The Peak
I hate the fact that the only time I ever seem to find time to blog again is when I’m experiencing some form of massive existential crisis. Strangely enough I am grateful to even have the misfortunes of grief as it reminds me that I’m alive.
There is something deeply beautiful about witnessing a couple who have stayed together deep into their senior years and still share the same passions. I was fortunate to meet such a couple on one of my last adventures to the Guadalupe Mountains. There I met a British Couple (Bev and Alan) who gave up their entire life thousands of miles away to live in an RV and travel the world…
… You know… like… literally what I’ve wanted to do since 2021… and what I would have done had there not been supply chain issues holding up my RV. I thank God every day that didn’t transpire though as I love the path it lead me to now.
But I met Bev and Alan during a SAR assignment, where we were tasked with getting to know the lay of the land and learn from them. Being that I had never been to these mountains before, I was eager to get back to my roots of hiking mountainous trails. There is some sort of cosmic magic about meeting people who change your life’s trajectory. That’s what Bev told me… and I felt in that moment that I was experiencing it again.
Hiking the 8 mile round trip takes 6-8 hours. That’s a lot of time to spend with a stranger, but with each mile I felt like Bev was less and less of a stranger to me. We talked about everything, from the Permian Reef we were on to sailing to life and heart break and finding yourself. I knew by the first afternoon I was there that this assignment was much bigger than I realized.
Hearing her and Alan’s story, seeing the love they had for each other and how they gave up everything to share this grand adventure with each other left me inspired. I wanted to share adventures with my partner too, but sadly I found my life saturated with self-imposed responsibility. Something I realized I needed to change to bring back that happy version of me again (not that I’m not happy now).
That’s the peak to me… longevity with love. It’s the long, arduous journey with someone, full of doubts that you’ll make it to the top. Tempted to give up several times when the wind gets gusty, your shoulders hurt from carrying the load of it all, you doubt if this is even something for you. But then, just as your thighs ache with the constant elevation change, you see the peak just in sight. You get that second wind… you get that passion again… you keep pushing to the top. It’s a slog to get up there, but it’s not about the time it takes you to get there as there is no recipe for where you’re suppose to be in life. The views are worth the sweat. From the top, you get to look back and all that you have accomplished in the journey of life, which is only made sweeter by sharing that journey with someone else.
Nothing good in this world comes from the easy path, including relationships. The peak is an allegory of lasting love in a society that rarely values such things.
When my life is in turmoil, I feel draw to retreat back to these mountains and back to these people. It’s as if my soul craves something as wholesome as the trees and mountains and Bev and Alan. Am I going there for SAR? Or am I going there to search for answers?
