Preserving Perseverance
The road to liberty is long, and preserving it is harder
Last week, I took a three day backpacking trip with my dad. It was a familiar route, half of the Pemigewasset loop over South Twin, Guyot, West Bond, Bond and Bondcliff. At this point there are not many hikes left in New Hampshire that Dad and I haven’t tried at least once.
The hike has a good variety. Lots of low forest along a riverbed, steep climbs in the alpine zone, and plenty of barren rocky ridges above the tree line. The lower part of the trail is along the remains of an old railroad that was used for logging. It was a 29 mile adventure, broken into three days and two nights.
The first day was entirely old railroad beds, taking to the Lincoln Woods Trail, then to the Franconia Brook Trail. We biked the first few miles, then ditched our bicycles and walked another five up to our campsite near Thirteen Falls. Our first night we enjoyed steak tips and potatoes and a leisurely sleep along the riverbed.
The next day the work began. We ascended thousands of feet, going past Galehead Hut to the top of South Twin. From the hut to the summit is eight tenths of a mile of nothing but a steep climb. My pack was heavy and it whooped my ass, a bit more than I had been expecting. We had originally been planning to drop packs at the hut and day hike out to Lafayette, but due to my speed we decided that we’d just trudge our way toward West Bond. This was a little humiliating on my part, as I had always been the one to push for the extra mile, but was feeling a bit intimidated as I was out of breath.
We made our way down the ridge to West Bond where we set up a minimalist camp of sleeping bags atop the granite cap and our stove to heat up warm drinks. After a game of Cribbage, we watched the sun set over Franconia Ridge, casting an orange glow on the Sandwich Range, Mount Washington, and the rolling hills of Maine to our east.
As I lay in my sleeping bag, I thought through the dozens of backpacking and hiking trips I had done over the years. Some of them topped 30 miles and seven mountains in a single day. And yet here I was, exhausted from a ten mile hike with only one steep incline.
It got me to thinking. The road to liberty is long. We can’t stare up the stairs of Ancapistan but can only take each step one at a time. Nullifying gun laws, ending qualified immunity, pulling out of Afghanistan, each of these is just one step in the staircase to liberty.
Having embarked on many backpacking trips in my past, but also being a long haul truck driver, setting utility poles in NH, replacing industrial roofs in Colorado, I know a thing about perseverance and just putting your head down and giving it hell. But what catches us by surprise is how complacent we can be. It doesn’t matter how many peaks, long haul drives, poles, or roofs that have been conquered if you take your eye off the ball, and the same is true of advances with liberty. 2020 should show us how quickly people give up their rights in the name of comfort.
I’m training myself to do the entire loop in September, from Mount Liberty to Bondcliff, 35 miles in one day. I guess it’s kind of funny that the first peak on that list is named Mount Liberty. Every hike or morning run I take in preparation to get myself back in good cardiovascular shape, I will remember to be equally vigilant when it comes to maintaining personal liberty, and I hope you will too.
Shit dude. That’s some serious hiking lmao, I can’t think I’m tough lol. Wow... NH actually has MOUNTAINS. I’m in the Hudson valley and I’m tired of the Catskills. Some week I’m going to drive up there for a night and do some hiking. Photos are beautiful!
I enjoyed this story, makes me want to come to America. A lot of people are based and not all "let them eat cake" or bums on the street like the media often focuses on.
Anyway won't get you hung up on a spurious comment (hopefully it's not but I find it hard to synchronize with you and people like you who are the cultural and moral backbone, but I try).
Thank you, take care.