Month: September 2023

I lowered my day pack, pulled out my sitting mat, and carefully positioned it on a short, weathered log. It was two minutes until beginning my trail assignment. I was volunteering to count the hikers on a trail during a one-hour period so it could be calibrated with the gadgets strategically placed on trees and across the trail to measure hiker numbers. These data are necessary for management plans in the park.

I looked forward to the hike to this assigned spot, but was trepidatious about the hour I was going to sit still and unobtrusively record the number of hikers on a clicker. Much to my surprise, I discovered the longer I sat still, the more I enjoyed the experience. I realized how infrequently I just sit in nature. I love to be in motion hiking to desired landmarks. Stopping to sit pensively has not been my experience.

The trail was not busy. I had plenty of opportunity to “be.” I noticed the ants working diligently to get materials to their mounds. I could smell the damp earth. I heard the occasional buzz of a mosquito or fly as it went about its business. I recognized the screech of a hawk in the distance. I noted the squirrel flitting up and down the lodgepole pines. I heard the crunch of hiking boots on the trail before I saw the hikers.

In describing the experience, a friend noted that I was “forest bathing.” Forest bathing means immersing oneself in nature in a mindful way and using senses to derive benefits for one’s health. It is both a fitness trend and a mindfulness practice. The term emerged in Japan in the 1980s called shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing” or “taking in the forest atmosphere”). Its purpose was to counter technology burnout and to reconnect residents to the country’s forests.

Many Japanese embrace this form of ecotherapy. Science now supports what people in many other cultures already know: time spent immersed in nature is good for people.

Regardless of whether the term forest bathing is used, the idea is not just for wilderness-lovers like me. I am learning that regardless of where I am, I can slow down in any natural environment and consciously connect with what is around me. I hope to have a lot of forest bathing in the future.

A young park ranger that I worked with this summer was obsessed with FOMO-Fear of Missing Out. She is an enthusiastic conscientious young person who wants to garner as many experiences as possible related to “ranger work” as well as her personal life. She laments missing out on happenings when she is on her days off.

I have never used FOMO to describe my life, but I have experienced it. Contemplating FOMO has resulted in thinking about the opportunities I have had as well as the things I will never get to do.

I read an interesting article by Valerie Tiberius entitled, “Why you should swap your bucket list with a chuck-it list.” She claimed that some people have put too much emphasis on getting their bucket lists checked off. I admit that I may have focused on aspirations that I wanted to reach. I am also coming to the realization that I will never accomplish some of my goals.

Some things will most likely never happen. For example, I always wanted to run the Boston Marathon but never came close to getting a qualifying time, or perhaps I should say that I never worked hard enough to achieve that required time. I run little these days, so any marathon is not in my future.

I have travelled to every continent and visited dozens of countries. Yet, I still have a hankering to travel to new places. I also am questioning how important those destinations are as I get older.

Tiberius suggested that trying to achieve the bucket list may lead to disappointment and frustration. It also might lead to missing out or enjoying what wasn’t on that list—opportunities coming serendipitously or that were taken for granted. She noted that what is on your “chuck it” list may be as important as the bucket list. As I age, I feel my priorities evolving. I am finding that staying home for periods of time is enjoyable. I am giving myself permission, as Tiberius suggested, to remove those items that I may not get done—and not feel sorry about that.

A healthy FOMO is not bad. For me today, however, tempering my bucket list and my chuck it list may be more fruitful. I am grateful for all the experiences I have had.

My philosophy about retirement is that one should go towards something and not simply go away from a job. I knew when I chose to retire in Estes Park that I wanted to have a new “career” as a volunteer in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The park is home to me. Over the past 9 years I made my retirement goal a dream come true.

I was acknowledged recently at the RMNP Volunteer Recognition Event with my 10,000 Hour drop-down Bar. Doing the math, that equals 250 weeks of service or almost 5 years of full-time paid work. None of my volunteering at the park, however, feels like hard work. It is a service of love for the beauty of this park landscape and the habitats of the animals. I am privileged to spend my time surrounded in beauty working with other dedicated volunteers and staff to instill in visitors the value of these public lands and natural wonders.

I recognize I am an overachiever and did not necessarily intend that so much of my life at this stage would be wrapped up with this volunteering. Nevertheless, I do not know what I would give up if I had to volunteer less. Just as I felt my professional career was a calling, my service in the park is a calling.

People ask me what my favorite volunteer activity is. I never know what to say. Some days are not as much fun as others. Overall, however, I would not do what I do unless it was meaningful to me and to others. My blogs have described several of my service activities that are diverse such as weed warrioring, information office talking, and elk counting. Even within a single season, a particular volunteer opportunity varies from day to day.

My volunteering is not altruistic. I volunteer because it feels good, and I feel needed to contribute to a greater cause. I like being in the “know” about the park. Since I no longer associate daily with young college students, I enjoy the perspective of young staff as they seek to make sense of their lives and their work in the park.

I am proud of my 10,000 hours. I am grateful for the National Park Service and how it contributes to the edification of visitors. I am fortunate to play a small role.

What an unusual experience not to see another human being besides my backpacking buddies for over 36 hours! Or, as one of my companions suggested, to see more moose than people for two days! We experienced that surreal occurrence on our backpacking trip in the far north of Rocky Mountain National Park to Mirror Lake last week. I am glad to know that such remote areas exist mostly untrammeled by humans.

The experience of backcountry travel provides opportunities to reflect on life at its most elemental levels, even though the gear now exists to travel relatively lightly and comfortably. I have been lucky to backpack in several beautiful parts of the American West such as the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier, the Beartooths of Montana, the John Muir Trail in California, the Wind Rivers and Tetons in Wyoming, the San Juans of Colorado, and all corners of Rocky Mountain National Park.

I love being able to get away from the conveniences of daily living for a short time if for no other reason than to be reminded of how grateful I am to live in great comfort. I revel in the peacefulness and the opportunity to disconnect from the world when I am in wild places. I like the focus on living simply and safely in the company of a few good friends. I delight in laying in my tent at night and hearing none of the background of traffic and other civilization noises but only the sound of silence in the outdoors. When it rains, I find nothing cozier than being in a well-designed rain resistant tent.

I am blessed with these opportunities and am also realizing that over time I may not be able to continue to enjoy them in the same way. My pack seems to be getting heavier as my legs, and especially my knees, are getting weaker. Getting in and out of my little tent isn’t as easy as it used to be, especially during those middle of the night bathroom calls.  I find myself more concerned about how to remain healthy and safe as I recreate in these isolated areas.

Nevertheless, I hope I have more backpacking trips left in me. I recognize that I am getting older and not as athletic as I used to be. Regardless, I will continue to dream about getting away, and remember warmly the trips I have enjoyed in the wilderness for over 50 years.