Chuck, Great Parable. However, as a former pilot, I can tell you that one can get a real thrill and great memories out of flying too. I suspect it is up to the individual to get what they want out of any adventure of life. Just a thought, Ed L --- Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote:

Thanks, Mike, I'm glad that there are others who appreciate the wisdom of avoiding instant gratification.

A parable:

About 27 years ago or so, some friends and I went for a day hike to the summit of Mt. Timpanogas (not the cave, but the actual mountain peak); in terms of miles it's a rugged, double-digit trek IIRC. The morning we left, we met a cameraman- a big guy- from KUTV, Channel-2, who was going to hike to the summit carrying about 75 lbs. of camera gear and batteries, for a sports segment featuring Reece Stein. We wondered where Mr. Stein was, and the cameraman only smiled and said he was going to meet him later on. It was a grand day out. The first part of the hike traverses high mountain meadows, explosions of wildflowers, birds, streams and rivulets tubling down rocky & snow-covered slopes, woodland glades. Further-on the trees gave way to permanent snowfields at higher altitudes, a glacier on a steep slope on the backside of the peak, a high-altitude meadow below the final, rocky, stark traverse along a ridgeback to the peak. A sheer drop-off to the west, facing Utah valley, the glacier and upper bowl to the east, and a sheet-metal shack, bolted to the very summit rock on the absolute peak. Hundreds of shards of broken mirrors left by boy-scouts from their yearly signaling project littered the summit area. I have never seen the sky so blue, and a view of the Wasatch front such as you usually only see in an aircraft, and then it's through scratched plastic. All of us up there that day could say nothing to add to the experience, and we felt like we had truly earned the feeling by virtue of the hike, which we felt in our bones by the time we summited. We were Kings of the World. Everything else lay far, far below in the mundane world while we stood at heaven's gate. The cameraman made it up there, amazingly, with his enormous load. He glanced at his watch and a few minutes later a helicopter appeared, and touched one skid to the summit rock a few yards away. Out jumped Reece Stein, and the two filmed the TV segment. A few minutes later the helicopter took Stein away and the cameraman repacked his equipment and began the hike back down. We stayed a while longer, but eventually took a last look from our lofty perch and started back. Several of us decided to take the fast route down the first couple of hundred feet and actually slid down the glacier to the upper bowl, into the "strawberry" snow below. What a rush! Further down the mountain the weather changed and we found ourselves marching back in a hailstorm, lighting exploding all around us- we were inside the storm cloud! Luckily I had brought some trash bags which we fashioned into ersatz ponchos, so we didn't get too wet, but our bare calves got stung from the hailstones. When we finally got back to the parking lot, seemingly parsecs from the summit and a lifetime ago, we were exhausted- yet incredibly at peace with ourselves and still trying to assimilate all we had seen and done that day. My friend and roomate at the time slept in the backseat, his dog on his lap, as I drove home.

It is still vivid in my mind all these years later.

Now both Mr. Stein and my group, along with the cameraman, reached the summit that day. He took the short, direct route with pricey equipment, we took the long, scenic road, and definitely expended more time and energy on a personal level.

Who do you think had the greater feeling of accomplishment? Who saw more sights, who had the most diverse, eclectic experience? At the end of the day, who had the most enriching experience? Who got the most satisfaction from their summit experience?

...

From: Olhomorto@aol.com

...

I agree with you, Chuck, about the satisfaction of using an Atlas and hunting for deep sky objects. Along with the simultaneous sensations of humility and feeling that I am part of it all when I stand under a dark Utah desert sky, learning and hunting were the biggest draw for me in astronomy.

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Quoting Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com>:

Who do you think had the greater feeling of accomplishment? Who saw more sights, who had the most diverse, eclectic experience? At the end of the day, who had the most enriching experience? Who got the most satisfaction from their summit experience?

Depends on who you are and what excites you. Have you ever been in a helicopter??? High up over the city, flying up through the mountains? Clearly, the guy's in the helicopter, the high tech gizmo, seen way more from the air, than you did on the trail, and therefore they had the most memorable experience of all! Who did you think? ;)