Finally it's time to explain how I got on this "What are Mountains
Good For?" kick, a couple weeks ago. I knew I would soon be in Ouray CO,
wallowing in the friendly hospitality of the San Juan's best hosts of
Box Canyon Blog. Before that happened, I needed to bust out and expand the San Juan experience.
So I spent some time in the eastern San Juans, an area I didn't know too well. Enough (!) of the excuse that there is no Verizon wireless in that area; there is a roaming signal, and that's good enough. Actually it was high time I made those areas work, in general. Remember, this isn't a standard RV travelogue that aims at the mission of comfortable, serial sightseeing.
The best way to expand into a new area is to take up some new sport or activity, there. I had the good luck to camp next to a couple fly fishermen, over there on the east side. It would be a good idea to stay open-minded about that sport. After all, the rivers (streams and creeks, actually) are arguably the best part of Colorado, although the mass-tourist from Texas and the Midwest thinks that the mountains are.
Because there is no such thing as a bland postcard of the San Juans, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that they are easy to enjoy. Ahh, it's not quite that simple. Dispersed camping sites are few and far between, and they seldom have a wireless internet signal. How could they? There's a damn mountain in the way, everywhere! Campground camping is over-priced and crowded. In fact, everything is over-priced and crowded. The south side (Durango) is hot and over-priced and crowded.
Hiking would seem to be ideal here, and it is, but only 1/3 of it. Remember that "hiking" is really a misnomer. It's actually a tripartite sport consisting of 1) too much driving, in an over-priced four-wheel-drive vehicle, 2) glorious hiking up the mountain, and 3) trudging and drudging back down to the motor vehicle; slipping, sliding, and stumbling.
There is no perfect sport. You just have to make sure you have a couple choices, and then do the right thing at the right place. So the challenges are definitely there, but so is the potential. Sometimes this contrast can raise your emotional temperature and make you lash out in desperation. There is something exquisite about this kind of agony/ecstasy cycle.
One year I couldn't stand not getting any real good out of these wonderful streams, so the Little Poodle and I just angrily stomped out into the stream (with my sneakers on) and went for a cold, wet walk. My imagination ran away with itself to the point of believing that this was a new sport, to be pursued on a regular basis. (and its own section in REI.)
In the past I've written off the San Juans for mountain biking. Not only are the roads and trails too steep and rocky, but there is a motor-crazed yahoo dusting you off every ten seconds. OK, it's not that bad mid-week or off-peak-season. The best improvement I could think of for this year was to turn this 5% success to 10 or 15%.
People praise traveling as a lifestyle that is less prone to the sodden and dreary routines of work, commute, house, toob, and shopping. All in all I agree with that assessment. But normally people think that travel refers to the romance of "seeing what's around the next bend in the road"; that is, going someplace you've never seen before.
I think recurring visits to favorite places are under-rated. Maybe you were just there last year or six months ago. You remember how to take care of your basic needs there. You remember what worked and what didn't work. So you have a high-jump bar to clear this time. Improving your visit this time is quite a bit like breaking bad habits in general.
And so I tried to think of my stay on the eastern San Juans as analogous to breaking bad old habits and replacing them with something better. I was surprised how well that turned out...
So I spent some time in the eastern San Juans, an area I didn't know too well. Enough (!) of the excuse that there is no Verizon wireless in that area; there is a roaming signal, and that's good enough. Actually it was high time I made those areas work, in general. Remember, this isn't a standard RV travelogue that aims at the mission of comfortable, serial sightseeing.
The best way to expand into a new area is to take up some new sport or activity, there. I had the good luck to camp next to a couple fly fishermen, over there on the east side. It would be a good idea to stay open-minded about that sport. After all, the rivers (streams and creeks, actually) are arguably the best part of Colorado, although the mass-tourist from Texas and the Midwest thinks that the mountains are.
Because there is no such thing as a bland postcard of the San Juans, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that they are easy to enjoy. Ahh, it's not quite that simple. Dispersed camping sites are few and far between, and they seldom have a wireless internet signal. How could they? There's a damn mountain in the way, everywhere! Campground camping is over-priced and crowded. In fact, everything is over-priced and crowded. The south side (Durango) is hot and over-priced and crowded.
Hiking would seem to be ideal here, and it is, but only 1/3 of it. Remember that "hiking" is really a misnomer. It's actually a tripartite sport consisting of 1) too much driving, in an over-priced four-wheel-drive vehicle, 2) glorious hiking up the mountain, and 3) trudging and drudging back down to the motor vehicle; slipping, sliding, and stumbling.
There is no perfect sport. You just have to make sure you have a couple choices, and then do the right thing at the right place. So the challenges are definitely there, but so is the potential. Sometimes this contrast can raise your emotional temperature and make you lash out in desperation. There is something exquisite about this kind of agony/ecstasy cycle.
One year I couldn't stand not getting any real good out of these wonderful streams, so the Little Poodle and I just angrily stomped out into the stream (with my sneakers on) and went for a cold, wet walk. My imagination ran away with itself to the point of believing that this was a new sport, to be pursued on a regular basis. (and its own section in REI.)
 |
| The Little Valiant One after crossing a raging stream in the San Juan Mountains. |
In the past I've written off the San Juans for mountain biking. Not only are the roads and trails too steep and rocky, but there is a motor-crazed yahoo dusting you off every ten seconds. OK, it's not that bad mid-week or off-peak-season. The best improvement I could think of for this year was to turn this 5% success to 10 or 15%.
People praise traveling as a lifestyle that is less prone to the sodden and dreary routines of work, commute, house, toob, and shopping. All in all I agree with that assessment. But normally people think that travel refers to the romance of "seeing what's around the next bend in the road"; that is, going someplace you've never seen before.
I think recurring visits to favorite places are under-rated. Maybe you were just there last year or six months ago. You remember how to take care of your basic needs there. You remember what worked and what didn't work. So you have a high-jump bar to clear this time. Improving your visit this time is quite a bit like breaking bad habits in general.
And so I tried to think of my stay on the eastern San Juans as analogous to breaking bad old habits and replacing them with something better. I was surprised how well that turned out...
Comments
As luck would have it you had this post. I have to say, I agree completely about visiting places you have already been to. We have found several places that we have enjoyed all the more for having done so.
Jim
But remember that a person can spend a lot of time outdoors and still have many hours of the day to fill with some non-sweaty activity. That is especially true for a full time RVer, in contrast to a vacationer.