Humility to Hilarity

I consider humility a desirable personal attribute. Not humility as having low self esteem or a sense of unworthiness the way some define it.  Rather I strive to respect and admire the attributes and accomplishments of others.  Since typically their accomplishments far exceed my abilities, they serve as a source of inspiration.  When I see someone creating art or attempting intellectual or physical pursuits beyond my talent, skill, or strength, I feel fortunate to witness their endevors.

I am also humbled by the inherent beauty of the natural world.  When my senses perceive mountain peaks, sunset mirrored on a lake, the fragrance of pine needles, the trill of a loon, a snowflake on my face, I am thankful. How fortunate we are as humans to appreciate these gifts.

Sometimes other people's abilities are so vastly greater than mine, the best way to accept my humility is with hilarity.  For instance...

In October of 2018, Lisa and I flew to Anchorage, Alaska to visit Jimmy and Donna.  For just $125 more, United let us bring a third passenger!  Unfortunately, they were required to spend the eleven and a half total hours of flight time under the seat in front of us, smelling our feet.

Steerage class in the 21st century for Jimmy's poor cat Kai.  Kai however is a stoic (as well as stowed) traveler having survived as a stray in Japan, flying from Japan to New York, to Colorado, back to New York, and now to Alaska.   He should be eligible for feline frequent flyer miles.

After safely reuniting Kai with his family, I take advantage of a lull in the Alaskan precipitation to climb Wolverine Peak.

Wolverine Peak a third of the way from the right
A couple of weeks after and a lot colder and snowier than when I climbed it

Wolverine Peak on the western edge of the Chugach Range forms the eastern horizon of Anchorage, and the trailhead is an eleven minute drive! from Kai's new home.  

The summit of Wolverine Peak rises to an elevation of 4,491 feet and is a popular hike on a class 2 trail.  With 3654 feet of elevation gain over about 4.2 miles it resembles one of the Adirondack High Peaks.  Except that the treeline in Alaska is about 3,000 feet!  So much of the trail is exposed and the experience is very alpine.  Yum.

I choose to start from a trailhead with the ominous name "Basher".  Ironically, an alternate trailhead with the aristocratic name of "Prospect Heights" was where Jimmy and Donna's car was broken into just days after he arrived in Anchorage.

The lower part of the trail even feels surprisingly similar to an Adirondack trail, complete with roots and mud.

Alaska is wilder than the Adirondacks however, and encounters with large mammals are even more common.  A short distance up the trail I catch a glimpse of movement maybe 100 feet away in the scrubby woods to my left.  I can't see much besides a big behind, though I am happy to see that the big behind sits atop long legs.  Hopefully I won't need the canister of bear repellant that is a standard piece of kit for Alaskan hikers.

The big behind ambles away and I learn later on another hike that based on the tawny colored legs, 

Another moose encounter on a different hike

that it was a moose.

I break out from the stands of low conifers and brushy meadows, and traverse a valley hillside with views of Anchorage and the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet (where the tide is so strong, people surf!)

Uh oh: to my left, the sound of crashing through brush and I see a dark form moving fast!

A black lab streaks across the trail : )  I look back down the trail and see its human companion.  In no time at all they catch up, breathing easily and running up the slope.  After several minutes I crest a ridge and the view of Wolverine Peak opens above.  The runner and her dog are far up the switch backs.

I am humbled by their strength and vitality, and also the grand view before me.

Wolverine Peak to the right,
photo taken on my way down with an afternoon crowd ascending

As I work my way up the trail at my comfortable pace, I occasionally look up to watch the speeding pair zig zagging up the switchbacks and traversing the upper slopes. Wow they're fast.  I am really humbled. 

When I look again, they appear as specks at the top.  All that climbing accomplished as I made my way along the gently sloped ridge to the base of the switchbacks pictured above.  I am really, really humbled.

Telephoto shot of the runner, the little vertical speck, on the summit

How can I react to my relative feebleness but to laugh at myself.  I think this level of humility is best assimilated through hilarity.  

My slowness reminds me of a comedy video where one poor guy is stuck in a slow check-out line while hoards of people in the adjacent lines whizz past him in speeded-up motion.  

Or I'm so slow jokes:

I'm so slow they measure my 50 yard dash times with a calendar

I'm so slow I came in third in a two person race

If I went any slower, I'd be going backwards

I increase my speed up the switchbacks thinking of a nice image of the pair running along the snow-dusted exposed ridgeline.  Not even close.  By the time I am near the top of the switchbacks, they've descended onto the slope.  Moving with sure footed grace they pass by and continue down.

As I gain the upper ridge crest, views of the surrounding mountains are revealed. 

Wolverine Peak presents me with a unique and extraordinary mountain experience.  Despite the seriously alpine sensations, the summit is reached by a well graded trail.  There are two or three little rocky steps where I am among the elite 1% of hikers who put a hand down for balance.  Otherwise, it's just walking. 

Or for some folks, running.  

Near the summit, I look closely at the footprints of the runner and notice an interesting characteristic of her uphill stride.

 

See how the uphill impressions show just the forefoot?  She was REALLY RUNNING.  Once again I am humbled.  And humbled yet again when I reach the summit.  

The reward of mountains like this after a trail hike is an extraordinarily generous gift.

But I don't like the looks of the rapidly approaching cloud bank, so I don't pause for my typical sumibration snack.  I hustle my way down as quickly as my old geezer's shuffle is able.

Mid way down the switchbacks, I see the clouds have stayed to the south, and the sun breaks through.  Oh well, after my experience on Tabeguache in Colorado, I don't mind being even more conservative than I used to be.  And the descent is gorgeous as well.

Looking Southwest,
what's going on with the water?

Anchorage and the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet

The magic combination of sunlight and water

As I descend, a guy in a yellow jacket passes me moving fast. 

Wait a minute... I saw him earlier when I was eating lunch on the gentle ridge below the switchbacks, and he was on his way up.  Could he really have climbed and descended the mountain while I ate lunch and walked half a mile?  Couldn't be, and yet when I next see him, he's down in the valley bottom entering the trees you can see in the photo above.  He's so much faster... what can I do but laugh?  Hilariously humbling.