Tuck's is anathema to many of the values of modern society. It takes hard work to get there, there are no rules, dire consequences can follow from mistakes, and you have nothing to show for your courageous efforts save for a fleeting track in the snow. For this, people return again and again. In Tuck's, you are free" (From Backcountry Skiing Adventures: Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in Maine and New Hampshire by David Goodman, p.121).
All of our household made the pilgrimage up into Tuckerman's Ravine yesterday (Erin and me, all 3 children and 2 dogs). It was a fantastic day: 72 degrees at the base, sunshine, small crowds. How strange to run into a group from Urban Promise in Camden right in Pinkham Notch and at Hojo's! It is such hard work to ride this magic snow, but amazingly beautiful!
Praise God for such beauty and such reminders fo the reality of our life-task. Riding in Tuck's is like our journey into holiness in Christ: it takes hard work to get there, on this journey we are free, and at the end we truly have nothing to show for it except for the reality of our own experience. But it is a path of the greatest beauty. Nothing else can compare.
Here are some photos:
Nate! Erin! I just now found your blog (off a comment you made somewhere else as I peruse all things Anglican/Episcopal for a bit each morning). And . . . here I sit in my home just 5 miles south of Tuckerman . .. . . feeling sorry that I missed you!
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! I just came across it now. Believe me, I think about your post there in North Conway with jealousy and envy on a regular basis. Our spiritual home-away-from-home is St. Andrew's in New London. If you see Janet or Cricket, please say hi to them for me!