Montana Jones

Learning the winter

I can hike up a storm in the warm months, the mountains and I are pretty tight. But I have never learned how to be in the wild during the winter. I broke the ice, so to speak, with new snowshoes last winter. This season I am putting them to more use. I am feeling something new on the trails, like I am out of place. Like I am vulnerable. Not a feeling I get on the hot days of summer. Not a feeling I enjoy.

I know how to cope with the trail in the summer. How much water to carry. What clothing works for both the heat of the day and layers well for cool evenings. How much food for how many miles of trail. What gear to carry just in case. I am at home and comfortable with the wilderness. In the winter I suddenly find myself a stranger again as ice crusts the streams and snow goblins climb the trees.

My biggest problem so far is with clothing. Learning what works and what doesn't. I understand layers and use them, but the wrong layers cause problems. If I trap too much heat I sweat and ultimately get wet and chills. If I don't trap enough heat I find myself in a race to keep moving and keep my body temp up. The middle ground is elusive.

The right gear to carry is different too. I learned the other week that my snowshoes can throw snow up the back of my legs and get my pants wet. Wet is bad and results in chills. Note to self: get some waterproof snow pants.

I am leery of the unforeseen too. When it is warm I am confident I could spend an unplanned night in the wild if an injury or other circumstance forced me to. In the cold I don't have the same confidence. I am reluctant to explore too far from the trailhead and safety.

So many things are different about this time of year. I feel like a novice again. Snow and ice are harder to walk on than dry ground. The trail is harder to identify. It even feels different to be thirsty. Add to that everything I don't know about avalanches and when ice is safe and my own limits and tolerance for hypothermia. I don't like feeling like a novice. Some days staying in like a hermit sounds better than feeling like this.

There are some wonderful things about the snow and cold. The still silence that makes breath and heartbeat ear shatteringly loud. How easy it becomes to see animal tracks. The way snow and frost paint old familiar landscapes into new, wonderful pieces of art. I think I have to keep going. To keep learning. To keep adding gear. What choice do I have really? Last winter I learned that being a hermit sucks.

Labels: cold, hiking, learning, novice, outdoors, snow, snowshoes, trail, wilderness, winter

Posted by: Montana Jones / 1:34 PM 2 comments

Misty

You know, I came out there to your place thirty years ago. I was there for a couple days as a boy scout. It made such an impression on me that I have never forgotten it. I remember the waterfalls right there that you could see and the cave in the cliff face. It was so amazing. Well here I am 30 years later and I want to come back. I want to bring my children out there; they are the same age I was. They are not really into the outdoors, but I hope to impress it on them a little. They are more urban than what you offer, they don't know the outdoors, but I need to show it to them. Besides, I need to come back. It's been 30 years and I want to see it again. It made such an impression on me.

I reminisced with him for a few minutes about the scenery and local landmarks and agreed about introducing the next generation to the great outdoors. I thanked him for his business and clicked the phone off. I put the phone on hold so I could take a moment to finish the paperwork and then left the phone off so I could sit there for a few moments longer. I thought about the waterfalls and the view to the west and I thought about what it is that makes people long for a place thirty years after having seen it for only a day. I'm not saying I cried, but maybe I did get a little misty. In front of me the counter on my inbox ticked up over 280 and the phone blinked at me to remind me of the world yelling for me. People with questions and complaints and needs that could only be met if I give them my attention now, now, now. The phone stayed off for a few more minutes so I could daydream about hiking with a family into the wilderness to see someplace different and beautiful. Perhaps whoever replaces me thirty years from now will get a call and hear a story from them. It's these little moments I live for in this job. It reminds me that the work I do is not just answering the phone and dealing with daily crap. The work I do creates memories that last thirty years and influence children that have not been born yet. I love this job. I'm not saying that I cried, but maybe I did get a little misty.

Labels: boy scouts, cry, family, job, outdoors, phone, place, reminisce, work

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:27 AM 1 comments

Skinny dip

I usually feel comfortable dropping my pants in my own home. Comfortable enough to create the mantra "Pants are overrated." It puzzles me that the same act of pants dropping can feel uncomfortable and out of place elsewhere. I once experimented with a theory that I would feel just fine being naked in other settings too. This theory did not hold up well.

On the shore of a mountain lake at 5:30 in the morning with the twilight starting to pink the sky and only trees and mountains as an audience, disrobing takes on a new sensation. It falls somewhere between bedroom comfortable and doctors office awkward. The motions are quick and deliberate, no reason to be timid, yet there is the nagging feeling of worry. What if I get caught? I try not to feel self-conscious as I walk down into the water.

Cool, but not cold I am hesitant about pushing more of my skin into the wet. Eventually my feet and legs adjust to the cooler temperature and I wade out deeper until there is nothing left but to pick my feet up and submerge entirely. I only spend a short time in the water. Dunking myself and paddling a little. Then with the first birdsong lullabying from the woods I drip my naked self up out of the water and over to the towel.

Drying and dressing are anti climatic. I feel like there should be more excitement when you get naked outdoors in a public place. I secretly wish that there were someone else to share the experience with, preferably a girl, to create a romantic setting. Being alone makes it boring. Getting naked and jumping in a lake was dull. Uneventful. Unthrilling. A mediocre event in my day.

In the end, being naked outdoors was no scandal. The water was refreshing. It felt ordinary. Perhaps my naked theory might still work out.

Labels: excitement, naked, outdoors, pants, skinny dip, swim, water

Posted by: Montana Jones / 8:25 PM 0 comments

New Shoes

Labels: outdoors, photo, snow, snowshoes, trail

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:18 AM 1 comments