard-post:headline:default

To go please

Bottled water?!  Yeah that sums it up.  Get a "to stay" cup and enjoy your time with your beverage.  Ruminate.  Carry a coffee mug to go.  Maybe buy one of those fancy reusable bottles that will pay for itself in less than a week by drinking from the tap instead of buying water.  It's water!  You are lucky to live in a place where you can drink from the tap.




And while you are at it, recycle what containers you do use.  Simple.

resource:

http://www.container-recycling.org/

Also, if your politics make you cringe at the notion of being a treehugger then call it resource management.

If you dig infographics this is a cool place to learn about water, less about how we package it and more about how we use it.

http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/InfoGraphics

Poll: Your ideal non-home home

If you had the opportunity to ditch the mortgage/rent, what would you do?  If you feel so inclined, please tell me why in the comments, especially if you select other.

I could care less, but not really.

I could really care less what you do but I will attest to the rewards of a full sensory experience while playing outside—the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and the way things feel.  My senses are mostly in full working order and for that I am extremely grateful.  

When I go hiking I stop to smell the flowers.  I carefully choose vistas to admire.  I gather rocks and leaves and familiarize myself with their textures.  I also can't resist the bittersweet taste of a ripe thimbleberry but I definitely I do not shut off one of my most complex senses by stuffing earphones in my head.

The wind in the trees or the song of a bird . . . it makes no sense to me to turn that off.

Literally Unexpected

The unexpected is a huge part of the appeal of playing outdoors;  to see new places and try new things.  It's what makes it so much fun.  Some people fancy themselves eager to experience the unknown, myself included, but what happens when things are literally unexpected?  

When you go outside you do your best to mitigate danger through preparation but lets face it, if it is truly unexpected, you likely didn't prepare for it.  Yes, the logic is sort of circular but it is something to consider.  You can learn how to splint a broken leg in advance and that is smart preparation but if you do so then it is part of the known world, it's just the unwanted part of the known and something you try to avoid.

So what is the unexpected?  Hell if I know.  Need I remind you of the circular logic again?  What I do know is that the only way to successfully address the truly unexpected is through the acceptance of it.  No matter how much you learn and prepare, the unforeseen will happen.

Side note:  This is an interesting book on survival situations.  Overall, I enjoyed the book but especially the first half which spoke more about the science of surviving.
Deep Survival, by Laurence Gonzalez

Homage to B-dog

She would have loved the deep snow this year.