This I Believe

This I Believe

I believe in the wilderness; being away from the busy fast pace of every day life. I believe in forgetting all concept of time and the rush to not be late. You do what you want when you want. I believe in the Rocky Mountains and the beauty that comes with every towering peak, valley, high mountain lake, river, and open meadow. I believe in the solitude of no roads or buildings; a place where you have to hike for miles to get away from everything; a place where it is just you and the land, untouched unchanged. Here, I am calm and truly who I am in person. I can live in the moment of it all and not worry about the pressures of everyday life. I can be part of the beauty and experience a part of the world as it has always been.

Every time I enter the wilderness I enter a new world. I enter a place of true beauty and serenity; a thick pine forest that shades you from the heat of the day; the mirror reflection of a high peak in a smooth as glass mountain lake that almost seems to hang on a steep forested hill side; the never ending yellows, reds, and oranges of an aspen forest all lit up in the morning of a clear crisp fall day; a high snow caped peak shining in the sun; the beauty of a string of beaver ponds at the end of a mountain valley with fish jumping on a mid summer day; the view atop a high peak above timberline in the middle of a vast mountain range looking out onto miles and miles of forest and mountains. These are all things of untouched beauty in the wilderness; places only accessible by foot and only seen by those who have that burning desire to be in the wilderness. These sights are indescribable, the feelings, the range of emotions you feel are all heightened by the knowing that it is you and the beauty of nature and no one else. The accomplishment of getting there on my own and pushing myself beyond my limits to these places of beauty makes me fell truly alive. This is what I believe in and is something I will always have.

The wilderness is a place where you have to depend on yourself and no one else. You carry in all that you need to survive on your back, and you live simply and independently on what you have and what you get from nature. The wilderness tests you with its weather changes, seasonal changes, and the unknown factor which you are entering into. The deep untouched wilderness isn’t a place for most people, but you know if it is a part of you. It draws you to it and creates a burning fire within you to be out in it. It can be many things to different people. For me it is my escape. I can be, in a sense, free and be in a place that makes me my true self.