On my way up Paintbrush Divide this past Fourth of July, I encountered a backpacker from San Francisco who was carrying an upright American flag mounted on his pack. Since I'm accustomed to seeking the "Bigger Picture" that goes beyond mere nationalism, I don't usually think of myself primarily as a patriotic person. However, when I saw that flag flapping in the middle of the vast space of the tundra, I was filled with emotion and began to cry. I know that our country has its foibles - as does any institution created by human beings - but I am grateful for the gifts that being raised in this nation have offered me. Chief among those is the fact that I can so easily lose myself in the Cosmic Perspective that comes from time spent in the backcountry of our National Parks and U.S. Forest Service Wilderness Areas. These are a major part of my "religion," and when talk arises - as it recently has - that some factions in Congress want to give control of some of these landscapes to the states (and to private enterprise), I am all the more grateful to have these parks and wilderness areas as major spiritual temples. Statistics would seem to indicate that fewer and fewer of the younger generations use the backcountry, or even visit the frontcountry of our natural areas. If that trend intensifies, it is natural to wonder if preservation efforts will continue to be valued in the future. It appears that those of us who frequent these spiritual preserves may have our work cut out for us in luring the younger generations to take a break from the computer - and from social media - and get out into the Great Outdoors!
Photo: Backpacker carrying an American flag on Paintbrush Divide, with
Mount Moran in the background; Grand Teton National Park, WY, July 4,
2015
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