Who:
Martin LeBlanc
Inside the Outdoors director
Where:
Sacramento, CA
The twenty-first century has not been kind to many of us who hold the environment as one of our greatest values. With President Bush degrading the air, water, and wildlife on a daily basis, it is easy to lose persepctive.
On August 6th, along with four close friends from England, New Mexico, and Quebec, we started a backpack trip from Ebbetts Pass to Carson Pass in the Northen Sierra range in California. The planning for the trip annoyed me as I kept thinking of how much work I was leaving and how I didn't have time right now to get out. It only took five minutes of hiking to realize how much of a fool I had been in my thought process. Just listening to the sounds of birds chirping and staring at volcanic landscape let me know right away why it is so important to get outside and experience nature: it helps humble you and gives you an understanding that no matter what you don't get done at work, the sun will still rise and the sun will still set.
The three day backpack trip was full of wonderful moments from sitting on a ridge staring at Nipple Peak to watching a coyote check us out while we slept outside in our sleeping bags. But the most important thing was being with good friends and getting back to the basic values as to why I do what I do. Nature is inspiring and is bigger then one person, any country or any alliance. My batteries are recharged and I can always go back to the sunrise in my mind.
