Once again, I receive simple and important reminders about life, living life, and what is important about life….
How your day is going, how you are feeling, and how life is seemingly treating you…. all of this can change in an instant. It can change as a result of the simplest and/or smallest of things. A phone call from a friend, a warm and unexpected chocolate chip cookie, someone you don’t know being kind to you for no outward reason, anything can change your day, your mood, and your mindset. Things can also change simply by switching your own mental outlook, your own perspective. Even a slight shift in your perspective can create a substantial change in your present experiences.
Most people I know, most travelers, in fact most people from my Western culture would say something like, “Sorry to hear that,” or “That sounds awful,” in response to listening to a factual recalling of my day today….
I left my hostel just after 8:00 AM this morning, hoping to hitch a ride from El Chalten to, or at least towards, Los Antiquos, Argentina, a border town to Chile approximately 700 km north from El Chalten. As a first attempt, I waited on the one road on the outskirts of town. I waited for about 3.5 hours with no success; there were no cars. There was consistently blowing wind of 40+ miles per hour (with gusts that whirled up small tornados), but there were no cars. Around noon I decided to change tactics. I would travel by bus about one hour away from El Chalten and wait on a spot on the main north-south highway; hopefully there would be more cars (or at least one) heading my way from that spot. So, at 1:00 PM, I headed out of town on a bus. I then sat for another 3 hours at my new spot on highway Ruta 40, again with no success. Finally, I hitched a ride back to El Chalten. Arriving back in town, I returned to the hostel I had left early that morning. OK, so hearing that outline of my day, how would you respond?
Indeed, there were moments during today when I questioned how things were transpiring. However, now, at the very end of the day, I feel nothing but gratefulness for my day, my life, my experiences (including those from today), and my vast and varied opportunities, both from the past and for the future. People who would want to apologize for my experiences today would undoubtedly view my day as a waste or believe that I gained nothing from my day. I disagree, vehemently. Why does something need to happen or get done to make a day worthwhile?Why can’t life just be enjoyed for being life, a day be enjoyed just by being a part of that day?
A relevant tangent… in an introduction to Thoreau’s Walden, the author writes that many friends and contemporary acquaintances of Thoreau considered him “underemployed” and deplored what they believcd was a “life of irresolution.” Thoreau, a graduate with excellent marks from Harvard and clearly a bright, creative mind, chose to live simply and work relatively seldomly. For a number of years, Thoreau worked in an official capacity for approximately 6 weeks of the year. For the other 46 weeks of the year, Thoreau did… well, other things. Some days he wrote; some days he built or fixed something; some days he went for a walk; some days he probably did not do much of anything. Was Thoreau wasting his time? Was Thoreau gaining nothing from his life? I wonder how most people would answer those questions. I, very confidently, believe that that Thoreau was living a full, meaningful, and fulfilled existence. My hope is that many others would agree with me.
And so, why should my day today be considered wasted? Let’s look more closely at my day…. Today I read an entire book and began another one. Today I met and spoke with people from at least six different countries. Today I was never pressured by any person, any assignment, any responsibility, or any schedule. Today I spent most of my day outside. Today I ate an incredibly delicious dinner. Today I had all of my needs met completely. Today I thought deeply about life, friends, and the future. Today I practiced speaking Spanish. Today I got to live another day in Patagonia. Huh, today was a pretty great day! No, I did not travel to a different place. No, I did not check off anything from any travel guide list or itinerary. No, my day did not include lots of moving or doing of things quickly. Why are so many people in a such a rush anyway?
12/3, Cerro Castillo
Happily confined to my tent, I have spent the afternoon reading, writing, and napping. I walked from 9:00 this morning until about 1:30 this afternoon. Gaining about 2,500 feet, the path was steep and tiring at times. I am now camped in the cradle of the Cordillera Castillo; I am surrounded by classically jagged, raw, and glacier-filled Patagonian peaks. While hiking, I very much enjoyed the cool, gray weather, but since arriving at camp, that cool grayness quickly became cold, windy drizzle. I think the day’s weather has been absolutely perfect. I had perfect uphill hiking weather this morning, and then I was blessed with perfect lazy, relaxing, hanging out in your tent weather all afternoon. I do hope for clearing skies tomorrow as I would love to explore the higher reaches of these peaks, but for now I am content listening to the gusting winds and falling rain from the comfortable confines of my tent (as I write, I am sitting on my thermarest chair, a sleeping bag is draped around me, a thermos of hot water for Mate is to one side of me, and an extra large chocolate bar with almonds and caramel is to the other side of me; I am as comfortable as I could be anywhere).
I have been thinking about the similarities I may have with Thoreau. Some of his thoughts directly connect and resonate with some of the guiding tents of my life. Aligning myself with Thoreau provides me both with a soothing sense of comfort and an unnerving sense of doubt or remorse. Optimistically, it is reassuring to think of myself alike to someone who is revered by many and often thought of as one of America’s greatest literary inspirations. However, feelings of doubt and despair also creep in to my mind with such comparisons as I begin to ask myself, if indeed I am like Thoreau, what am I doing right now to leave any sort of long-lasting legacy as he did?
And then, I begin to think of things from a somewhat Buddhist perspective and I begin to ask myself, why is it important to leave a long-lasting legacy? On our long journey through many lifetimes, how much does this one lifetime and the specific pursuits of this lifetime matter?
And then I sort of feel a bit depressed and I want think about or write about something else.
12/4, Cerro Castillo
A glorious day in the alpine. In two days, I will leave Patagonia and return to the US. I am happy that today happened before I left this place. Last night, extremely high winds blew through the evening. At times, I was sure that my GoLite megamid would fail. I also convinced myself (during different sleepless segments of the evening) that today’s weather would probably be serevely less than ideal for a mountaineering adventure. And yet, I awoke to just that – ideal weather. Unzipping my tent and crawling out to begin my day, I was greeted with bright blue skies with no clouds in sight, and crisp, cool air, but hardly any wind. A roll with cheese and some hot cocoa powered me up, and then I set off… up. The next handful of hours proved to be about as good as mountain fun can be.
I found my own way.
I boulder hopped.
I walked along pristine, glacier-fed streams.
I ascended steep inclines of rock.
I traversed snow fields.
I kicked steps up snow gulleys.
I climbed on technical rock.
I was immersed in beauty, surrounded by towering jagged peaks.
And, finally, I treated myself to a glacading ride that dropped me (quickly) over 2000 feet in elevation.
I had carried my ice axe for over two weeks. I have carried it through towns and along multiple boat rides. I had carried it on backpacking trips and buses. But so far, I had not actually used it. Clearly, I had carried this axe around Patagonia over these past two weeks for this day only, for my ride down Cerro Castillo. Carrying it the rest of the time was well worth the fun it provided for me today!
A few pics.... Clouds. New friends in El Chalten. Castillo (The Castle Mountain) at sunset. High saddle point on Castillo. My last sunset. Part of my descent (and my first "ski" run of the year).
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