Perhaps It’s Time
Hi Steph,
When i was in my twenties, i spent a lot of time in the Daniel Boon National Forest, camping and climbing to the tops of the natural arches there. My good friends mostly young guys just living for adventure would come along. There along the Red River Gorge was literally hundreds of miles of beautiful sandstone cliff lines. I loved climbing those cliffs, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to be against that warm rock and be at one with nature there. We were inexperienced but determined. I have never forgotten those days. Climbing those cliffs were some of the most memorable times of my life. I left the south, came west, became a wild land firefighter, moved to Ak, joined a Hot Shot crew there. I was living in my truck most of the time. I met a Smoke Jumper, fell in love, had two daughters, he died in a tragic accident five years ago. I am now and have been a yoga/meditation teacher for a quiet a few years. Yoga, trail running, and biking up McDonald pass are the things that remind me of my abilities, and those abilities need to be challenged often with respect to my body as a gift. Just recently I have met someone. He has introduced me to you. Not in person, but I have seen so much of your world in the last few months. I have never felt stagnant within my body, I am fit and strong in both body and mind, but when I watch you climb, I can almost cry. I get such a sense of excitement as I look at you climb, and with what you have to say. You woke me up to those days in the Daniel Boon. I want to explore this world of climbing again. I do not know where to start. I am a single mom, so those days of climbing cliffs like Chimney Top Rock are long past. But after all these years, I feel it strongly now that I have met you. Wow, thank you. Any advice for me as a beginner, with a connection to her wild and free spirit, and a big responsibility to two people other than herself?
You represent so much to the spirit. Thank you.
Shairon
Dear Shairon,
I want to thank you for your moving letter. I got it the day before I went to do a free solo, something where I spend a lot of time thinking about motivation and risk, and it really meant a lot to me.
I’m really sorry for your loss. The guy who took me climbing for the first time was Kevin Reese, and he was an Airborne Ranger, a wolf biologist, cancer survivor and a smoke jumper, a truly incredible person. Sadly, he ultimately passed away from brain cancer, leaving his best friend and partner Lisa, who was also a hotshot, so it reminds me of you in some ways.
I think it’s never a question of how to do things, but when to do them, if that makes sense. From what you told me, I know you can do anything you want to do. It sounds like you are ready to start climbing, with your girls.
I wish you all the best in everything,
xxSteph
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Yoga
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Rtfinlayson
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Anonymous