3200m

Hitting the 3000m above null mark always makes me feel hilarious. Even if we only hiked 1000m meter up ourself and it is much easier here in the Sierra than fighting through the top of the alps; with much less ice and snow - even trees can grow here at this altitude. But its still great, great, great.

The Rock

I did not hear it, but Tobias did. And a few hours later we encountered the guy that has destroyed our trail.

Naturally, the Sierra Nevada is a quite rocky place, and the mountain range that had upfolded billions of years ago is continously eroding.
The high sierra trail often deeply winded into the mountains, sometimes even leading through small tunnels or overhanging rocks. However, the rocks on top of us have been hanging there for thousands and million years. so I did never fear one of them coming down, at the particular day I walk there.

The guy that had destroyed out trail was an impressive 2 meters wide, over 3 meters long and maybe .8 meteres thick on the average. It had losened itself a few meters above and aside the way and must have flipped one time before it crushed away the ground. It had wiped out two complete turns of the trail, the wounds of earth still wet and fresh. We did not really have the guts to pass it the first day, because whatelse will come down once this rock has gone loose?

Frozen (hiking)

It sucks, when you wake up in the morning and your tent is covered with ice. But it really sucks, when your sleeping back is.

I woke up in the middle of the night, around 12pm and looked up on the sky. The stars had completely changed since we had gone to bed (around 6 or 7, when it gets to dark to hike and to cool to stay outside), but the milky way was still as beautiful as before. It was a moonless night, and I had never seen as many stars in the northern hemisphere than this night out in Zion.
I peeled myself halfway out of the sleeping bag and felt the small crust and christals of ice on top of it. I wondered if we should wake up completely and move over into the tent. But the sky was just too beautiful to look at, so I went on watching the stars and eventually fell back asleep.

The next morning, the sleeping bag was frozen completely. It was pretty dark: The opening of a four season sleeping bag is not even a few square inches big and just enough to put lets say a nose through it. But I did not feel paranoid because the little air reaching me was still so cold that there was no doubt it was there. I wore my ski trousers and every other clothes I had brought to the trip, but it was still freezing. In the morning, when your body got completely acustomized to not moving, there is no blood circulation left to keep you warm.

As always, getting up and starting to hike is the only way to get warm, but it is also the hardest part to do. It sucks when you try to get a frozen bag into its cover, to wrap up a tent using your teeth to tie it up, because your fingers are not useful that cold. And then finally walk walk walk untill the warmth crawls down to your arms and feet eventually.

warten auf godot II

Beckett, such Dir jemand anderen. Estragon oder Wladimir warten vielleicht für immer - Ich nicht.

San Digo in Bildern

surfing

there is no better way of to learn surfing than to enjoy. enjoy sitting on the board, slowly waving from side to side, watching the horizon's sunset and completely emerging the endless ocean. When as time and time goes by the only tension is awaiting the next wave to come.


It isn't quite that when you learn it, I must admit. Learning to surf is like constantly battling against an overwhelming power of a waves' kingdom, against tons of water throwing you wherever they feel to. With only the ridiculous power of your legs and some humble strokes of your arms. And exactly this, your hopeless situation it the best reason why its true: you must enjoy it on order to learn it. There is no better feeling than this inapprehensable immense power when you know that all that is needed is understanding. Its like studying a foreingn creatures' behaviour to try to tame it. to finally be able to predicit the next move and to adequately react upon the unforeseen. to catalyse its power for your needs. And when the next wave is throwing you backwards all the few meters of surge you had painfully gained, when it wipes you off your board and all under water, you have to enjoy it, beeing challenged. Knowing, you will understand it, soon. Or eventually, whatever. You must enjoy every time you walk offshore against the waves. must enjoy everytime you stand up on the board, and everytime the waves walks you under.

The important thing is, it is not dangerous. It may suck out your power, it may hurt, it may be freezing after a while, but its not dangerous. But in the end you know that the nature you face is friendly to you, and heartly warm. If you can tame it? - well, that is up to you.

warten auf godot

"was macht ihr da?"
"wir warten."
"aha".

"worauf wartet ihr denn?"
"auf Godot".

"und wartet ihr schon lange?"
"er wird schon bald kommen. Solang warten wir".

Es gibt Dinge, die sind so gross und verängstigend und schwierig, dass man einfach nicht traut zu handeln. sich einer Entscheidung zu stellen, Konsequenzen zu ziehen oder etwas anzugehen. Was soll das? Manche Dinge werden nicht besser durch warten, im Gegenteil, und nicht immer kann alles klar sein, sich alles zum Guten wenden, sich Chancen eröffnen, sich das geniale Gedankenexperiment auftun, das Klarheit bringt. Godot kommt nicht.

"und was machen wir jetzt?"
"nichts. wir warten. auf Godot"