I started coming down with the flu Wednesday night, and today (Friday) it is kicking my butt. I’m lying around in misery, completely devoid of energy.
The only reason I’m sick is because my buddy, who was many miles out in the backcountry with me last week, in the chilling cold air and rain, passed it on to me. I’m a bit in wonder, to be honest, that he wasn’t a bigger jerk than he was. It happens to all of us, doesn’t it? When we’re feeling like death warmed over it strains our patience and understanding with those around us. I’m not always the easiest to put up with, anyway. But he did a fantastic job, all things considered.
Gettin’ outta the glorious rain in the glorious backcountry with my glorious dog
I found this video interesting as it relates to conversations we have about the true nature of things, what is really important and what is not, and how little importance some things have depending on the needs of the moment.
For example, this guy and his fellow soldiers, while being shot at would just dump their blankets - the blankets were totally unimportant to the immediate goal of staying alive. This meant later suffering, but at least they were alive.
I think about this sort of thing all the time when seeing guys building elaborate, beautiful shelters in the woods. When you’re hungry and lost, or simply traveling through the wilderness, nobody is going to care about building an elaborate shelter. You’re only going to care about conserving energy and using energy for only things that are absolutely necessary in any given moment.
This means sleeping under a rock outcrop, or a fallen tree, or just trying to get through the night under your sweater and some leaves you scrounge ...
