OUTDOOR Adventures

By Brian G. Schommer

Happy New Year and wishes for easier sledding from here on out in 2023 and beyond. The term easy sledding is defined as having effortless progress to move forward. The fact is, if we set goals for ourselves, to achieve them takes at least some minimal effort and for the bigger goals in life, minimal effort simply will not cut it and most often requires us to go above and beyond what we even feel maximum effort might be. Therefore, my wish for everyone is not for easy sledding but easier sledding. What does this have to do with adventures in the outdoors? Nothing really, sometimes it is nice to wish others well for no reason. However, my well wishes to all was inspired by some kids and parents sharing in an outdoor adventure.

Heading east on Highway 55 by the Hastings Middle School last week, I noticed a couple dozen people of all ages sledding on the hill behind the outfield of Schaffer Field. This is one of the better-known Hastings sledding hills and with the schools being on break and good snow, the sight of a full hillside was not a surprise. What I noticed in that brief time while passing by was not as much the ones who were going down the hill on their sleds, but the ones who were climbing the hill after a successful run. One of the smaller children caught my eye. Bundled up like a wellprotected collectable being shipped from one destination to another with three times the bubble wrap necessary, the little one trudged up the hill. An adult seemingly offered to help but the little one simply gestured “nope, I got this” and continued. I looked back in the sideview mirror to see the child reach the top of the hill and it brought a smile to my face. I was reminded how cool it is to witness the success of others.

I was also reminded how much I want to go sledding again… yes, at 55 years old I still have the wild hair to get on one of those plastic sleds and zip down a hill like when I was a kid. The reality is, there is a much higher percentage that I indeed will hurt myself if I do this. Because over 80% of statistics are made up, I will say that there is a 9096% chance that if I go sledding, I will end up in pain for a couple of days after. When we know there is a chance that there will be some negative aspects of our actions, assessing the situation to decide if the amount of positive outweighs the negative and then, pursuing said action or actions. To feel young and free again even though I will turn 56 on Monday is worth a couple days of pain for me so, stay tuned on the results. Hopefully I will not be reporting from the emergency room.

Moving away from the fact that, as my mom used to say, I am “crazier than a pet raccoon” for even thinking about going sledding and back to that little inspirational bundled up child. They worked and worked so hard to get to the top of the hill, even shunning assistance from others to make their journey a little easier. They had a “can do” attitude and nothing was going to stop them from reaching the top of the hill. Their reward was being able to then jump on their molded plastic vehicle and take an adrenaline-charged whip down the hill, fully knowing that to do it again will take a lot of work to get back to the top of the hill. Considering they had been up and down at least once, it would make sense that they might be getting tired of climbing that hill so much for the same reward, even if they did enjoy it.

In all the outdoor adventures we choose to participate in come with additional life lessons. Sometimes we must make the wrong choices to learn the lessons. Sometimes, we can learn from the mistakes of others. Either way, the lessons are there. For example, that little one can be an inspiration to all of us that even when things get hard, if it is a goal we have in our hearts and minds, we need to put effort into achieving that goal, even if some column writing hack wished us easier sledding. Had I seen an old guy rolling and writhing in pain at the bottom of the hill, I probably would not be considering going sledding as much as I am. There will be a first aid kit in the car along with crutches just in case, but I am going to do it. If for no other reason, it will make for a fun read and additional fodder for the column. The sacrifices we must make, right? The lessons are there, sometimes some of us do not learn from the choices of others. Time will tell if I am one of them. Now “Get Out and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.”