<photo: trail at Yosemite National Park, California, USA>
there is an anonymous quote on the 3 rules in life that you often see - 1) if you do not go after what you want, you'll never have it. 2) if you do not ask, the answer will always be no. 3) if you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.
there is also an anonymous quote on the 3 rules mountaineering - 1) it’s always further than it looks. 2) it’s always taller than it looks. 3) and it’s always harder than it looks.
the difference? the rules in life seem so much more positive - ask and you shall receive. on the other hand, the mountaineering rules makes everything look so daunting. and yet it's a mystery why mountaineers still want to climb.
"the mountains are calling and I must go." John Muir, environmentalist, naturalist, traveler, writer, and scientist, and probably best remembered as one of the greatest champions of the Yosemite National Park.