Kitsbow Gear is sewn in Outdated Fort, and designed to be worn within the wild! As we speak, we learn the phrases from Kitsbow Ambassador, Ben Weaver. He rode his Fats Bike over 200 miles in Minnesota’s North Shore whereas volunteering on the John Beargrease Sled Canine Marathon race.
The Means John Would Go.
Ben Weaver
There are tales of grizzly bears who get up in the course of their hibernation, stumbling round within the snow swept forest. Maybe hungry, nonetheless in dream. I think about their lumbering our bodies casting darkish angular shadows as they interrupt branches of moonlight glinting by means of the naked fingers of larch. After wandering a bear may return again to their den or their dream-walk may finish by laying down beneath a brand new tree or rock ledge for the rest of winter.
Trendy people, animals ourselves, it appears could have the strangest relationship to the“outdoor.” Why climb mountains? Why go to distant land that we regularly haven’t any connection to? Why the obsession with exterior magnificence, each of land and physique? Why ought to the hardships confronted on expeditions justify superiority? Why will we romanticize leaving dwelling, somewhat than studying the names of the bushes and vegetation closest to our beds? Why is it such an enormous deal to be the primary one to do one thing? Why is crushing and conquering typically extra valued than nurturing and relating?
I not too long ago heard somebody say, the reply to right this moment’s query is tomorrows’ jail. It’s true. Life is fixed change, and it’s a delusional path of struggling to hunt static solutions. The advantage of a query isn’t the reply, however the way in which curiosity orients our lives in direction of enlargement somewhat than contraction.
Traditionally in Minnesota (the place I reside), January is the coldest month of the yr. Since 2019, the excessive level of every January has been driving the John Beargrease Sled Canine Marathon with a bunch of mates on fats bikes. Our journey follows roughly 200 miles of snowmobile path (the sled canine race route) up within the shoulders of the sawtooth mountains, whose lip defines the western fringe of Lake Superior.
Essentially the most profound half the journey, in addition to being on the path similtaneously the canine groups, is after we cease about 100 miles in on the Sawbill examine level to volunteer, (keep up all night time) serving to as many as 25 mushers settle their groups in for a compulsory 4 hour relaxation, after which we assist them get again out on the path, earlier than doing the identical with our sleepless selves.
The Beargrease Sled Canine Marathon was named after an Anishinaabe man, John Beargrease, who delivered mail between Duluth and Grand Portage, MN, by dogsled. Because the story goes he received the bid for the mail route every year by throwing out the bottom quantity. I didn’t know John, and the sense I get is that whereas a few of his motivation was definitely in direction of a paycheck, being the place you like to be, doing what you like to do, isn’t solely about cash.
This yr on our trip the temps have been heat, making the path sluggish and smooth. At one level we determined to take a forest service highway that was plowed. In leaving the path, my buddy Alexandera stated, “I’m fairly positive John would have gone this manner!”
Because the 4 of us pedaled down the highway, 4 chickadees darted out and in of the spruce boughs forward of us, enjoying, as in the event that they have been dolphins driving the stress wave of our invisible boat. From that second on, “I’m fairly positive John would have gone this manner!” turned a playful assertion inside our group, acknowledging {that a} route isn’t fastened however somewhat one thing you regulate as you go. A passageway by means of oneself in relationship to the land.
It’s exhausting to search out your worth in hardship and fixed wrestle. The identical issues we study from ache we will additionally study from pleasure. I do know, that’s a cliche, however it appears there are an terrible lot of individuals on the market making an attempt to endure their approach to enlightenment.
On the Beargrease we spend a big share of our time in the dead of night. It makes you respect the sunshine. Using self supported and present solely exterior for lengthy stretches of time with out shelter reminds the physique of its capability for adaptation. I’m typically left questioning, after I return dwelling to the town, what’s crazier, residing in and with the chilly, or going out and in of temperature managed buildings and cars improperly dressed all day lengthy?
At this level I’m unable to think about a brand new yr with out the Beargrease trip, any lower than I can think about life with out the questions and experiences which proceed to thicken the continuum of mutuality and relationship in my life.
What occurs if we aren’t motivated by consequence, by the very best bid, or velocity, however by what may emerge from curiosity and relationality? What extremely profound areas may we discover ourselves in if we spend extra time dream-walking between dens just like the bears, than we do making an attempt to be the primary one on the prime of the mountain?
