A Reprieve

I needed a break

Hi all:

What the hell is happening in our country (I know what’s happening and so do you) and where are the grownups fighting the massive dumpster fire we’re all witnessing?

But I needed a break yesterday so off to the mountains I went.

Bill is working on a cabin in the woods, high above sea level and being there is a reprieve from the daily onslaught of horrible news and cruel Executive Orders coming out of the President’s office.

We left the house in Portland amidst fresh snow and headed up through Auburn where the snowfall seemed lighter along the roadside. But, when we pulled into the road to access Bill’s land in Rumford, we found gorgeous and deep powdery snow. Up we went, with Alfredo charging alongside the snowmobile and Fannie riding on Bill’s lap — I drove!

We worked for a few hours and then headed outside to play. Bill wanted to show me a couloir he had seen in the spring so off we skied on our AT gear. On our way to find it, we skied down a smooth rock face covered in powder.

And then, we found the couloir. Bill pointed his skis toward a dense tree-covered gulley and was about to head in when I said, I don’t feel comfortable skiing that — it’s steep and the trees are tight. But being his ever-optimistic self, he convinced me to leap.

Once in, I fell and fell and fell. Hidden rocks and boulders and tree branches and roots caught my skis and with every fall, I became more demoralized and annoyed. I like to think of myself as a resilient adventurer who is brave and capable, but yesterday on that descent, I didn’t feel any of those things. I felt like a bad skier, I felt nervous, and I felt annoyed with myself (and with Bill!). I recount all of this because I think it’s important that we recognize that adventuring isn’t fun 100% of the time and even though we mostly succeed and feel great, there are times when it sucks. Happily, I rebounded once we left that part of the ski and was rewarded with easy, not too vertical skinning through the beautiful snow-laden woods.

When we returned to the cabin and warmed ourselves with hot tea in front of the wood stove, Bill showed me this video. I had to laugh. In fact, I laughed so hard that tears fell. It felt good to turn that stressful moment into a big belly laugh. I hope it offers you a bit of a chuckle too.

Moments before that video was shot, Bill shot another one where I yelled, “I’m not really having fun, by the way.” I think he had already sensed that.

The hard stuff makes for the best stories. I’ll end with this: we made it to the Tesla supercharger with 3 miles to spare. Another good story, right?

Happy Adventuring and Take Good Care,

Gillian