Wilderness: The Teacher

The role that wilderness plays in my life is that it teaches me who I am. During the summer I go out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and I hike and horseback ride in Teton National Park and the parks surrounding the Tetons. The wild wilderness challenges me in many ways. One way it challenges me is the pure drive it takes to summit the mountain. You have to dig deep in your soul to find the drive to clime the mountain, and finding that drive can be very hard. It is much easier to look up at the mountain and think about climbing it but to put motion to words and climb the mountain is another thing. But once you find that drive and courage to climb life get a little easier. Once I stop fighting myself things start to make since and it got easier to move ahead in life and the mountain. The wilderness can be a very isolating place. You have to find your own shelter, firewood, and water. You have to bring every thing you want to cook or you better be able to find your own food and know what is good to eat and what thing are poisons. The isolation for me is another challenge. It allows me to think and come to a conclusion of who I think I am in this world. When I was younger and this was the first step for me to become my own individual, I allowed me to step out from my parents shadow and do what I wanted. Going into the wilderness now allows me to take a step back from the troubles of every day live and it allows me to think about what I want to do and what is really important to me. Every time I go into the wilderness it humbles me and draws me to thing I fell are most important to me in life. When I am in the wilderness I have to know where I am and where am I going and I have to have a since of direction. Knowing where you are can mean the different between life and death. Every since I started hike I have become more conscious of the land and what it tell much like the Yupik.