So, there it sits in the corner of my office for over a month now. The flooded basement has been put back together for about a week, and I guess now I can "stow the gear" for another year. I secretly know why I haven't yet. It's my mid-life gear crisis. Somehow surrounding myself with the adult male equivalent of "my toys" keeps me connected to the adventure even when I'm back into the most pedestrian and domestic of pursuits. It also speaks to a little pipe dream fantasy I have.
Sometimes when I'm driving somewhere, I will see an old house with a small yard in an old part of town with a "For Sale" sign in the yard. And I think, "man, that would be the perfect base camp". An old house, paid for with cash, no monthly payments, no significant yard or shrubs to care for, just a few trees and moss for ground cover, and neighbors that couldn't care less. Swing open the front door to kayaks and mountain bikes hanging from the ceiling in the living room. A couple of jet boils to cook on. In the cupboards are trail supplies, freeze dried meals, water purification systems, Nalgene bottles, stove fuel. Bedroom closets are filled with Nano Puffs, Down, Coreloft, Smartwool, Cap2, Windblock , Goretex, felt and Vibram. If the living room has an open ceiling there's climbing holds built in and a crash pad (that doubles as my bed) The dining room is dedicated to fly rods, all strung and ready to play.
That's what you do when you are Mister Responsible, you dream about being Mister Irresponsible, living out the dream, every weekend spent on the mountain, stream, flat, tundra, bike or plane. What do you say boys- 50 is the new 20- ready to push the envelope?! Big poster of Point Break on the wall- "Come on Johnny Utah, What's the matter with you guys? This was never about the money, this was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human spirit is still alive!"
YOU WITH ME?!!?
