In 2018, I wrote a short article after Colossal titled “It’s All About the People,” in which I reflected on one of my Dad’s many wise insights into life: people are the most important part of everything we ever do. Year after year, I relate more to that ideal as it seems to solidify for me—for life or Colossal. The people that come on Colossal will always be the highlight, but this year, I thought I’d reflect on the other side of the equation, the other key ingredient for what catalyzed this event: adventure. COLOSSAL 2019 – The Recipe for Adventure
Adventure can be defined as “an unusual, exciting, typically hazardous experience or activity.” The hazardous part might be easier to identify as we encounter various challenges with our mechanical beasts or personal skill limitations, but how do you define “unusual or exciting activities”? My outlook has always been that real adventures (or exciting activities) occur when our limits or boundaries are exceeded and correspondingly turn into memories, which are not lost with the passing of time.
I believe we all are consciously or unconsciously in pursuit of lasting memories. We want to experience and do things that are worth remembering that figuratively compose the highlight reel of our lives. This is where for Colossal, I think, the memories are created; you have a great combination of like-minded, passionate, and awesome people that get together to do something, go somewhere, or see something that they have never seen or done before to create memories and stories. The epic views and the massive natural features of the Canadian wilderness are certain to create some memories on their own, but there’s more to it than that. If you drill a little deeper you realize it’s really the combination of these factors that leave a lasting imprint on your mind. Enough so that it motivates you to continually explore in search of something physical, mental, even spiritual (or all of the above).
All too often, our forum or Instagram inbox’s are filled with requests for trail locations and route information. Adventures, and the corresponding memories, can still be had when you have a GPS route, but it’s just not the same as discovering the unexpected. Remember the time you first rounded the corner on a trail to reveal the most massive and epic peak you’d ever seen? Or the time you conquered the difficult obstacle to continue onward to a scenic campsite that absolutely blew your mind?
You can’t give that feeling to someone with GPS coordinates. These are the details in our experiences that make it all worthwhile and memorable. Somehow, not knowing what’s around the next bend makes the experience that much richer. It’s that feeling that we, as Tamarack, continually pursue and hope to bring for the next people who register for Colossal. Hopefully, each day, trail, and laugh exhibits that same feeling and enough of it to create a memory that lasts—a couple of shots in your life’s highlight reel.
I don’t expect the images or video in this article to create those memories for you, but perhaps they will provide the motivation for you to get out and explore to make a few on your own.
If you want to join Tamarack for Colossal 2020, the information & registration can be found on their website by CLICKING HERE
