Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Looking Back... Makin' Moosetracks 09

The last few years, in lieu of a Christmas letter and cards to the fam and friends, I've been putting together a slide show of pics as a kind of giant TR. My parents usually get flooded with emails and calls shortly after I forward the movie out, and I can see them rolling eyes, sighing, and shrugging shoulders as they attempt to explain to everyone that yes, they indeed know what I'm up to; yes, they "allow" it to happen (as if they have a choice); yes, they appreciate that phone call home on Sunday nights; and no, they don't always like to see the pics ("MUCH too close to the edge, Laura!").

Let's break it down, since the past three years are starting to blur together. Like Summit Scott recently said, it started with trails, then ginger steps off of them. Learning to navigate. Planning trips. Longer days and nights. Different tools. Different people. But all in one direction: outside.

And that's what I learned last year. For me, it's now about continuing along the road. Sure, I still get a rush when I stand atop a summit, a sense of accomplishment. But now I feel more appreciation: to those who were with me that day, to those who have stood there before me, to those who have taken the time to teach me the skills I needed to get there, to those who have stood with me in trying times, to the mountains themselves for presenting their challenges, and to myself for stepping out the front door that morning.

I have no idea where this road will take me, but I hope to be walking it for a long time. There may yet be stories to tell, and I'll be happy to share when they come to me.

In the meantime, if you've got some spare time, my slide show is available here. I tried uploading it to a few vid sites, but it's too long for youtube, and the music is copyrighted (even though I don't make anything off of it) so others balk (will someone please feed the starving artists!). It takes a while to download as a Quicktime vid, so I apologize in advance. The slide show itself runs about 20 minutes.

To all my friends and family, best of luck in 2010. Maybe we'll see each other out in these hills we treasure so very much.

And remember: every day is a gift; it's your decision to open it.

From the luckiest girl in the world: Climb Hard, Be Safe.

-L

Well said Laura... thanks for sharing your adventures and we'll look forward to hearing about many more in 2010!

BRA-FREAKIN-VO Baby!!

amazing visual story, music, images, macros...

I even cried a little. You rock Laura
Miss you much & hope to see you soon- hopefully on a trailhead.

You so, absolutely, totally, completely get it! Great post!

Laura, this quote from my favorite mountaineering author seems appropriate here. Thanks, Harvey.

In some ways, going to the mountains is incomprehensible to many people and inexplicable by those who go.
The reasons are difficult to unearth and only with those who are similarly drawn is there no need to try to explain.
Joe Tasker, Savage Arena

Thanks, gang.

Harvey, I used a few of my faves in the slide show, but there was one from Lynn Hill that I just couldn't fit in:

"Even though for me the spirit of climbing has always been linked with the insatiable curiosity to learn and grow, I realized that I didn't need to try bigger, longer, or more difficult routes to achieve this end. I could do more with less."

Now, while I have some ideas hatching in my brain, and I've started training, I couldn't agree more. But, as always, to each his own. All paths are individual.

-L

Laura, as always very beautiful and well said. Glad you're a cyber friend, maybe in the near future I can walk a trail with you.

-Rudy

YAAAA! What up Sis! Great video watched the entire thing at home today with my cup of Joe....My mother in law is a professional painter and she loved your pictures of the flowers. Great video and I look forward to baggin some summits with ya in 2010!
JS

Happy New Year Laura,
I finally got a chance to watch the whole video, absolutely fantastic
You really have a knack for capturing the spirit of the crags & Sierra. Thanks for sharing your adventures and wishing you the best of adventures in 2010.
Cheers,
RickG

Hi Laura! I've tried several times to load your slide show, but I keep running into problems. I REALLY would like to see it.

You had said that it takes a while to download, so I'd set it up to download when I had a lot of time. However, every time I've tried, it stalls with about an hour and half left to download. Maybe it's my computer...

Any suggestions?

HI Rosie,
Congrats on your JMT hike last summer!!!!

I had the same problem with the download twice. My attempts stalled at 54% and 62% complete after hours of running. My fix was to just "open" it instead of trying to save it. It took about 1.5 hours to open the file. I watched it and of course had to save it! It's sooo good, it will give you goose bumps! When I went through the process again to "save it" this time...it worked perfectly!
It was worth the effort, Laura is such an AMAZING woman!

Good Luck,
Stacy

Rosie:

I'll dig up your addy and send you a dvd. No worries, girl.

Love,
L

Thanks Stacy!! It was a great Hike, this time especially so.

Every time I've done the JMT, I think "OK, now on to something else, but I'm just so drawn to it. I'm sure I'll do it again at least one more time in this lifetime.... guess I'm just one of those "JMT Junkies"




Thanks Laura!! Lookin' forward to watching it!

Wow Rosie,
I only wish I could say that I've done the JMT once before I die...but multiple times? Now that would be something! Big Kudos to you! There's nothing wrong with being a hiking 'junkie' at all, there are plenty of worse things I can think of
You will love Laura's video, it will move you.

Stacy

LOL! I'm cetainly not the only one... on this last hike I recognized a woman in the Big Horn Plateau area that I met on the JMT in '01, and in '06 I ran into a man that I met in the Vidette Meadow area in '03. That's pretty freaky... to recognize other hikers - all JMT hikers out again.

I just got a postcard today from that same woman, asking if I wanted to join her again this summer ... wish I could.

I'm actually not the one who coined the phrase "JMT junkies"... I heard that from another JMT hiker who was talking about these same type of encounters.

Rosie
It would be hard NOT to get addicted to our beautiful Sierra Nevada Range.You are very fortunate to have had those experiences and will have many more to come.
That has got to be the coolest thing ever, to "run into" familiar faces on the trail. You know you've been doin' it for a while when you recognize people in the middle of nowhere 3,4,5+ years later. Oh the stories you could tell. They must be great!