Editor's note: Larry Conlan contacted
Outward Bound this past fall with an alumni story that was
worthy of putting to music, literally. The quiet satisfaction
of reaching the top of a peak and the appreciation of experiencing
nature from such a unique vantage point inspired Larry to
write the song “Mama Nature.” Below is his story
that inspired it.
In '95 I was working in social services and searching for
a new challenge in my life when I heard from a co-worker about
the adventure-based school called Outward Bound. I contacted
them, received a catalog, signed up for a course and immediately
hiked to the nearest sporting goods store so I could “look
the part” when I showed up in North Carolina. I also
started to pick up the pace in my workout schedule so I could
meet the physical challenge that the course required. After
becoming fashionable and fit, I paid the tuition and looked
forward to the starting date in early October.
I soon learned that the latest style in expensive hiking
gear was no match for an oversized, cheap, banana-yellow raincoat
your mom sent you off to first grade in, and the Navy Seals
would have had a hard time prepping me for what came next!
I never knew the abilities that were hiding inside me!
I never knew I could start climbing mountains at 11 PM!
I never knew I could do without coffee, alarm clocks, and
more than four hours of sleep!
Outward Bound pushes you to the limit of what you think you
can do, and then goes a little bit further. I hit my
“little bit further” on the fifth day. We crossed a river
in the morning, bush-whacked off-trail till dark, and decided
to climb a mountain, around 11PM. Now climbing a mountain
with flashlights in the wee hours of the night did not sound
like the brightest idea to me, and I voiced my opinion during
the “circle” conference, where all decisions are made by the
group as a whole. Yet, our instructors were encouraging
that, as a group, we are “Outward Bound” and we could accept
this challenge and see it through. I argued again
that it was too dangerous to try to do this in the middle
of the night after all we had accomplished that day.
But again the instructors stressed that “ We are Outward
Bound” and “ We can to do this Tonight !”
To solidify the group decision, we held a vote, democracy
ruled and I lost! Being the square peg in the circle,
and the lone vote against going any farther, I retreated to
my backpack and sat down exhausted and dejected.
Our instructor Mark came over and sat down next to me and
asked me how I was feeling. I told him I was beat, spent,
and it was “game over” for me. I did not think I could
crawl one more meter. He leaned over and turned his
back to the other hikers, so as they could not see, and took
out what looked like white tablets out of his top pocket.
In a quiet voice, he encouraged me to take these and I would
feel better. I hesitated. Here was a person I
had come to trust. Our common experience over the past
week had cemented this trust. I was about to say, “No
thanks,” when I noticed that those white tablets were nothing
more than yogurt-covered raisins! It was the lift I
needed! This is what Outward Bound was all about! I
munched on the raisins and in less than ten minutes was leading
the pack. We reached the summit around 2 AM and, exhausted,
my head hit my un-opened backpack and I drifted to sleep.
The last thing I remembered was Mark saying something about
being prepared to leave in the event of lightning, as thunder
rolled in the valley below.
When they woke us at 5 AM, they gave us a few minutes to
take in the view from the summit before we headed back down.
A heavy quiet settled over me as the sunrise lit the
fog rising in the valley below. Mama Nature was putting on
a show! Out here, in the middle of nowhere, I belonged!
I did matter, if to heaven only! This was my moment.
I climbed a mountain! Maybe not quite as high as Everest and
nowhere near the shadow of K-2, but it was My Mountain, the
one I had to climb.
