Skip to main content

Outlive the Bastards

Here's a semi-famous quote from Edward Abbey: "…So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards."

I'd often had similar thoughts before I ever read this quote. People ask me, "Isn't rock climbing dangerous?" and "Aren't you afraid to go hiking by yourself?" My response is always the same: I'd rather die young living my life to its fullest than die old in front of the TV.

I'm 39 years old and the average life expectancy for an American is around 77 years. I figure I've already outlived most people. I've climbed to the top of mountains and experienced the intuitive and trusting and fun relationship of being someone's climbing partner; I've rafted down class V rivers (where I've probably come closest to death); I've picked up hitchhikers and been picked up as a hitchhiker trying get to the trailhead or back to the car; I've discovered a long-abandoned coal mine; I've seen a baby black bear and bald eagles; I've seen a meteor shower that included shooting stars so close I could see the fireball and the contrail; I've drunk fresh springwater ("Aren't you afraid?") and eaten wild blueberries and morel mushrooms ... you get the idea.

Don't feel sorry for me if I get hit by a car while on a bike ride or if I misplace a piece of climbing gear and hit the deck. It's worth the risk. And BTW, it turns out that those of us who exercise regularly live longer anyway. How 'bout that!
Labels:

Comments

Anticopyright said…
hi, could you please tell me from which of abbeys books is the quote "...you will outlive the bastards"?
thanx
May 3, 2009 at 9:15 PM
Unknown said…
it was an earth day speech i thnk
May 28, 2009 at 6:57 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gear a Year Later

The problem with gear reviews is that, with a brand new piece of gear, you can’t apply perhaps the most important test: the test of time. I’d like to re-review a selection of products from the last couple of years to report how they’ve fared: The Good MBT anti-shoe . After a year, this shoe looks practically new and still provides a supportive, comfortable stride for my (often aching) back. Worth the $250 you’ll have to kick down if you’re willing to take care of these shoes. Sierra Designs Spark 15 sleeping bag . I had sworn off Sierra Designs after purchasing a raincoat from the company that was neither waterproof nor breathable – in fact, it was the first thing to get soaked and the last thing to dry out – which I found out the hard way, hiking the Colorado Trail. But the Spark was the only 800-fill down bag I could find at the time of purchase, so I went for it. Turns out Sierra Designs knows what they’re doing with sleeping bags. This bag is so warm I’ve dubbed it The Furnace.
9 comments
Read more

Spark Birds - and Other Sparks

I was trolling through some of the regional outdoor blogs I post on getoutzine.com and came upon this one, from Bird Watcher's Digest: Spark Bird . It's a great concept: what bird sparked your interest in your lifelong pursuit of bird watching ? I knew my answer immediately. When I lived in Colorado, I spent many an afternoon cycling on the roads where the high plains meet the Rocky Mountains. I wasn't a birder at all. Nor was I much interested in the world around me except to play in it. But there was this beautiful - beautiful! - bird song that demanded I listen. Now I am demanding, or at least requesting, that you listen . Every time I jerked my helmeted head around to see where this song was coming from, a bird with a yellow breast with a big black V was sitting there on the fence. Could spotting it get any easier than that? I borrowed a friend's Peterson's Guide to Western birds and there it was - the Western meadowlark. Now I am only a backyard birder, but the
10 comments
Read more