- Mr. Whit vs. the Mountain
- Whitmer vs. Africa
- The Whitmer Conquest
- Whitmer the Conqueror
As you can see, the main themes here are conflict, conquest, and domination. And that gave me pause. I thought my kids knew me better.
True, I love backpacking, rafting, canoeing, and rock climbing. But I’ve never been a “Man vs. Wild” kind of guy. I’m not a survivalist. Not a pioneer. Don’t even hunt. The main reason I go to the wilderness, in fact, is to be humbled.
That’s not small stuff. And it’s immensely helpful to have that kind of “Not Small Stuff” stowed away in accessible memory when facing some of my frustrating-yet-trivial First World problems.
So, kids, I’m not trying to conquer anything when I go into the wilderness. Mostly, I just want to be out there long enough that I’ll appreciate the little comforts I too often take for granted when I’m home. Getting outdoors allows me to really savor that first hot shower when I come back in from the woods. And when I crawl between crisp, clean sheets at the end of each day, I want to easily recall having spent a recent night curled up in a sleeping bag that was just thick enough to keep me warm inside a tent that was just sturdy enough to keep me dry. Ahhhh. Take nothing for granted.
As I indicated in the very first entry of this blog, I’m not going to Kilimanjaro to conquer it, or even to challenge it. I’m going there to contend with it, and in the process, to confront myself. Truth is, I have a demon to face up there on that mountain, one that has stalked me since childhood. But make no mistake, it’s not the mountain itself that I, or any climber, goes forth to conquer. It’s never the mountain.