On a chilly Friday evening in March, eight veterans from the New York area made their way down a dark, icy dirt road to the Rock and River homestead just outside of Keene, NY. With the exception of one or two brief prior encounters, we were all strangers -- for maybe five minutes. I'm not sure if it was the crisp night air and starry sky, the fireplace crackling in the center of our cabin, or the the excitement for the next day's ice climb, but I have never experienced a group bond so quickly and genuinely. Within an hour, we had already discussed Donald Trump and just about every other current event you could imagine.
The evening continued with a presentation on the Great Outdoors Lab study on the science of awe as well as the physical and mental effects of time spent outdoors. Everyone in attendance agreed to participate in the research, which includes saliva samples and written surveys pre and post outing. On Saturday morning, we met our guides, piled into a van, and drove a brief 20 minutes to Rock & River’s ice park for a day of climbing. Skill sets and experience among our group varied, from first-time climbers to seasoned Denali climbers.
Saturday evening, we sat around the fireplace and discussed the power of the outdoors as well as veterans’ willingness and desire to pay it forward, especially with other veterans.
The first-annual Veterans On Ice outing concluded on Sunday morning with hugs all around and an optional hike up a locak peak. We also committed to staying in touch and working together to provide veterans more opportunities for recreation outside of the urban environment.
Update: About a month after our trip, we learned that one of the participants decided to pursue his dreams and travel the country in search of wild spaces. Following our ice climb, he quit his job on Wall Street to travel the world and explore its natural wonders in pursuit of a simpler life.
