I suppose you could call me a peakbagger, because when I like to hike, I usually want to head up a mountain I can summit. I can’t help it. Seeing the earth from a different vantage point allows me to hit the reset button on life better than any other tool in my toolbox. But if I can’t make it to the mountains, I’ll gladly settle for a hike near my town. For the most part, I just want to be outside.
There are different scales of peakbaggers, to be sure. There are some who spend all week obsessing, hellbent on summiting every mountain they can shake a stick at, and there are those who just like to do it occasionally, merely seeking out a little adventure beyond a typical trail romp. I think I’m somewhere in between. I don’t really care about peakbagging lists, or conquering them, but I like to see new mountains and acquire new views. So, I use lists to point me in the right direction. While some might argue that following a peakbagging list negates the spirituality of being “out there,” I’d argue that it’s a helpful shortcut to get you more quickly to where you want to go.
“…instead of adding another thing to your “real” life list, you are working on a to-do list for the soul. It’s a list designed for fulfillment, rather than ‘have-tos.'”
— from 4000s by 40
The Search
But why the search for new views? New perspectives? I have a theory, which of course stems from my own personal perspective. Isn’t that where all theories stem from, anyway?
I think peakbagging is really about truth-seeking. To find clarity of mind and spirit, in hopes that there are others out there who are looking for a better way to do things as well. A better way to be human. And I’m not just talking about picking up trash on the side of the road or carrying out what you carry in, even though those are both parts of the recipe for living better on the whole. No, what I’m talking about is how we should be in our everyday lives. How we should respect each other and live to a higher code. A higher moral standard. Not one that judges others too harshly but one that makes us hold ourselves more accountable so that others don’t have to.
Sure, us peakbaggers want adventure. And maybe we want to get away—well, ok, we definitely want to, even if it’s only for a few hours. But when you look into the eyes of your fellow climber, and greet them along the trail, I think you’ll find that by and large, they are not idle wanderers. They are not like the hordes you bump into on a flat suburban trail. They have a look about them that says: possibility.
The Possibilities
Climbing unlocks so many possibilities for the human spirit. It’s so pure. So clean. So simple. All while being challenging and honest in a way that no other earthly enterprise can replicate. Through the act of climbing a mountain, one gets time to see how they can improve their day-to-day lives, the truth behind someone else’s actions, or a relationship, and the path they may need to take next. It doesn’t always come clearly, and sometimes it takes more than a few mountains, but the idea behind the adventure is driven by the desire to find a better way. And, I think, a better person.
Mountain Messages
If you, like me, like to go searching for answers in the mountains, I hope you enjoyed this post. If you’d like to keep reading, you can find more about mountains and climbing here.
