Random: the deity

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this week's randomness quota (for i must do one random thing per week) was filled by snowshoeing. never done it before, never actively pursued the idea of doing it, had no idea who my fellow snowshoers would be, had no idea what modern snowshoes looked like and assumed that they resembled the backs of wingback wicker chairs hailing from the heyday of the 70s, etc. had no idea. also spent most of the 45 seconds it took me to respond to the www.cnrg.org posting contemplating just how surefooted i am not. i mean truly. the last time i went hiking it was on the slippery, damp leaf-carpeted grounds of southern thailand rainforest area, and i almost died once. the short version of that story (though not the focus of this entry, so i hope the telling of it will not over-weary my two readers with tangential data) involved me climbing up a slippery slope with sheer rock faces on either side, no purchase to speak of, sharp rock licked by the andaman sea below, a slip, a slide and a last-minute catch of my foot on a root. every day since has been a gift.

so it was with these thoughts that i rented my snowshoes and met the 13 others at "the daily grind" this morning. we set out for mt. hood with the guidance of Christine and Pat.

i'm already hooked on snowshoeing. it's fabulous. claws secure purchase, toes dig to surety. the journey is ponderous and hushed with snow. crunch shhhhh clack crunch. crunch shhhh clack crunch. the sounds of every character Jack London ever immortalized can be heard to clatter their teeth or spit ice with every snowshoeing step.

all hail, deity of Randomness!