I take little adventures, but I will guess many people think I take big adventures. Regardless of whose perspective we’re considering, it’s still my own two feet moving me along. How can both sides be right at the same time? Here are my suggestions for turning those small adventures for yourself into big ones. They are simple to write down, but challenging to execute.
Chaining. I steal this term from public speaking. There, it refers to linking one’s presentation to recent or forthcoming speakers. For my kind of adventuring, I use it to mean linking one day’s events to another. I wanted to set out over Breifjellet on my long weekend run, a peak I had stood under a few times but never tried ascending. By now, I’ve got about 3 routes stored in my brain up to its base. I took the tough climb over the top of Fjærkjerringa, which itself had emptied my brain last time, to add one more link to my chain.
Disconnect. Maybe you prefer this suggestion written as “be present”. It’s scramble across the double peak of Fjærkjerringa to get to the base for the next climb. As I crossed Fjærkjerringa, knowing the route a bit better helped me disconnect from the bigger picture of the whole day and enjoy each step more acutely. I spared mental energy on the parts that drained me on my last trip here.
Stikk ut. This is overused Norwegian hype, but it has so many figurative meanings that I find it worth using. Let’s translate it as some blending of commands meaning “get out”, “get outside”, “be brave and do something new”, and “do it even better”. Some days I only “get out” and go the same place I’ve been before. Other days I go for something new.
I went for the tough scramble up Breifjellet. Whatever paths I found seemed to be laid by reindeer, judging by the scat and footprints. Although they are more sure-footed than I am, following their paths can help me avoid dead-ends. I never did find a way up, and I probably won’t try again from this side. Time for adding new links from the other side, I guess.
Run on Strava
https://www.strava.com/activities/3815592244
Soldrevet 