Snow and sun and laughter and tears. Weeks in the Wind River Range of Wyoming carrying packs and trudging through thigh deep snow, waiting out snowstorms that went on and on, sleeping in our wet bags, warming our feet on each other’s bellies, hoping that the feeling would come back into our toes.
I expected to be cold and tired and miserable. I expected to be challenged and to be tested. But, I did not expect to find warmth among these strangers. I did not expect to open up the rawness of my life to people I don’t know.
The backcountry has a way of focusing us on the imperative human condition. It highlights our vulnerability to the elements and to each other. It is through those challenges and tests that we grow and change and thrive.
These photos don’t begin to sum up the time I’ve spent out here: the emotions, the cold, the tiredness, the incredible community of a few weeks and a few lifetimes shared around a fire or a cup of hot tea in the darkness of a small shared tent. They are just small snapshots of a grand adventure with friends.
I am not alone in the mountains. Together, we walk into the wilderness of the Winds and our own fragile hearts.
Outside Ed Blog 