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I first spent time at The Mountain in 1982, when I was 11. I spent three weeks at Youth Camp, and the combination of beautiful landscapes, exciting adventures, and deep and lasting friendships kept my thoughts returning to that camp experience over and over.
I was finally able to return in 1987 for Sr. High Camp, and I came back as a camper or a counselor and adventure leader every summer until 1993. In addition to cementing powerful friendships that persist to this day, those summers taught me about trusting others, trusting myself, and listening to the world around me.
Even now, I can easily recall sitting silently in the woods as the trees and rocks and the waterfalls reached out and enfolded me in their deep embrace. My favorite trips to lead were hikes into the woods where we practiced paying attention to all the wonder going on around us.
When my girlfriend, Cathy, came to visit me one summer, we walked down the trail towards the old amethyst mine. On the way, we stopped at a small waterfall, where we pledged our love to each other. We are still married today, and I am so grateful to have included that mountain stream in our first pledge.
You never know where life will take you or what a simple path you choose will come to mean, but I am so glad I was open to visiting The Mountain that summer over forty years ago.
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