Poplars in Shenandoah National Park frame a blue sky.
A virtuous man when alone loves the quiet of the mountains
A wise man in nature enjoys the purity of water
One must not be suspicious of the fool who takes pleasure in mountains and streams
But rather measure how well he sharpens his spirit by them
-Muso Soseki
'But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed'
-Luke 5:16
Afer exams were over one spring a group of us went to see the movie Jeremiah Johnson. The story is of a man who 'disappears' into the Western wild. Early on he meets a native American who will forever after know him as 'the man who fishes poorly.' Thankfully Jeremiah learns the ways of the wild from both the Indians and an old 'griz' hunter. Of course we wanted to wander off into the wilds ourselves. And wander we did.
I can remember wandering into Linville Gorge in North Carolina once. We were pretty ill prepared as I remember but our adventure was relatively tame and we emerged unscathed. Honestly, Chris McCandless's story is one I identify with all too well. My parents were aerospace engineers as well. Dad was a department head at NASA during the sixties and seventies. As a young man I was drawn to some adventures that Chris was. Of course this was the Twentieth Century so people no longer disappeared into the wilderness, right?
Still I had dreams of Alaska myself. Working as a graphic designer for a non-profit organization in Virginia I found myself frustrated. Our president hired me, told me I was brilliant, and then insisted that every publication we print look like "Sword of the Lord," A text heavy publication that was basically a reprint of sermons. "Sword of the Lord" looked like it was designed in the 1940's. I felt like we needed to make our materials more interesting if we wanted to reach more people with our message but never really was able to make a good case. Most of my best designs ended up in files somewhere.
My secret plan was to get to Alaska and work on the pipeline somehow. I'd build things up there! Well, if I couldn't build things I'd try to get a job driving on the 'Haul Road' as the Dalton Highway was known then. Yes, I had dreams of gently steering a truckload of pipe through Atigun Pass as snow obscured the road. Having been a grill chef, I'd probably be happy to get a job as the camp cook. In any case, Alaska became a romantic obsession.
I really didn't tell anyone though. My brothers both became NASA engineers and carried on Dad's legacy. My coworkers were mostly married guys and would not exactly be the best co-conspirators in an Alaskan adventure.
My Grandmother's brother, Jack Dalton [click to read], son of T.S. Dalton [click to read], had been a professional baseball player and later settled in Emmitsburg Maryland.Then one day he just disappeared. No one ever figured out where he went. Of course I have my theory that he lived out the rest of his life in Alaska.
The authorities in Alaska do their part to discourage those who would come. One Park official has gone to great lengths to paint McCandless' story as totally reckless. He's doing his job but he's missing the core of the story. Chris made some mistakes but he certainly did his best to prepare for his journey. To me his biggest tragic error was that he simply took what he learned in the Southwestern United States and tried to do the same thing in a different wilderness. Native Alaskans have a wealth of experience that is unique to the country they live in. Sadly, Chris had no time to absorb their wisdom before he struck out on his own.
It took me a while to get to Alaska. I've had plenty of adventures in the mountains of Virginia though. I've shown my children black bears foraging in the wild and in no way feel deprived. My lovely wife and I did go to Alaska for our 25th anniversary and loved it. It is a magnificent land and we hope to go back.
Driving to Dulles, my son and I talk about Chris' story. We do so with reverence. We talk about father wounds and the future. We spend a good bit of time in silence. For us this young man had quite a bit to say.
Alaska's Hubbard Glacier.
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