On page 179 of “Down the River” Ed Abbey says “Actually our ignorance and carelessness are more deliberate than accidental; we are entering Glen Canyon without having learned much about it beforehand because we wish to see it…not know what to expect, making anew the discoveries of others.” I was very surprised by this passage because it is such opposite thinking to they way that most people tackle Nature in the present. Even for a brief hike or an overnight camping trip, most people come prepared with every single piece of equipment imaginable, everything to cover any situation or misfortune. Part of this preparation is a fear of the unknown and by rolling in with first aid kits and fire starters, we help ease our minds with the thought that we still have some control over what happens to us out in nature. It is a false sense of security that we give ourselves, for if Mother Nature herself has a plan to do us all in, that is her unbreakable will that we cannot maneuver through unless she lets us.

I think to all of the real explorers, the ones who set out without a GPS or extra batteries, who encountered Nature in the realest sense of herself, for those are the people who were their most natural state as well. We must learn to let go of our sense and need to control in order to really experience what is out there.