Chasing the Mountain, Chasing the Dream
What prompts a mountaineer to climb to altitudes that tax the lungs ability to attain a full breath of air? Why climb rock walls that reach to the heavens and search the cold arctic seas for adventure and challenge? For me it is chasing the challenge of seeing the unknown, reaching for summits and distant shores that few understand and fewer are willing to challenge. To reach for heights that are attainable only to a few and to feel in my heart the joy that is felt in these adventures. The journey and the friends along the way bring happiness and tranquility to my heart, my soul and my entire being.
Most of the time that I spend in remote areas is solo and with a mission to accomplish. The mission and survival is the prime objective with the journey as a place to pass through not to focus on. Focus has to be on survival as many of my climbing and kayaking trips enter difficult regions. When I do relax during or after an expedition I am able to immerse myself in the beauty of the scene. Ultimately, this beauty is what keeps me in the game.
On the Alaska Canada Highway, excessive or even normal speed is rewarded with a broken windshield and flat tires. I got two flats in one day, being careful, going slow! All flats on the Alcan suck, hugely. My plodding pace allowed me to visit with many animals along the way, absorb beautiful azure lakes and view splendid mountains that soared to the heavens. I also met some of the nicest people, helpful, pleasant and respectful of their place on this earth. Even though I was chomping at the bit to get the Minnow onto the waters of the Yukon I was really enjoying this ride. The Alcan is a place within itself, not just a path to another place.
The first day on the Yukon I paddled the Minnow a little over 60 miles. Intense focus, 60 miles worth of this focus, while, figuring out navigation, the rivers wildness and myself in a new environment. Sleep came easily at the Phonograph Cabin that evening in the rain that plagued me much of the day. Morning came along with another strong day of paddling and unseen dangers lurking just beneath the murky surface of the great river. This danger and the consequences would completely change my plans on the river. The collapse of my left shoulder in a collision with the forces of the river turned a physical expedition into an expedition of exploration and acceptance of a slower pace. This slower pace would allow me to learn from and enjoy this wilderness as a partner not just focused on the river as a physical challenge. The Yukon had become a completely different experience from all my past expeditions.
The next 300 miles of the Yukon became an extension of the Alcan. I was slowed by my damaged shoulder, not unlike the slow driving of the rough wilderness Alcan Highway. I began to discover valleys, mountains, flowers, trees, bears and lynx cats along the shores. Storms were respites from the river that allowed for time to explore islands in the stream. The river made noises in my paddle that lead me to the fastest current and less stress upon my aching shoulder and arm. I met wonderful people along the river that I would have passed by in my haste to get to a distant destination. This injury was becoming a fortunate event on this trip and in my life. My world was opening up to the journey and not solely focused on a place on a map and a physical endeavor. My eyes, senses and heart opened to a wilderness, new friends, a new awareness of a relaxed adventure and a new learning experience based on where I was and what I was experiencing. A cool place and a new way to experience it!
In a way, I knew that my life had changed in a way that I did not completely understand at the time. Floating the Yukon allowed me to ‘see’ the wilderness in a new way. It would lead directly to the establishment of Bears Unlimited. It has turned me more inward, more focused on learning about bears and our environment and sharing this new found information will all while still planning trips and expeditions that are difficult and challenging.
I look forward to this new chapter in my life and my wilderness travels. To learning more about bears, wilderness, me and experiencing more adventures in more wilderness places.
Please follow Bears Unlimited as we explore and experience many more places that bears call home. Follow the adventures in the coming years.
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I stopped chasing only the summits and am now chasing my dreams in the mountains and seas that I love.
Mingo Morvin
President, Bears Unlimited Inc.