Recently, one of our alums posted a hysterical quote on our Outward Bound Facebook page. We got in touch with Jonathan, and he shared this story about the course he took back in 1998 in the Montana Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Here’s the quote that piqued our interest in the rest of his story:
“I think the average person would be surprised at the amount of personal strength and mental fortitude developed after wiping your ass with a pinecone. Plus I came home physically built like a lumber jack, but as sensitive as a Paul Simon cover band.”
Here’s Jonathan’s story:
“It was so long ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. I went backpacking in Beartooth, Montana for about 12 days. I remember things like, the mountains coming over the horizon on the bus ride there. Falling in love with the western scenery and little western towns. I was breath taken with the landscape all around me. I remember the smell of pine filling my lungs and soaking into my skin as we entered the mountains. I’m not a fan of pine smell, but I had never smelled real pine before and it was amazing. It was such a pure smell that I got goose bumps.
I was a heavy smoker back then and ignoring my cravings was the first major obstacle I had to overcome. About 45 minutes into the first hike I was buckling under the weight of my pack and panicking about not having a cigarette. All I could think was, ‘what have I gotten myself into!’ but every time we would come to a clearing or a cliff or a creek and have any type of view, all the discomfort would evaporate. I knew that the mountains were a place I felt my soul and body belonged to. The one major time of stress was during a switchback descent with a very steep grade. I started to experience vertigo and dizzy spells from the fear of slipping. It became so bad that I was hyperventilating and froze in fear more than once. It seemed to go on forever and took several hours to finally reach the bottom.
I don’t remember the name of our guides. But I very much liked and respected one of them in particular. She was a lady with blond hair and a very sweet and friendly personality. She was patient and kind, and always showed me consideration. At the time, being from Buffalo, New York, I was rather withdrawn and defensively silent, especially towards people that took an interest in getting to know me. Not only was I suspicious of her kindness at first, but often inwardly scoffed at any notion of spirituality she might have talked about. But she was never forward or aggressive about her beliefs. She wasn’t on a mission to convert or influence my own, and I recognized this and respected this right away. In fact, I could say that being Jewish and dealing with aggressive attempts at conversion my whole life, I had decided that she was a very good person and secretly preferred her company to anyone else. From time to time, she would gently try to get me to open up just a little. I was so stubborn and elusive about it, and she was so pleasantly persistent that it became kind of a humorous game. I remember at one point she said, ‘Look, if you participate in this one activity I will never ask you again.’ The activity was to reach into a ziplock bag and pull out a fortune cookie slip which had random words written on it, read the words out loud and relate it to yourself in some way. So, I grudgingly reached in and pulled out the one blank slip in the whole bag. She seemed very entertained, and more satisfied with this than any other possible result.
Also, I remember getting on the plane and immediately apologizing to the guy sitting next to me for the way I smelled. I can honestly say that I have never smelled so bad in my whole life.
In all honesty, I feel that the experience was one of the key moments that ushered me into manhood. I gained a physical and mental strength I don’t feel I would have otherwise, that prepared me for a life that was not cushy or easy. It gave me a sense of appreciation for basic things that helped me through very rough patches. I feel that in order to survive the hard time in life you need to know exactly what the few things in life are, that are required to be a happy human, and to truly appreciate them. When you know these things you can get through most trials and difficulties with relative ease. Hmmm, I could go on forever about Outward Bound but I feel it is time to wrap it up. I hope you like my little story.”
Thanks Jonathan! We loved your story and wanted to share it with all of our blog readers.
