[at-l] Shane's postings re the Dateline hiker Story

[shane at theplacewithnoname.com (Shane Steinkamp)]

> I think it is counterproductive to engage in these hindsight
> postulations about hiking alone, changing routes, leaving
> itineraries, etc.

It's just any other example.  On the law enforcement list that I'm on, they
just posted about a coroner that shot himself in the leg during a gun safety
course.  The mistakes of others can be a reminder to us to pay attention,
that's all.

If I imagine myself in the hard situations of others, maybe when I find
myself in a similar circumstance I will not do anything silly.  Like
panic...

I'm perfectly willing to admit that I like to *imagine* that I would be able
to get out, but to be honest, I'd probably have been found dead pinned to
the mountain.

> Heck, the whole point for me is to at least occasionally
> experience a taste of "closer to real freedom," which
> - to me anyway involves having to deal with the natural world
> closer to her terms than ours, where not every base is covered.

I agree completely, and it wasn't my intention to imply otherwise.  I don't
jump out of airplanes without a parachute, though.

> it may sound strange, but I respect, even envy a bit a death
> like that, and from your writings, would think you would, too.

Absolutely.  Dying while the mountain holds your hand can't be a bad way to
go - but I'd still prefer to be eaten by a bear.

> I respect the side of you that teaches prevention, self-
> defense, etc.  However, in the end, those goals can
> become so consuming that you fall into the real tort reform
> issue of our day - the tendency for us all to over-analyze and
> implicitly believe that there is no such thing as an accident
> anymore - a simple twist of fate that is nobody's fault, and -
> in fact - is part of an important reaffirmance of our humble
> place in this incredible spinning mess of live, death and
> rebirth . . .

Oh, there are accidents.  To imply that he set out to get his arm stuck
under a boulder would be silly.  It was a freak accident.  He did what he
needed to do to get out.  Hopefully it was a growth experience for him.

> I do not mean to start some point-by-point thread discussion on
> all this, but I felt a deep urge to somehow, in a very
> imperfect way, try to express the feeling that this hiker
> sought not to experience cheap thrills, but rather to
> experience a deeper, more real form of living.

Well, I think that's what we're all out there for.  I don't think hikers
looking for 'cheap thrills' are going to find many on the trail in any
case...

> I admire him for it, for his actions to hold on to life, and
> for what he has done since.  I admire the guy who died, too;
> and I admire all of us who, in our own small ways, feel a
> kinship with the wildness of nature.

I respect him.  Admire?  I just don't feel it.  I don't really admire
anything I've done either, although sometimes I manage to respect it.  The
Sherpas on Everest?  Not that I admire.  The soccer players who crashed in
South America, ate the dead passengers, and managed to get themselves
rescued?  I'm not sure...

Bad things sometimes happen to people.  How they handle that is a measure of
their character.  It doesn't make them special.

> Let us not forget, in our discussions about gear lists, safety,
> etc. that there is something freeing and spiritual about
> wildness that touches our souls deeply - and that touching must
> be for a reason . . .

I think I've made that point before...

That was the entire point of my last hike:

http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/hiking/journals/shane/040820.htm

> just as the fury of Hurricane Ivan triggers all kinds of
> emergency preparedness efforts, evacuations, etc. it also
> triggers in me a deep, visceral desire to experience it, and
> find beauty and spiritual meaning in such  immense power . . .
> hope this makes some sense, at least to one soul out there -

Absolutely.  I've chased storms.  I recommend it.  I experienced Hurricane
Andrew directly.  When the roof comes off and the lights go out, the fun has
just begun.

That kind of connection with power is not to be missed.

Shane