No Fences

Saturday I went to hike a mountain in Monson. It was definitely worthy of Danielle, so the next time she comes to Maine I'll have to take her there. It's about a three-and-a-half hour hike with two summits and a pond, full of rocks and trees, and all sorts of other stuff. Actually, about half of the trail is climbing rock, but I'm told this still only counts as a 'hike' and is nowhere near what actual rock climbing is....still, when you're on the top of the summit with no fences to stop you from falling, it's a little disturbing/breathtaking. Mainers seem to trust their people more than Ontarians or British Columbians...when it comes to nature. I forgot how much I loved being in the woods with friends....and how much I had become dependant on fences in my life.
All the trails I've ever been on in Canada have huge fenced off areas laid out that have been deemed 'dangerous', or if you go to Lynn Valley, you'll find a bridge who's sides come up to your armpits, so there's no way you can fall into the ravine unless you were trying really hard. In Maine, it's nothing like that. You have trees marked in the woods showing the best way up, and one or two iron rods embedded into the rock to help you get over the most dangerous parts....interesting.
I know for some people the Ten Commandments seem like a huge barrier to living their lives, but I like to think of them as fences...markers that point out where the dangerous slopes are in life. Some people crash into the fences, trying to see what's on the other side, other people leap over them and get hurt really bad for their stupidity....other people lean over the fences to pull out the people who jumped over and got hurt and now want to come back to the safe side. Which kind of people are you?