Cockeyed and Curious

The mask did not bother me while climbing at the gym. Sure, it wasn’t easy to speak while wearing it which resulted in stifled dialogue as we strove to comprehend each other’s words, yet its presence did not impede the act of climbing. A crux arrived and my awareness of the mask receded. Heading into the experience, I had imagined that it’d feel horrific to fall while half-gagged. Though, when I fell the mask’s presence became inconsequential. Friction ended up being what bothered me the most. Over the course of two-and-a0half hours, the ear bands dug into my ears and left them raw.

I suppose I hadn’t ever worn one of these things for more than thirty or so minutes. Grocery shopping has been the primary scene within which I’ve had to filter my breath so as to help protect my fellow citizens from me recast as a dragon who may emit pathogens rather than fire. In mentioning my sore ears, Daniel responded by sharing that he prefers masks that tie behind the head. I hadn’t considered that I might have a preference.

That anyone might have such a preference had eluded me. I have encountered articles about mask fashion and have seen advertisements showing all manners of styles, yet that I’d have any mask other than the two that Kelly had made me existed outside of what my brain had yet conceived. It all seemed foreign. Masks have been ancillary, rare accoutrements adorned in passing. Yet, now the notion that I might have preferences had fallen upon me. Might I have a preference? Should I ask Kelly to manufacture me a me mask with a different means to secure it to my face? Should I attempt to sew one myself? To dredge up whatever grasp of home economics had embedded itself into me years ago? I’ll just deal with what I have for now, for my ears will become used to the mask before long. Perhaps should more extended occasions arises that require greater comfort, I’ll develop a preference. Or, I might stumble into owning more masks, of varying designs.

Along the dividing line of West Virginia and Virginia we spent our weekend. Trekking across one side of the primitive campground to another would find us standing in a different state. Somewhat meaningless yet also a touch odd to think that people sleeping in a neighboring site would be subject to a different jurisdiction’s laws. I did not analyze the map carefully though now I am curious whether any of the sites straddled the divider as well. Funny how the closer you get to liminal spaces the less defined things can become. You learn this concept in various forms at various ages, whether as Zeno’s paradox, Paul Simon’s Slip Sliding Away, To Kill a Mockingbird, or a host of other fodder for the brain. Truly, though, state lines such as this one matter little for the point of the adventure was to be outside, and for much of the time when immersed in the woods and surrounded by critters flocking about and the vacillations of weather concepts like state lines become inconsequential.

Generally, Kelly and I would not car camp if not for climbing or it being part of a larger trek, such as a stop along the way to a destination. Should we jet toward Ten Sleep this year, it likely won’t be via a plane but rather involve an extended drive to and from Wyoming, which will surely find us sleeping in tents as we churn through the miles. The prospect of this drive makes me desire a vehicle more suitable for sleeping within. Nothing against car camping, but my preference would find me trekking away from the car with my supplies on my back, to escape people and get deeper into the thick of the vistas and away from roads and the like. Some friends haven’t been camping and this seemed like a reasonable way to share this sort of experience without complicating things. And, it’s not like car camping isn’t fun, for we had a great time passing time through enjoying nature while conversing. And, I appreciated the convenience of a cooler and even the sanctuary of a car when rain arrived, though the tent would have sufficed as well.

It is lovely to listen to the birds as you feel the air currents and smell the richness of earth and flora. Owls called, as did scarlet tanagers, orioles, towhees, among others. Squirrels and chipmunks performed their frantic dashes. Surely somewhere a snake or two slithered and hid, though our eyes never noticed any such animals. Gnats and mosquitos had their ways with us at times, but they never felt rampant or bothersome, simply served as transient nuisances, appearing and then dispersing.

People were likely the most prevalent. Nine sites, each save one was taken when we arrived. Fortunate, indeed. Along the first trail we hiked, we saw numerous people. People on people. Giant groups of backpackers in the form of boy scouts as well as family units made more robust by their friends. This location is popular; beautiful, accessible hikes not far from metropolitan areas, yet not as renowned as the big-name nearby national park draws.

A solid weekend. I miss the campground already. Being home is simply not the same as roaming. I look forward to the weekend ahead. Only three days of work and then escape shall arrive.

Our plan to climb this weekend crumbled. Not unexpected, but its collapse fits within a label titled disappointing. I was excited to flail on some rock. Looking back at our last trip within this region, which now seems like so long ago, memories of routes and laughter and that buzzing energy that is friends delighting in nature, story forming, and an escape from the daily repetitions of urban life. Another week shall return me to this pursuit. For, given the breakdown of our small crew, we’ve turned to backpacking. To get away from electronics, the car and our home (which has been quite the mainstay of our hours) so that we might take in flora and fauna more directly while immersed in the visual, olfactory, and audible splendor of wilderness excites me. Climbing shall await another weekend.

I am curious to see if our relentless pursuit of physical exertion will prove useful during our trek. Backpacking is hard work. Hiking alone can often feel a touch brutal, with the elevation changes, uneven ground, and persistence of boulders and/or streams to navigate. Compiling into the equation a heavy pack notches up the intensity noticeably. Many memories exist of me struggling along a trail, overwhelmed by the weight and yearning for a campsite or car, depending on which stage of the trip serves as our narrative at that moment. The drudgery of motion conducted against adversary while surrounded by beautiful sights is an uplifting sensation hard to convey to those who dislike exertion and/or being outdoors. I suspect adventure shall prove difficult, as always. A distant, elusive reality remains in terms of what level of fitness must we obtain to lessen its brutality.

The prospect of becoming benighted while sitting near a tent pleases me. I look forward to the sky dimming until the darkness reaches its crescendo. Complete darkness offset by whatever phase the moon might be in. And as the sun’s direct blaze diminishes, those playful pinpricks of light bouncing off of Planets and emitting from stars shall pop into the sky’s breadth. All the while, the temperature shall transform down various degrees of warmth. And, certain animal sounds shall transition into silence as others awaken. These night creatures becoming our background symphony. Insects. Perhaps bats. The patter of various rodents.

I am excited. I look forward to this escape from the deep marks of familiar days that we have been etching. Climbing, that activity shall be experienced another week. For now, we take to our feet so that we might pare down and seek some escape into the essentials, of which nature shall be predominant.