Non-Human Engagement

When I was 14 years old I went to a summer camp in Woolwich, ME on the Kennebec River. I went on a four day hiking trip with some of the other campers and counselors. We drove to the base of Mt. Katahdin - the highest mountain in Maine. The mountain is part of the Appalachian Mountain range and is in the center of Baxter State Park. We spent the whole trip hiking up to the mountain, carrying all of our camping equipment, setting up our campsite every night.
Starting at the base of the mountain where it was cold and dense with trees, climbing all the way to the top where it was only rocks. It was definitely the most strenuous hiking I had ever done, but reaching the top of the mountain and looking around was also one of the most amazing things. The view from the top of Mt. Katahdin was incredible. The sky was so clear and you could see the massive stretch of wilderness. Since the weather was good and the wind was minimal on the day we reached the top we were able to walk across this narrow path of rocks from one peak to the next, called Knifes Edge. It was only about one mile but the entire journey was extremely terrifying. I remember coming back from that trip absolutely exhausted and covered in mosquito bites but with a renewed sense of wonder and amazement at the non-human world.
I think that we definitely need to concern ourselves with “saving nature.” I think the main problem is that we do not value it enough to prompt us to make real change. If we lose the nature we have in the world – the quality of life for future generations is going to be compromised. They wont have the kind of opportunities to connect with the natural world like we did and generations before us did. In my opinion, a big part of what makes us whole and healthy and satisfied comes from the natural world and where we see ourselves in it. When I was on Mt. Katahdin I really got a sense of how small I was and how much there was out there that’s greater than me. When you have that kind of realization, you can build respect for that greater thing. If we do not try to “save nature” then we are really robbing our future generations of their ability to develop a love and respect of the natural world.