Thursday, January 28, 2010

What You Don’t Know

As the start of the Arrowhead 135 draws near, I can’t help but think of the challenges that will be faced. The cold, the terrain, the isolation, and the distance should be enough. However, there are other concerns.... like animals. Though I saw some eyes glowing in the dark last year, I don’t think I saw one animal bigger than a squirrel. I did see what I would call the largest “dog” footprints I have ever seen. Of course those were Timber Wolf. There were lots of Deer and some Bobcat tracks as well. I kept wondering to myself - Are there any Mountain Lion way up north? And what about bear? Thankfully I remembered that the bear are in hibernation, so I won’t have to worry about them. I run with a bell in the summer when I am by myself to alert the bear of my presence and have wondered if I should do so in the winter? To the Mountain Lion and Timber Wolf it may sound like a dinner bell. Maybe I need to try and be really quiet. I don’t know.


I was running through the woods with friends Tim and Joel this past summer and the topic of bear came up. Tim said he was not concerned at all about being attacked by a bear. He didn't know if there were any around or not, and it didn't matter because he said he knew that he could run faster than Joel. You see, he focused on what he did know. After Tim's comment and a chuckle, though not from Joel, we started chatting about something else. Funny though that when you are by yourself for hours in the woods, your mind can start playing some tricks on you. What was that? What is behind those glowing eyes? I saw a "rabbit" . I saw "Big Foot" . I don’t know...... I don’t WANT to know. What I do know is that the likelihood of an animal attack is slim to none. So when I start to hear the noises and see things, like Tim, I focus on what I do know and not what I don’t know.


We spend too much time being fearful of the unknown which seems like such a waste of time and energy. Take what you do know and work from there the best you can. The things you don't know can't be controlled so they will have to be dealt with in their own time and are not to be feared.



"Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown."

-unknown
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1 comment:

  1. Dr. 26.2January 31, 2010 at 5:32 PM

    Rick, I have been hunting grouse in northern Minnesota for over 20 years and saw a bear once but never a mountain lion. The bear was running across a road as I was driving . Bears are very skittish and will avoid humans unless they are with their young. I was running along the road 12 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone Park 10 years ago and heard some gravel fall from a ledge.I looked up and there was a small female bear and her cub. I just kept on running and they left me alone. The next day I am running the same road and looking at the ground. This time the noise is from across the road and there is the bear and her cub on the opposite side of the road. I moved slowly away and caught a ride back to our resort. There has not been a recorded mountain lion/cougar attack on a human in Minnesota for over 50 years I am told. They are up where you are but with so many deer are unlikely to attack a human. Paul

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