Stay on Offense Climb Mountains

Attacking Adversity

Go Hiking And Climb McClellan Butte

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Sometimes hikes are physically tough, but it is easy mentally, because I know the trail and climbed it many times before this. McClellan Butte was now this morning. So this was a mental and physically rough climb.

Lost

Well not really lost, but I could not find where the trail continued after getting to a road. There was a sign of course saying 1/4 mile up the road, the trail continued. I walked what I thought was that far and no trail so I walked back again. Then started the quarter mile one more time. This time I found a trail which I spent a while climbing, but it was a false trail. So back to the road. At this point I was thinking maybe I will just go home. But I decided to continue down the road and found the right trail. It was at least a half a mile down that road. I just know it! Half hour lost.

Deceived

Can a trail deceive you? Yes, it can start out easy and then get really difficult. That was today in a nutshell. I knew however that the trail was supposed to be a burner and kept asking myself when the hard stuff was going to start. It started about an hour and a half into the trip. Straight up!

Then as I got close to the top, the trail turned and began going downhill. I thought that maybe it would just go for a short bit and start back up, but it kept going. So eventually I decided to go back and see if I missed a turn somewhere. Back up the trail I went. I actually did this a couple times before a trail runner came by and said that the summit was in the downward direction. It eventually would turn and go straight up. Then back I went. He was right, eventually it went straight up to the top. Another half hour lost.

Scrambles

There is a scramble at the top of Mclellen Butte. It is about 100 feet with lots of hand and footholds, but and a big BUT, it is all exposed to at least a thousand foot drop. Since I am 74 and my balance not what it used to be I decided to live another day or two and forego that 100 feet. Alex Honhold could climb up it backwards blindfolded, but I am not Alex Honhold.

McClellan Butte is a “good” one as they say, and I didn’t spoil it with testosterone poisoning.

Bookish Weapon Number Ten

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Jocko Willink is a former Navy Seal. He has a popular podcast that focuses on everything military. He will read the accounts of soldiers in battle throughout history. One of my favorite podcasts was listening to him read and then explain Eiji Oshikawa’s book about the life of Miyamoto Mushashi, a Japanese Samurai from the 1600s. Read that book. It is well worth it, but this Bookish Weapon is not about Mushashi, but Jocko’s book “Discipline Equals Freedom.”

Good

If you could take one thing from this book it would be that no matter what happens the proper response is “Good.” This is Jocko’s trademark phrase. It provides a great perspective on the malevolence and suffering of life. No matter what happens it is “Good.” It reminds me of Hal Elrod’s “Five Minute Rule.” The idea is to find the good in anything.

Yesterday, my car was broken into and a tool kit was stolen. Of course the theives tossed by belongings all over inside the car. Last night I used both Jocko’s and Hal’s approach. Said to myself, “Good” I will be more careful about what I leave in the car from now on and I remembered that I “can’t change it.” Another good thing about what happened is it gave me more compassion for people who have been victims of theft.

Best Ideas

Besides “Good” there were two things Jocko stressed in his book that had the most impact on me. The first has to do with emotions vs logic and the second overwhelm. He says it best in both cases:

“When your feelings are screaming at you that you have had enough, when you think you are going to break emotionally, override that emotion with concrete logic and willpower that says one thing: I DON’T STOP.” Fight weak emotions with the power of logic; Fight the weakness of logic with the power of emotion.”

Then in the case of feeling overwhelmed he says:

“Life is hard. That’s what life is. And these challenges that you face, they are going to do their best to take you down. Do not let them. Stand up. Dig in. Line up those problems and confront them – face them – fight them.”

And this is the best part:

“Do not let them bring you down. Instead, let those challenges raise you up-let them elevate you. Let their demands and their trials make you stronger-let the adversity you face today turn you into a better person tomorrow. So in the future, you look back at these struggles and you say to them: Thank you – you made me better.”

Go Hiking But Don’t Get Poisoned

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This weekend I will be climbing a new mountain. I don’t know the trail and I read that there is a scramble on top. So what is a scramble? It is a rock face that typically doesn’t need ropes and carabiners. I have climbed Haystack on the top of Mt Si and they say this one is easier than that. However, they also say that a slip could be fatal. Although there is no poison ivy there is another poison.

Testosterone Poisoning

What? I had never heard that term until the other day when I was talking to a former mountain rescue team member. He said that more people had been killed in the mountains from testosterone poisoning than any thing else. He meant that when someone gets themselves all worked up and thinks they can do anything they take ill considered risks. He calls this testosterone poisoning.

It can happen to any of us if we are not careful. If I get to that scramble and the rocks are wet I won’t do it even if it means I didn’t get to the official summit. In fact even if they are dry, I will carefully consider the risk before I attempt the climb.

Fatalities

There have been plenty of fatalities in the northwest mountains over the years. Recently a 46 year old man slipped on the Snow Lake trail and fell to his death. A couple kids were taking selfies and backed up too close to the edge of a cliff and fell to their deaths.

That same mountain rescuer was telling me that he lost a fellow rescue team member on the mountain I am going to climb this weekend and another on the one I climbed two weeks ago. Possible injury or death are not confined to places like Mt Everest. It can happen anywhere.

When you go hiking this weekend leave the testosterone at home. There is just too much of a chance you will be poisoned.

So be smart, consider the risk and go hiking!

Bookish Weapon Number Nine

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The one idea from this book is reflection. I don’t recall if she even discusses it, but the impact of the book is to have you reflecting on the big and small questions in life. Here are some of the things she says that hopefully will get you thinking as well.

Death

“Death is a significant change of address.” I loved that. With everyone in our society moving here and there I think it strikes a chord.

“Somehow as we get older, death becomes as sacred as birth, and while we don’t exactly welcome it, death becomes a friend.” There are many people who recommend you think abut death every day so that yo duo not become complacent and value the present moment. One reason you you need to do this is, “There is just no way around this. Even when life sorts itself out and starts to work and we revel in what is working, the cosmic banana peel awaits.”

She quotes Ram Dass, “When all is said and done, we are all just walking each other home.”

There are other quotes in the book about death you don’t want to miss so get the book. It is worth it just for those. Is that morbid of me?

Messiness

Lamott says, “I absolutely don’t buy into the current mania for tidings and decluttering.” I say amen to that! I suppose it is because I am a messy person or at least that is be the label neat people would apply to me. It is not that I don’t clean. I just don’t see the necessity to clean every day or even more than once a week or sometimes even a few weeks. Anne, I love you for this one gem in the book!

Clutter happens. Relax and know that while some obsessive compulsive person is cleaning, you are exercising, reading, practicing and becoming better. Of course, this is just my opinion. And I do make my bed every day!

Sugar

This time she went right after my heart. Sugar! She says, “We overeat to avoid feeling fear.” I like that. Then she says she has a “serious problem with sugar. If I start eating it I often can’t stop.” Anybody else in that boat. I sure am and I think a lot of our society is right there.

Hope

Finally, the very best, in my opinion, quote from Anne Lamott is on the subject of hope, because it expresses what I often feel myself.

“Hope changes as you get a little older, from the hope that this or that happens, to hope in life, old friends, laughter, art, goodness, helpers. I hope and am amazed, some mornings, at just finding myself alive.”

Go Hiking In The Rain

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The trailhead parking lots are always more packed when the sun is shining, but it is better to be an “all weather” hiker especially if you live in an area of the world where it rains a lot. There are several advantages to hiking in the rain.

The most obvious advantage is just that you get more hiking done. You don’t have to scratch your head and ask yourself if you will skip this hike. It is always a go! What about the less obvious, but maybe more important?

Challenge

Hiking in in the rain is a bit of a challenge. Do you like challenges? You should because they build your resilience. With hiking you need to figure out the best clothing to wear. If you wear a rainproof poncho you will over-heat, unless you are someone who “saunters” up the mountain. Typically, people over dress in the rain or cold, sweat, and then get cold. It is better to go light and pack a couple extra jackets or pullovers. In fact even when it is hot be sure to pack warm clothing so if you get stuck somewhere overnight your all comfy.

Keep your pack dry with a cover. Put your wallet and car keys in plastic bags. If it is cold wrap them in a cloth and them put them in the bag.

Get Used to Not Being Rewarded

In life when we work hard towards something and we do not reach our goal it is easy to be disappointed. Self help folks point out that it is not the goal, but who we become in the pursuit of it that matters. I agree!

When climbing mountains we sometimes don’t get to see the beautiful mountains in the distance when it rains. When there is fog (low clouds) sometimes you can’t see ten feet in front of you. So you climb and climb thinking that the weather might change and you will be rewarded with a view. When that doesn’t happen there is a tendency to be disappointed, but get used to it. You don’t always need to be rewarded with a view. However, like in this photo you can be surprised with something sectacular. Whatever the weather, just go hiking!

Bookish Weapon Number Eight

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Are you “older?” So let me be more specific. Are you in your seventies? If you are then I think you will find this bookish weapon useful. If not then you still may find some wisdom in it. In Parker Palmer’s book, “On The Brink of Everything,” I encountered a way of looking at nature and mountains as sources of hope as well as viewing life as a gift.

I write this on my seventy-fourth birthday so I am well on my way to being considered “old.” However, Palmer writes this book at the age of eighty. So I consider him my senior.

On the Brink of Everything, review by Bill Montgomery

On the Brink of Everything, review by Bill Montgomery

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Throughout the book he writes some gems that should be mentioned like this one: “One advantage of age is the chance it gives us to learn and relearn until we know.” What is something I have learned and relearned? You need to keep moving forward!

He says when he is with elders with some mobility problem whose world has shrunk to the size of their TV room it is “as if I’m with the walking dead.” So get outdoors and climb mountains while you can.

Palmer says, “Spend time in the natural world, as much time as you can. Nature constantly reminds me that everything has a place, nothing need be excluded. That “mess” on the forest floor – like the messes in my own life – has an amazing integrity and harmony to it.” He goes on to say that paying attention to how wilderness overcomes devastation “has helped me see how suffering can serve as a seedbed for renewal.” There is just so much to learn on the mountains!

On The Brink of Everything

That is such a perfect title to describe life after death in my opinion. I don’t know if that is what Palmer meant by it, but I see it as a way to remind us that the closer we get to death, the closer we are to the brink. After the brink is “everything.”

Palmer says, “Nothing makes me more grateful for life – even in hard times – than remembering it’s a pure gift I didn’t earn and won’t have forever. Nothing motivates me more strongly to pay it forward than knowing that the time to share a gift is when I have it in hand.”

As I age I am more thankful for this life and those that made it possible.