Break Away

“Space Station Bill Martin to Earth. Are you there? Is anyone there? Has anyone seen the sun? I’m breaking out to try and find the sun. Repeat: I’m breaking away to find the sun. This is Space Station Bill Martin, signing out.”

It’s a balmy 23 degrees, and the sun hasn’t reached our part of the world yet. I’m packing one of my many backpacks for a trip into the Rattlesnake today. Last night, a friend threw down the gauntlet, betting I could never reach Mosquito Peak on foot this weekend. On a good summer day, maybe, but not today. We’ll see about that.

That’s all just playful bantering to see if I’ll follow through, but even that description might be a little off. In any case, the point isn’t whether I will, it’s whether I’ll try. To break away from my snowshoeing friends. To take a risk in the cold, wintry weather. To make a change and go into the uncomfortable. To break away from town and society, and fly above it all, high in the mountains.

Winter has never been my favorite time of the year. It’s not so much the snow as the cold and the dark. I don’t like swimming for various reasons, but the encapsulating cold is what I dislike the most. And winter seems to do that to a person. I tend to make my winter outings short, intense, and then head for the barn. I am barn-spoiled.

Today, I head out with some friends, hoping I can embrace winter and all its beauty. Will this plan fly or fail? I don’t know. Things will pan out in 3 hours when I meet up with them at 10 AM in the Rattlesnake parking lot to do Stuart Peak. Just the three of us.

Are we falling or flying? Are we living or dying? I guess we’ll never know. Striking rock or finding gold. ~Grace Potter

I’ll spread my wings and strap on my snowshoes. It won’t be easy to say goodbye to the warm confines of safety. Out of the darkness of dawn and into the possible winter sun. I won’t forget the place I came from. Taking a risk, making a change, breaking away. But Mosquito Peak, possibly not.

Better go put some extra music on my iPod…o/o