Survival In The Mountains:

Sorry about the picture issues before. I am still getting used to transferring photo's on here! I added some additional text to the story to make up for the delay! Thank you for your patience and attention!

Hey everyone!

• This past summer, I had the opportunity to venture off west! My Trip was to California! The only title I could compare this trip to would be, “Over the hills and far away” the song by Led Zeppelin. 

(Before the ranch)

• I was literally camped out in the middle of the mountains. Far from society. The minimum drive from any destination for resources was at least 30 minutes. On these mountains, we were supplied a rancher to stay in, as long as we helped the property owner out with his farming. This was an older rancher that ran on a gas powered generator. A good portion of this trip, the water heater did not run properly. Not only did I have to get used to conserving energy, but cold showers as well (sometimes in the dark.) Coming from the urban area of Maryland and Florida, this was a brand new experience for me. I learned a lot of things about nature and survival. I was surrounded by many dangers and predators. Animals such as Mountain Lions, Rattlesnakes, Coyotes, wild Boar, Scorpions, multiple poisonous Spider breeds and anything else that could or would kill you. Being subdue to this and having very limited supply of power, helped me learn and gain a new perspective of things we take for granted in the city and urban areas. Not only did I gain this view, but I also got to see how nature worked together! When I helped out on the farm, I noticed how certain animals help plants grow and vice versa. The Lizards and frogs would stay near the plants and eat any pest that would feed off the plants, which would help out with the plant’s growth and our crop helped these animals with their lives as well.

(Picture of one of my lizard friends)

•   During my trip, not only was I with friends, but I made acquaintances. Human, animal and of course plants. One animal that we had close bonds with, was the farm horse, Pepe. The landowner never really paid attention to this horse and my group did not think this was right! Every day after work, we provided the horse with carrots. Pepe loved us immediately after we gave him continuous visits and showed him attention, he did not normally get. We also treated plants and crops the same way! When we sang to them or even talked to any of the plants, it helped them with their growth process. The fact that the carbon dioxide of people talking to plants helping them grow is beyond phenomenal! Even the bats helped out with good company as well! When I originally traveled to California, airport security took my only bug spray I had in my luggage. This was a big problem because the Mosquitos had no mercy for us. We were nearly surrounded and unmatched by their feeding. Luckily, in the mountains Bats were there to save the day! They were nature’s blessing and natural bug repellent! Without them I would’ve been not only itchy, but possibly infected with West Nile virus or worse. This opened my eyes, to treat everyone and everything with pure kindness and in a positive manner. All of these experiences helped me learn that every relationship we have should be considered significant. Through good and bad, we could always be in a worse scenario and be neglected or mistreated such as the story of Pepe and any other animals who are not shown constant love.  

(Pepe' with the view of the mountains)

•  It blows my mind that as a part of the human race, we act as total opposites on an everyday basis. When you look on the news or any platform, you notice how we continue to kill, degrade, steal from, or beg for the downfall of one another. Nature, however, is a cycle of collaboration. There may be bittersweet moments to this cycle, but that’s how life works. As I gazed off at these mountains every day, I remembered that all my stress from communication and other municipal issues were gone for the time being. Everything was more simple and not complex. The beginning transition was hard, but everything became easy as time progressed. I was literally one with nature and I was the epitome of a mountain man!

(View of the mountains from the top of another mountain)

(Me making my trip back down from that previous mountain... long walk)

 

From an urban aspect, this point of view would be labeled as being a hippie or any other degrading label. But I was away from this ignorance and negativity. I wish people would learn from things that they do not understand. We could learn to work together, build a better society and avoid everyday issues, as well as treat our planet better than it deserves. With all the pollution and destruction we cause in this world, I fear for the well-being of our next generation. I believe that we would have a better world if we all could learn together. However, I’ve noticed that if nobody walks in your shoes, they will most likely not see things in your aspect. Maybe I will write a book one day and spark the minds of many. I know I am a very insightful individual, due to my prior encounters, but this trip has taught me more about myself and has inspired me to travel more. I hope everybody can have an opportunity to travel away from their comfort zone and acknowledge new information. I believe all lives should be challenged with an experience that opens their eyes like this one did to me. Adventure and risk-taking can be both exhilarating and life changing all at once. But definitely to an extent! Once again, I am glad I could share another life challenging and risky experience to you steemers! This was quite a journey but I can concur, that life is a big journey and we're all on separate and yet different stroll! Thank you again for viewing my story!