Tag adventure

Inspire Yourself, Take an ‘Awe Walk’

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

I paused on my way to the Mount Whitney summit in California’s Sierra Nevada, Guitar Lake posing behind me.

I was on an “awe walk,” what Dacher Kiltner, UC Berkeley psychology professor, calls experiences that positively affect our bodies, our relationships with others and how we perceive our world.

You don’t need to climb the highest peak in the continental USA to experience awe, Kiltner advises. It is available all around us, if we only take the time and pay more attention.

Keltner writes about the phenomenon in “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.

Read about it on this Huffington Post article.

When Is the Right Time to Quit?

Reg Spittle 4 Comments

Today, Christmas Eve, Sue and I made a difficult call. It will mean we will miss tonight and Christmas Day with our adult kids.

They are just 64 miles away, but we are an ocean apart. An “atmospheric river” has California in its grip and it has sent wind and rain that has stranded us in a Sierra Nevada foothill RV park.

Have you ever quit a trek or other adventure?

This photo shows us at our finish line at Land’s End, England on the South West Coast Path after a day of horizontal rain. A few days earlier, fierce winds hit as we were about to walk miles on a clifftop above the ocean. Warnings to avoid the trail were broadcast. What should we do? We so badly wanted to walk, but we took a bus to the next town, avoiding what we considered a risk not worth taking.

It all brings me to this article in Backpacker. Sometimes it is smart to quit, or take a day off. When? Often it is a tough call.

Tonight, Sue and I very much miss being with our kids. But, if the weather cooperates, we’ll see them in a couple of days. It will be worth the wait. I am sure of that.

Tell us about your story in comments.