Meet Rock Slab

I was hiking up North Tripyramid in the White Mountains recently. On my way to conquer two more 4000-footers.
But I lost a brief but memorable battle with a wet granite rock slab.

I went down. Hard.

My right hand held a hiking pole, so my left braced the fall. My left shoulder absorbed the shock of the whole experience.

Note: The shoulder is a useful structure, but not meant to absorb a falling force.

I had been looking and looking for these granite slabs, because my partner Dana had said we would hit some open rocks that are the most challenging because there are few holds to grip or put your feet. As the elevation increased, through the first several miles, I kept asking, “Are these the slabs? Are these the slabs?”

And he would say, “No, not yet. These are just rocks.”

And I’d say, “Hmmm…these seem kind of slabby to me.”

Eventually, the slabs found me. They were mist- and fog-dampened, incredibly slippery even if one has grippy hiking boots like we did.

Only later did Dana tell me the Tripyramids hike is part of the terrifying 25 list. And going up the North slide, crossing Middle, and coming down the South makes it one of the toughest hikes in New England. 1200 feet of elevation in a half mile, with intense rock talus deposits and scree.

Needless to say, my shoulder and I have a PT appointment this week. We have some work to do to re-create my arm’s ability to adduct and abduct properly.

This experience made me think of hearing David Abrahm, author of Becoming Animal,speak at a conference last fall. Abrahm said every aspect of the earthly sensuous can draw us into relationship. Whether it’s a meeting with a hummingbird, an oak tree, or a dragonfly, through these relationships we renew our acquaintance with the natural world.

I remember him saying if you place your hand on a tree, the tree is also touching youback.

I now have that kind of touchy relationship with a rock slab on North Tripyramid.

But even after it beat me up a bit, I’m good with our relationship. The slab had something to teach me.

Abrahm says we must awaken our more natural, animal senses. These days in our built-out planet, many of us don’t have a regular connection with the natural world. We only interact with other two-leggeds. And sometimes us two-leggeds can drive each other crazy.

Only in regular contact with the tangible ground and sky can we learn how to navigate through the multiple dimensions we face. In order to know how to navigate this pandemic dimension, or the complex family dynamics dimension, or the digital dimension, we need to have regular contact with the tangible ground and sky.

Where can you have a sweet meeting with the tangible ground and sky?

And what might open up as a result?