This is for all the lonely people . . . who like to climb mountains.

Not really. I'm actually in a pretty good mood, and despite recent events, I've been meaning to write up this blog for some time. Emily gave me the fortune that she got out of a cookie when we were up in Idaho.
"Finding true love is like climbing a mountain. You must keep climbing until you reach the summit."
I was immediately reminded of this picture:
Let me talk a little bit about how finding love is like climbing a mountain, and how it is not. I'll try to use pictures to illustrate my main points.

You don't have to keep going until you reach the summit. Sometimes it's just plain unwise. In the photo that you see, Two Jasons and a Joe are looking in great disappointment toward the summit of the Grand Teton. There was a snowstorm blowing in and we had to turn around just a couple hours from the summit. If we had kept going, who knows? We could have been killed, or had to call Harrison Ford to come rescue us. Sometimes it's best to examine the situation that you are in and decide to keep going or turn around.

Some of the most amazing mountains are far far away and yet to be discovered. There are beautiful mountains that I've seen in Chile. You can drive clear up into the tops of them. Honestly, a lot of mountains these days have roads going up them, so it's not that hard to get to the top. On some of the biggest mountains in the world you may have to hike, but you can pay Sherpas to pack all of your stuff up for you. Wasn't it the Beatles who didn't think that money could buy them love? Silly Beatles. So here's a picture of me on top of a little mountain in Chile.
Some mountains are really photogenic. Some are really easy to summit. Mountains and love. They're so similar.

So how are they different? Well, you don't necessarily want you and your friends trying to "summit" the same girl at the same time. That just makes for hard feelings. Most mountains can be best enjoyed in the company of your companions.

If you climb more than one mountain in a month you don't get in trouble. It's not just your guy friends who think it's cool, and the mountains don't ever get pissed. They're rather ecstatic for you if anything.

If you get to the summit or true love with a girl, you should do your best to stay there. With a mountain, it's usually best to get a few pictures, enjoy the view for a bit and then head down before the weather rolls in. Hmm . . . I guess the same could be said for some relationships. That one could be similar or not.

You can climb the same mountain years later. The trip can be as enjoyable as the very first time. I wouldn't recommend that you do that with your relationships.

So really, do you need to work toward the summit? I'll just keep enjoying the hike and let you know when I get there. I'm not going to guarantee that the summit is any better than the saddle or the canyon, or even the meadows.

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