Love Us, but Leave Us Wild

I was on the phone with my grandma that just had surgery on her foot. She said, "Madison, I am so sick of just sitting here. I am beginning to get cabin fever." This obviously lead to an hour long conversation about her missing me, which naturally brought up the topic of my dream to complete the PCT. Those of you who don't know what the PCT is, it is the long distance backpacking trail that goes from the boarder of Mexico to the boarder of Canada. My grandma isn't one of those normal old ladies that sits in her mumu all day, knits beanies and magically has a tray of freshly baked cookies on the counter every time you visit her. In fact she is one of the most motivational, inappropriate and spunky woman that I have ever met. If you ever get a chance to meet her, its an experience I am sure you'll never forget, anyway I am going in a direction that has nothing to do why I am writing this. During our talk, it struck up an idea that has been lingering with me for quite sometime now; dating as an outdoor adventurer sucks! Not only for us as explorers to find someone, but loving us as well. You should love the wanderers, we deserve love and we want it too. Us as natural explorers, outdoor recreators and lovers of the wild wilderness are sometimes not thought of.

We have left our hearts in so many places, within so many people, but no one seems to show us love back. We have put off and developed this stigma of pure independence. We have expressed that we don't want anyone, anything or any place to tie us down. We have so much ahead of us, from opportunities, soul searching journeys, mountains to be climbed, forests to be seen, deserts to be explored, rivers to be ran, canyons to discover and sun to be soaked. We want to find that perfect adventure pup, and the perfect van to call home. Although we can say van sweet van, and get all of the snuggles from our hammock loving furmates, we crave to be loved in return. Outdoor folks like myself, have so much passion and loved filled spirits, because with this life, the highest peaks, the coldest nights, the hottest days, the sore backs, shredded fingers, shredded feet and tired bodies isn't just for Instagram posts, it's all out of extreme flat out 100% love and passion. 

For those who have nicknamed us dirt bags and say we have no heart, because we can never settle down is a fool! We have a lifestyle that is just love. Do you think we would have chosen a life full of raggy clothes, going days without a shower, scrapping by for a can of beans for a meal? If we didn't have a pure love for our days spent in tents, under 500 million plus stars, aching bodies, amazing views, simple lives and lonely days if we didn't purely love it? We don't settle down, because we don't settle for mediocracy. We know that greatness is out there. We know that our longtime adventure partner is waiting, and we will find them.

If you ask anyone who's live revolves around the next outdoor adventure, they will say they won't stop until they've tried to reach the summit, even if it kills them. We are a committed people. We don't settle, because we love harder than anyone out there. And you can bet that we want to come home to someone that loves us as much as we do them. It doesn't have to be right now, but all that we know is, we want it. We want to experience and share this incredible world, these incredible adventures with someone that we think is incredible. But if you don't love the outdoors as much as us, and if you hold us back from going out to mother nature, we won't trade her for you. 

Those of us who are her children, we have to put her first, we have to return to her and we have to protect her. She has blessed us with our wild, adventurous spirits and we have to honor her gift. We have to continue to live this life. But you can share us, if you too have the love for her. You don't have to be one of us, but you have to have a deep love for the outdoors and wilderness too. We don't live in concrete forests, we don't conform to societal expectations. We trade parties and night clubs for campouts, friends around the campfire, prepping for early wake ups to race the sun to get up to mountain tops. We need to have exhilarating experiences to test our limits mentally and physically. Sometimes we need to do these things alone and you just have to understand it, and accept it. Sometimes we disappear, but we will always return, and we will always stay loyal. We will promise to love you with all of our fiber, if you return that love to us, support us, challenge us and always join us. 

So always love, give love and share the love with us granolas, because we are the happiest, loneliest, wildest, most passionate people to walk, hike, climb, cycle, run, fly, float and love this wild Earth. 

"Love us, but leave us wild."