White Oak Sinks: Goals v Experiencing

Conrad Anker said that if he makes three attempts to summit a mountain and is unsuccessful, then it is not meant to be, and he moves on. Elise and I made three attempts to find the back way out of White Oak sinks. Each time we ended in a pathless tangle. The third time we were sure we were near the trail junction. We could see the blue sky of the ridge line, but we couldn’t find the way to get there. And I became nervous. I know people with much better mountain skills than me have gotten disoriented in the turns and twists of mountains. I didn’t want to be the subject of a rescue party. So, again we descended.

Elise and I met for the first time yesterday in the parking lot of El Jimador. A mutual friend had enlisted us to colead the SMHC outing to White Oak Sinks next April. It is a delightful area, but I had not been there in many years. Elise had been there just once, so we, with good reason, felt the need for a scouting hike. A hike is multifaceted. It is about the destination, the goal. It is about being in the woods, experiencing. The hike is visual, our eyes rest on trees, evergreen, bare, and some with a few leaves clinging. We walk along the pretty creek, and admire the rolling slopes and sink holes. The hike is auditory. We listen to the rippling creek, fluttering air, bird song, and squirrels dancing across the leaves. The hike is feeling the sensual kiss of the mountain air. It is about the physical act of walking, mile after mile, laboring uphill, balancing downhill.


Today it is also about talking, learning about each other, having time to explore different topics as we make our way along the trail. We kept coming back to one thought. Goals can detract from experiencing. Many people walk each hike as a step in the goal of coloring in the whole trail map---walking every trail in the park. I had long ago realized this wasn’t for me, and Elise has recently realized it is not for her either. We want to enjoy each hike for itself. If we want to come back to the same trail five, ten times, we don’t want to worry that we are “wasting time!!”

Conrad Anker, the big mountain climber, where one would think the goal of summiting is everything, has also found that sometimes experiencing the joy of the day IS the goal. Perhaps we will return later to find that pesky back trail out of the sinks, but today was a fine day. A good hike in a beautiful place with a new friend, nothing could be better.