Some of my reasons:
  • The rush from looking back at the top of a pass over the distance traveled and saying, "I came all that way!"
  • The beauty of the alpenglow at high altitudes.
  • The energy of a storm on a distant peak and watching it come your way as you sip tea on a mountain top over 11,000 ft.
  • Watching the wind come up a canyon making the trees dance.
  • The brilliance of the stars at 10,000 ft. Actually, seeing the parts of a "shooting star" breaking off and burn out. Seeing that we are just a speck in the universe.
  • Meeting old friends that I only saw in the Sierras.
  • The rush you get when you see a rattlesnake on the other side of the rock you just put your foot on...you can't stop...so you spring higher and farther than you ever thought possible with a 40+ pound pack on.

(I added this later when I realized I forgot something.)
But most important, you challenge yourself and you see what you are made of!

I don't trust my body now enough to put it on the "edge", but I think I could still do some of the less adrenaline filled stuff. I think my real problem now would be sleeping on the ground.

Last edited by LATH; 12/13/10 05:01 AM.
John