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Posted by Bill S on December 6, 2007 at 11:56:09 am EST
In reply to Darwin and adventure posted by Bill S on November 21, 2007 at 12:28:46 pm EST

Good grief! You must be a disciple of Norman Clyde (I had the privilege of meeting him a couple times, once on the trail in my favorite part of the Sierra, the Palisades, and yes, he did carry a pack full of books).

But somehow your choice of reading .... death, dismemberment, disaster for "light reading" while in the wilderness! Reminds me of the time I was on Denali, sitting out a 7 day storm at the 17,000 foot camp. I had brought a little book by the Dalai Lama, giving his philosophy on life. About the 3rd day, I got to the chapter on death and dying. Somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to finish that chapter. Now realize that the Buddhist view is that death is part of the life cycle, in which there will be reincarnation until you free yourself and reach Nirvana (a drastic over-simplification). But still, I wasn't ready to head for my next reincarnation at that point (still not), and unlike Doctor Who, I wouldn't just switch bodies tight there on the spot, ready to finish the climb. The book went back into my pack. I didn't summit that trip, since one of my partners had lost all feeling in his feet by the time we reached 19,000 ft, telling us "time to turn back".

I certainly can't see reading Minus 148 at the 17,000 foot camp in a storm, knowing that I was within a kilometer of where they went through their ordeal. But on winter camping trips with young scouts (frequently in the Donner Pass area) when I was Scoutmaster, I did always read the letter from the young member of the Donner Party, Mary Reed, to the scouts in the evening. Along with To Start a Fire and Sam Magee. Great poems for a stormy winter evening! (at least when you are warm and dry).

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