Bryan, or (as he may often be referred to as) Ovie picked me up early last Saturday morning to go get a new pair of hiking boots. A former shoe salesman, he had tremendous knowledge and we were in and out of the cluttered shoe shop in not time at all. A brand new pair of kicks. And the next destination: use them to hike up the Niagara Escarpment.
It was fairly cold day- definitely the coldest of the season- just cold enough for the fresh morning snowfall to linger along the tree branches but melt on the ground- making for a lovely amount of wet, decaying leaves and big patches soft, muddy earth. My new boots were soiled in no time.
It made me think: all the other times I’ve bought new shoes it’s been a game of how long I can keep them fresh; how long I can preserve them and keep them in mint condition until one day I get lazy and just cut across a field or shoot a hoop or two. All it takes is one time, and BOOM! Your beautiful new shoes are now a mess of brown and green- only fit for cutting the lawn on sunday.
You can spend all your time and energy keeping your sneakers in mint condition, or you can say to hell with it and get them dirty the first time you wear them. Why not? Why let the passing of time wear and tear your stuff and undermine your efforts when you can take control and swing the hammer yourself?
This was just one of many topics Bryan and I spoke of on our hike. Which, incidentally, went really well.
It was exactly what we wanted it to be: a practice run. With less than two weeks until our departure (and I unemployed like a bum) it was time to go to work and start familiarizing ourselves with our packs, test our new clothing, and of course get a healthy dose of cardio and conditioning.
The escarpment, as it turns out, is pretty damn fascinating. This was one of those trips that makes you wish you’d paid more attention back in fifth grade science. The combination of water, wind, and glacial erosion makes for a lot of really cool cracks, crevices, and caves in the side of the cliff. Looking down into the basin of farmland- the little tractors, the large estates, the small trucks inching along- it all looked like a miniature model.
We also practiced with Bryan's GoPro camera- a useful tool that I'm sure we'll get better and better with as time goes on.
It was fairly cold day- definitely the coldest of the season- just cold enough for the fresh morning snowfall to linger along the tree branches but melt on the ground- making for a lovely amount of wet, decaying leaves and big patches soft, muddy earth. My new boots were soiled in no time.
It made me think: all the other times I’ve bought new shoes it’s been a game of how long I can keep them fresh; how long I can preserve them and keep them in mint condition until one day I get lazy and just cut across a field or shoot a hoop or two. All it takes is one time, and BOOM! Your beautiful new shoes are now a mess of brown and green- only fit for cutting the lawn on sunday.
You can spend all your time and energy keeping your sneakers in mint condition, or you can say to hell with it and get them dirty the first time you wear them. Why not? Why let the passing of time wear and tear your stuff and undermine your efforts when you can take control and swing the hammer yourself?
This was just one of many topics Bryan and I spoke of on our hike. Which, incidentally, went really well.
It was exactly what we wanted it to be: a practice run. With less than two weeks until our departure (and I unemployed like a bum) it was time to go to work and start familiarizing ourselves with our packs, test our new clothing, and of course get a healthy dose of cardio and conditioning.
The escarpment, as it turns out, is pretty damn fascinating. This was one of those trips that makes you wish you’d paid more attention back in fifth grade science. The combination of water, wind, and glacial erosion makes for a lot of really cool cracks, crevices, and caves in the side of the cliff. Looking down into the basin of farmland- the little tractors, the large estates, the small trucks inching along- it all looked like a miniature model.
We also practiced with Bryan's GoPro camera- a useful tool that I'm sure we'll get better and better with as time goes on.
Ultimately, our countdown is in full swing. Each day passes and our flight becomes exceedingly close. I find myself filled with a twitchy energy that seems to be a combination of excitement, curiosity, nervousness, and downright fear.
Yes, I admit it: there is a little fear on my end. Fear of the unknown future. We’ve booked our first week accommodation and our flight but outside that: nothing. There is no telling where we will be in a month. If that doesn’t instil some kind of fear in a person then I think there’s something wrong with them.
But I’m beginning to learn that the fear of the unknown is a positive thing: being afraid is healthy. It is human. But it is when you accept that fear, when you silence that voice in your head that says ‘stay put, this is comfortable, this is familiar’ and attack the future, that is when the magic happens. It's that that taste of adventure, that feeling of accomplishment brings about an amazing sense of triumph. There is no greater feeling like overcoming feelings of fear or apprehensiveness and achieving what you set out to do.
My blood is burning just thinking of it. My legs are restless even as I write this (then again that may be the excessive caffeine) But for now, we're waiting in the calm before the storm, and the anticipation of realizing what's in store is enough to keep us both on edge. Until we’re 30,000 feet in the air over the pacific ocean, there’s not much else we can do other than get our shoes dirty and attack each day, one by one.
Stay beautiful,
-K
Yes, I admit it: there is a little fear on my end. Fear of the unknown future. We’ve booked our first week accommodation and our flight but outside that: nothing. There is no telling where we will be in a month. If that doesn’t instil some kind of fear in a person then I think there’s something wrong with them.
But I’m beginning to learn that the fear of the unknown is a positive thing: being afraid is healthy. It is human. But it is when you accept that fear, when you silence that voice in your head that says ‘stay put, this is comfortable, this is familiar’ and attack the future, that is when the magic happens. It's that that taste of adventure, that feeling of accomplishment brings about an amazing sense of triumph. There is no greater feeling like overcoming feelings of fear or apprehensiveness and achieving what you set out to do.
My blood is burning just thinking of it. My legs are restless even as I write this (then again that may be the excessive caffeine) But for now, we're waiting in the calm before the storm, and the anticipation of realizing what's in store is enough to keep us both on edge. Until we’re 30,000 feet in the air over the pacific ocean, there’s not much else we can do other than get our shoes dirty and attack each day, one by one.
Stay beautiful,
-K