A Line = A Lived Experience

Reading a book assigned in my Geographic Thought class last week some new ideas started floating around in my head that got me thinking.  Often things that are thought of on a whim get lost in the routine of daily life.  This blog hopefully will also act as a forum for us to get these random ideas written down in hopes of expanding upon them in coming weeks, months, and years.  Most likely some of the postings will not make sense to everyone, but take from them what you can.

Being a Geographer, I love the idea of maps and knowing where I am at all points in time.  Whether its driving around a new city, exploring a new trail, or even entering a new building.  The sense of place I desire often leaves me never truly feeling lost, but rather educated on my surroundings and inspired to discover more.  Explores throughout the history of the human race have always been willing to go a little further.  Whether it was in pursuit of spreading religion, finding spices, discovering riches, claiming land or conquering a group of people, the idea of discovery was the same.  What drove these men to get on ships and sail for years just to explore?  The amazing thing about these men is they had no idea what they were sailing into, these men were true explorers.  This was occurring at time the educated world was still perplexed at the idea that the sun was the center of the universe and that in fact North America might exist.

World Map during the Middle Ages - Large Potential for Non-Lived Experiences

The quote that struck me from the book was by a man named Gunnar Olsson, he stated "A line is a lived experience".  His use of the word "line" takes on many different meanings.  His basic point is that once a line is drawn on a map it can no longer be considered unexplored.  At some point it has been lived and experienced.  A potentially unsettling situation for modern day explorers.  For those wanting to explore and live unexperienced events it has become difficult.  In a world of Google Earth and detailed trail maps its hard to even imagine finding yourself in a place that someone has never been or seen from above through a computer screen.  For example the image below: Say you are wandering around the hills of Hyalite.  At any given moment in time you are within a distance of a trail displayed by the line on the map.  All of these trails are used heavily at all times of the year.  So in a way at no point are you exploring this area, but instead just re-visiting already discovered places. 

Hyalite Canyon - Lived Experience

Even climbing guide books detailing the approaches, routes and descents on rock and ice include lines and prove it has already been a lived experience by someone before.

Why so many Routes? Could it be people all wanted to leave a mark and explore there own route?

What do modern age explorers do in order to fulfill the same void that was filled by exploring unmapped lands and oceans long ago?  It seems apparent by looking on any climbing website, or flipping through the pages of rock and Ice, we have potentially found the next age of exploration.  It lies deep in the idea of a first ascent.  This idea is closely tied to the climbing population, but fits well with all other aspects of a persons life also.  Whether its a new 5.15 sport or trad route, ridiculously hard new mixed or ice route, the pursuit and exploration of a new idea, a trip to a foreign land to help people in need, or a scramble up a super easy rock just to get to the top, its clear human beings have always figured out a way to blur that line considered a lived experience and engage themselves in a un-lived state of being that fits them.  I would argue we are all explorers in our own right. Whats your own personal first ascent?

Yee Haw,

Kyle