"Pretty far out there"
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.— writing and photos by @d-pend —

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Introduction
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Hey Hivers,

How's everyone doing? On my end, I have been staying quite busy! This past weekend, I had been planning a camping trip with a couple of my friends, who unfortunately weren't able to make it after all. It's been so many years since I've gone on a tent camping excursion that I decided to go out on a limb and make a solo expedition happen anyway!

I am an Eagle Scout and I grew up going on camping trips quite frequently, often going for the weekend once a month. We would drive to our destination on Friday morning, stay two nights, and drive back on Sunday. However, in my adult life as I obtain more and more responsibilities, it's easy to find excuses to stay put in the technological cave of my current dwelling. Moreover, I have never gone camping alone, which really is not too advised except in certain circumstances. The buddy system exists for a reason! All sorts of things can happen when you leave the safety of civilization.

I had purchased an ultra-lightweight backpacking tent a couple years back intending to go on a solo trip, but I ended up getting quite sick at the end of 2019. Many other life circumstances also intervened, and those plans all went the way of a cloud — evaporated by the intense light of life's ongoing action.

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Drawn towards nature

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Back to the present — I have been in a leadership program for the past six months and involved in getting breakthrough coaching for the past year or so. One of the revelations I have had on a very visceral level is that our concept of "someday" is really an illusion. There's a feeling of urgency I now possess — I am oriented now towards seizing every opportunity possible that aligns with what really matters to me.

One of those things that's really important to me is being connected to the natural world... receiving the wisdom, ease, and intentionality of nature's operations by observing them — and mindfully participating with them, as well. I saw my chance to reconnect with all of that on a deeper level, which interestingly was not motivated by a desire to "get away" from the busyness of my daily life as it would have been in the near past. Instead, I was excited to do something that really expresses my true Being, which is equally at home in the chaos of modern life and in the slow unfolding of the natural world.

It is interesting, actually, because my natural proclivities are a mix of the technological and the natural. I grew up both enjoying the outdoors, being active exploring and imagining under a vast cathedral of sky — and also being captivated by the rapidly developing digital landscapes that the world of computing had to offer. Truth be told, though I might be tempted to posture as one more comfortable in nature — I have become to a large extent a product of our modern society of artificial comforts and conveniences.

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Finding the Place

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I decided to go somewhere near Cedars of Lebanon State Park, which is only a half-hour drive from my current location in north central Tennessee. The only trouble was, the public campgrounds was completely sold out — all 117 camping spots were reserved for the weekend! However, it turns out there are services now similar to AirBnB that allow people to list their properties as campsites. I used one called Hipcamp to find a suitable place about 10 minutes drive from Cedars of Lebanon State Park. As it turned out, I was the only one camping there for the weekend — truly solitudinous.

After the laborious process of preparing many servings of cooked mixed vegetables in advance along with various proteins, checking my camping gear to make sure all was good including setting up the tent in my garage, and doing what felt like endless chores to make sure I left my living space in a solid condition for my return, I departed with all preparations completed on Friday afternoon.

I was hoping for sunny, clear, warm weather — however, it had been raining lightly earlier in the afternoon, with a chance of continuing into the evening. As I had a tarp for underneath the tent as well as a rain fly, I wasn't too worried. Based on weather forecasts, I was expecting it to clear up by Saturday and get warmer, as well. As it turns out, however... well, I will save that part of the story for the next installment of this blog. ;-)

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Arriving — and thriving

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After a conversation with the couple that owned the property and assuring them that I really wanted to do this thing — and that I was qualified to do so — I quickly got my minimal camp set up with a tarp, a tent, and a cooler full of food and cold brew coffee. It was around 4 pm when I got everything situated. I didn't feel it was too worth it to bother getting a fire going until the next day with the effort it would require to get slightly damp wood burning, so I sat down in the chair that was in my camp clearing and relaxed.

There was a tangible sensation of peace in that place as the light breeze wound its way through the trees. Amongst the trees were many evergreens, with the rest practically leafless after a long, cold winter. There were the sounds of several kinds of birds — though it was a muted chorus, not the cacophony of a rapturous, sunny day. Each time the wind blew trees creaked arthritically.

I could hear livestock in the distance — cows, perhaps sheep, and the occasional barking of dogs. The ever-present roar of vehicles that is synonymous with civilization was greatly muted. From time to time an aircraft would assert its hyperkinetic vector on the soundscape. Plentiful clouds crawled their way across the sky, mostly obscuring the amber light of the golden hour: though the sun did peek through long enough for me to snap the first photo in this post that evening before sundown.

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Let us write

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I pulled out a pencil and a notepad and resolved to write some poetry — something I have not done much, of late — though I have been working on past pieces, editing and adapting them for video form. What really struck me was the different flow of time in the woods, and the stark fact that I, myself, was quite out of sync with that slower rhythm. Yet, I was being drawn into that languid vortex minute by minute. There was a bizarre contrast between the subtle, ever-evolving action of nature, and the harsh, digital action of the smartphone that accompanied me, seemingly constantly luring me to re-hypnotize myself with various inconsequential and relatively shallow forms of entertainment.

In any case, I very much enjoyed my brief writing session. I will include an excerpt of the piece I wrote, which I will share in full on this blog eventually:

My eternity is here — my heart of bark & flame
which grows, consumes itself, and rises
phoenix-like, to name the sound of joy
with plaintive cry — a verdant bell to ring the earth.

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Goodnight

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Eventually, I crawled into the cocoon of my tent well past dark, and at the very precipice of sleep — snapped awake to the abrasive barking of dogs discontent with each others' distant presence, which continued for what felt like a miniature lifetime. After a space, night's persistent sleep swallowed even this activity, and I fell into a relatively dreamless, deep slumber which carried me into mid-morning of the next day.

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To be continued...
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compiled for Photography Lovers' Community on HIVE
posted March 23, 2022.writing and photos by Daniel Pendergraft (@d-pend)
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photos taken with iPhone 13 Pro

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