Wednesday, July 15, 2009

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Part III



Case Study: Love on the Rocks

I was somewhere on the Caribou Ridge trail, I had been hiking for hours, mostly up and down, or side to side, seldom from point A to point B. Point B was the fabled Rose Lake staircase portage and falls, which looked to be about 2 miles on the map but after two hours of strenuous effort was still over three hours away. I was resting on a boulder along side yet another portage when I heard voices coming from further on down the trail:

"...so I got sick of being the only one trying to make the relationship work- I mean she could have at least made an effort! I wanted it to succeed, really!"

"um-hmmm."

Nothing like the great Northern wilderness as a backdrop for rehashing a divorce.
His hiking partner, a woman evidently not his ex, seemed a little fatigued by his monolog- or was it just the hike? I gave them a nod as they walked by, he was still talking. A few minutes later another couple came down the trail, evidently they thought it prudent to keep their distance.

Dr. Batty, wilderness therapist

By Professor Batty


3 Comments:

Blogger Darien Fisher-Duke said...

Were you canoing on your own? Can you portage your canoe by yourself or does it take two?


Blogger Professor Batty said...

I was only hiking this day. My solo canoe is only 35 pounds, so it is easy to portage. My son's full-size kevlar canoe is about 50 pounds, still doable, but about at the upper limit of what I can handle. There is a pretty well established set of gear for canoe voyaging- dry bags, Duluth packs, etc., a person who's in shape can make extended portages in one trip with all their supplies and gear.

I am not that person.


Anonymous Jim G; said...

More from Olafur Eliasson: MOSS WALL a northern wilderness phenomenon relocated into an urban art museum
http://media.moma.org/subsites/2008/olafureliasson/#/works/8/

This MOMA site has a much better presentation of his installations than his own site!

You may also have heard of his WATERFALLS in NYC, creating monumental falls of water under the Brooklyn Bridge, from a hi-rise building, etc.

Also performs many experiments with color perception, mirrors, fog, ice, light...

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