Pictures of Mountains
My 2020 compilation film
““In Every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks”
John Muir”
I’m Back after a very long year!
For me 2020 started in November of 2019 where in three months my Stepfather, my Father and then my Mother-in law all passed away. By the end of January, I had already had enough of 2020 but to top it off, we all started hearing about a pandemic that was starting to sweep across the planet.
Once we got into spring, I started battling my next conflict of 2020 in the form of an inflammatory disease called Sarcoidosis. At first, I had no idea what was going on and made about 10 visits to the Emergency Room and was admitted to the hospital twice. It took a few months to get the diagnosis correct and to start going down the treatment path, but by mid-summer I was on a good dose of steroids and Chemo pills.
By late summer and early Fall, I was feeling good enough to get back to life. I started hiking and re-discovered all the positive results of getting up to the mountains and struggle to reach the top. For me it was not necessarily the just for the benefit of getting to the top to see an epic view, it was more a therapy session to work my lungs again and to release some pent-up mental issues thanks to 2020.
Next came my time to deal with COVID-19. I was on my way home from work and started to snack on some Pepper jack cheese when I realized that I could not taste or smell. I ended up testing positive and quarantined for 2 weeks. Other than the loss of taste and smell I had no other symptoms, and I went back to work at the end of my quarantine period. I am now recovered from COVID-19 and my taste and smell are around 50-75% of normal. There are still some things I can’t taste or smell, but hopefully it comes back. I am now starting to get more symptoms with my lungs though. At this point in time, I must be on oxygen when I sleep due to my oxygen levels dropping extremely low and my lungs are constantly sore and I’m always out of breath. We currently do not know what is causing this or if it is complications from COVID-19 or Sarcoidosis, or maybe a combination of both. There will be more testing as 2021 begins so I have that to look forward to.
As the calendar year rolled from 2020 to 2021 I remain hopefully optimistic. A big part of this next year is to spend as much time as I can up in the mountains. In my younger years I spent a huge amount of time mountain biking, white water kayaking, repelling, snowmobiling, backpacking and camping. While there are many things that I have learned from 2020, one big thing is that I have really missed being up in the mountains. One of my favorite quotes is from John Muir. He states, “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” As I get older I have found this to be profoundly true. I start each adventure with a selfish goal always in my mind to capture pictures of mountains and I will often return at the end of the adventure with some pictures and videos to share. Often it is all the other things that end up benefitting me far more than any image I may have captured. It is the memories I have with spending time with my family and friends that last countless years, just mention the words “elk poo” in front of any of my family or friends and you will get a burst of laughter in return. Those memories are priceless and gain far more value as I do get long in years! It is also those moments in the mountains as I struggle to overcome a challenge that lets me break away from my “real-life” struggles. Climbing a steep mountain, forces me to focus on the present and brings clarity on what is most important. It is usually not an upcoming car payment or a task that needs to be completed at work, it is usually those I am with and how we can help out each other.
So, as I end this blog and begin a new year, let us all hope for more pictures of mountains in 2021!