Chapter 4 | Life at 9,000ft
Chapter 4 | Life at 9,000ft Above Sea Level
Some base camps aren’t even this high. Oakland NJ (where I worked) wasn’t too far above sea level. So, 9,000 feet higher than Oakland was nothing to make fun of. We’d often joked with one another after bringing in a load of wood for the fireplace up three flights of stairs, “I can’t talk right now, I’m having to make oxygen choices.” Even today anything above 14,000 feet for me, takes time – one slow step after another.
There are some pretty nice perks though being that far out and away from just about everybody. Let’s see, shall we compare it to Oakland NJ just for fun? Why not?
Nederland – and all things not too far away
Aspens, Pines, Birds, Mountains, Lakes, Streams, Forests, Waterfalls, Wilderness, National Park(s), Hiking, Fishing, The Flatirons, Boulder, Peace & Quiet, Solitude, Remarkable Changing Seasons, Skiing, Fluffy Clean Snow, Earth Muffins (a term I coined in the early 80’s to define a modern hippy with dreadlocks and women with unshaven armpits – mostly found more than two miles back on wilderness trails) as well as more than I could ever list here by myself. Oh, did I mention the CLEAN air?
Oakland – and all things not too far away
Honking, Exhaust, People to ‘Sound’ like they want to kill you (but once you get to know them they’re pretty nice folks – they just sound like they want to kill you and sometimes you’re not sure either way), Neighbors who can look into your bathroom, Mold Smells During Summer, Birds, Trees, Rivers, Waterfalls, Slushy (not so clean) Snow, No Wilderness, No National Parks, and no matter what anyone tells you…No Mountains.
Looking back at it today, it was the best thing we could have ever done. Though in the moment there was a fair bit of intrepidation.
That first winter was a lot of fun, planning for the coming spring, and moments of unexpected joy and surprise. One of those moments, which seemed to happen more often than not, was seeing Purplish Blue Sunrises. Even today it is one of the only places I have ever seen such a vision. One of the first images ever stilled was taken from our front porch. The image even got a fitting title “My Front Porch”.
“My Front Porch”
Planning. That took top priority. We needed an income and honestly I hadn’t thought that far ahead. At the time my only ambition was to get as far away as I could from spitballs. Admittedly I got a couple from the children, but that wasn’t the same kind of thing at all.
Between planning, weather permitting, we’d sled with the children, have outdoor marsh mellow roasts, go snowshoeing, make snowmen with twigged arms and carrot noses, drink plenty of hot chocolate and being perfectly honest we just spent the winter having fun as a family and taking it easy.
Taking it easy and figuring things out were at constant odds with one another. Spring, as it turns out in the lower elevations, wasn’t all too far away and the dollars were dwindling fast.
I decided I needed to take a road trip. After all if I were going to become an artist, then I’d better get out there and start creating some ‘art’.