Chapter 6: Tell the best stories and shoot the straightest.
I remember it well. It was a dark and drizzly night in the Appalachian mountains. John and I were on our honeymoon and were traversing a section of the AT trail. It had gotten dark before we were able to make it to our campsite, and I was getting cold and wet. I was starting to lose heart and was become crabby, tired, hungry, and unsure of my footing. To put it simply, I was not a happy camper! Then John did something that helped, not only in that moment but in many to come. He started making up a story and told it to me as we hiked. I remember thinking, “I’m not a kid, this isn’t going to help,” but I was wrong! His story broke me out of my funk and helped me find the funny. It propelled me onwards and kept me going until, at last, we reached our base campsite.
What he understood at that moment, was that I needed a guide who could help me through the situation, by diverting my thoughts while keeping me safe. That is a good guide. He was able to step away from being a co-hiker to take control of the situation and encourage success. I don’t even remember the story he told. All I remember was him saying, “someday our kids will know how tough their mom is.” Fast forward to when we had kids and started hiking with them. I recall many hikes with our oldest, Clara, when she was little where we’d have to sing songs or tell stories to make it through the hike with her. It was a distraction and a bit of fun in an otherwise monotonous (to a kid stuck on someone’s back) hike, but it got us to some really spectacular destinations.
How many of us had teachers as kids who could make a story come to life? I know I did! Mrs. Isaacson could tell a story that would have us on the edge of our seats. We all loved literature class because she would transport us to a different world with her stories. She was an amazing teacher. The projects that she had us complete and the papers that we wrote, while incredibly challenging, were always exciting and educational. She was a great guide as well. She knew how to tell a story, how to make the learning seem like it wasn’t a chore at all, and how to get us to do what needed to be done and learn what we needed to learn. She also challenged us to try new and different books that we wouldn’t usually try ourselves.
A mountain guide is a teacher who can tell a story to get someone through a rough patch and encourage them to be their best. They are a teacher who knows how to watch out for dangerous situations and be professional enough to handle the situations that arise with wisdom and grace.
I have met many guides who are out guiding just to have a job being outside. They aren’t truly interested in teaching others around them or showing respectful behaviors for the earth or its inhabitants. I’ve also met guides who, when you see them on a trail, are teaching others by their words and actions. I was teaching outdoor education once in Rocky Mountain National Park and was showing the campers all about the aspen trees and its many wonderful attributes. The kids and I were exploring, twirling aspen leaves, rubbing the bark, and counting how many trees were in a group when I realized that there were many more people in our group than we had originally started with. Several groups of hikers had decided to join in on our little lesson and were having a blast trying what fifth-graders were trying. Teaching and learning is about being open to trying to learn as a child would, through stories, hands-on activities, or observing. Part of being a guide is sharing knowledge and learning from people all around you, all while being prepared to take action and guide reactively if the need arises.
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