An interesting observation I've had Cappy Cappites. Another mountain-hiking inspired epiphany brought about by the fact my MP3 player stopped working (it's amazing how many epiphanies I have while hiking without my MP3 player).
This one is the observation that after long and grueling hikes and climbs, after thousands of calories of energy burned, and after much planning, plotting and scheming about how to summit a peak
in the end
when you finally get there
every peak
has had nothing more than dirt and rocks at the top.
Some had snow, but all had dirt and rocks.
And this an epiphany did make.
Understand that I was brought up poor and in Wisconsin. Wisconsin does not have mountains, but when my friends at school returned from their summer vacations and showed me pictures of Rocky Mountain National Park or Glacier or Yellowstone I was literally mesmerized by the pictures. "Whats up in those mountains? Where are these mountains? Whose been there before? Did you climb to the top of them? Why not?" I had never seen such a thing with my own eyes, but my visceral response was that I NEEDED to climb them. I NEEDED to see what was up there.
Quite pathetically, when we would visit my grandparents in Minnesota we would drive through a bluff region of Wisconsin, the peaks of which never went more than 200 feet, but to a human only 1/4th the size of a full grown adult, they may as well have been mountains. All I wanted to do was climb them and I would beseech my father to pull over and let us climb just one of them
"No, we have to make it to Tomah before 7PM."
So blame it on unfulfilled child psychological reasons, when I finally had the money and the residency near mountains BLAMO!!!! I climbed every mountain I could.
In the Black Hills there is only one peak (Crooks Tower) that I haven't climbed that is of any significant height. I've hiked straight through the upper part of Badland's National Park both east-west and north-south. I did Halley's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park as well as Deseret's Peak in Utah. And since the Big Horn Mountains are withing 3 hours drive to the west, I've been tackling several mountains and lake hikes there.
But as time has gone on and I've fulfilled more and more hikes a very sad observation came to me - I'm the only one doing these hikes.
Oh sure, occasionally I've had a friend or a Meet-Up hiking buddy join, but the vast majority of my hikes are by myself. And the reason they're by myself is multi-fold.
1. I'm in excellent shape. Not to brag, but to do a 16 mile hike with a 4,000 foot elevation gain and all under 8 hours, there's not a lot of people who can keep up with me.
2. I have minimal obligations. When it's Friday afternoon and I finish up whatever project or call I'm working on, BLAMO! I'm out the door driving to a mountain range for the weekend. I have no children, I have no wife, I have no car payment, and I can afford the gas and lodging (assuming I'm not camping). If I decide to go, not only can I afford to go, I CAN go because there's only one person to account and accommodate for.
3. I just plain have the desire to go and climb mountains and take long hikes. As a kid when I first saw the Badlands from the main road, the badlands formations went on forever. It made a young boy's mind wander and ask "what else is out there? Who has been out there? What will I find if I go out there? Can I make it out there?" That has never left me since the 8th grade and now when I see a peak or a map or a lake or just a far off butte, my brain is predisposed to wonder what treasure I will find AND it provides my the psychological determination to commit myself to that hike. Regardless, most people do not have that curiosity nor that determination.
Getting back to point, regardless of the reason, what I find myself doing more often than not, is summiting a monstrous peak, finishing a dehydrating hike, or just plain achieving an impressive physical feat only to turn around, look around and see I'm the only guy on top of this mountain. Or I'm the only guy returning to my Chevy parked in the Buffalo National Grasslands. I'm the only one shouting for joy that I found a rare fairburn agate in Ardmore, SD.
There's nobody there.
Now what makes this depressing is NOT that I'm alone. I know all of you "nursing home scare-tactic freaks" always love to say, "you'll die ALL ALOOOOOOONE!"
That is not what I'm talking about.
What I'm talking about is what happens when you start to master or excel in a certain field to the point you no longer have peers or people you can associate with or compare against. There's nobody to turn to and say,
"Hey, we did a kick ass job! Don't you agree!?"
You don't even have rivals or enemies to compete against. Tesla had Edison. The Joker had Batman. Hogan had Colonel Klink. There was at least SOMEBODY to provide a standard against.
But, if you are fortunate enough to excel in whatever hobby it is you choose to pursue, and you continue to progress in that endeavor, there will be fewer and fewer people you can relate to.
Now I didn't bring this up to get all sappy and sad on you guys, but as a sincere and legitimate observation for those of you in the Manosphere AS WELL as any woman who achieves excellence in whatever field or hobby intrigues her-
There's only rocks and dirt at the top.
Men of the Manosphere, REAL men, men who follow their genetic and intellectual programming will ALWAYS pursue some kind of study or discipline that interests them in an attempt to master it. Not only will the majority of men succeed, they will be interested by multiple disciplines and hobbies and also excel in those as well. But there is an ultimate drawback or a disadvantage for men in the Manosphere embedded in our nature
We have unlimited time and financial resources to dedicate to these intellectual pursuits.
Much like my hiking is put 3 standard deviations to the right of the mean by the fact I have no children, no wife and no obligations, so too are all of your personal hobbies and intellectual pursuits. In having no family, no wife/husband, no children, just yourself, you have an INORDINATE amount of time and resources to dedicate to your own interests and desires. With such an amount of resources you will not only quickly master whatever hobbies or pursuits you're interested in, but rapidly surpass your married/obligated peers to the point you'll be all alone.
You'll be the Jimmy Hendricks of guitar players.
You'll be the Duke Ellington of Jazz composers
You'll be the Cappy Cap of the fossil hunting, motorcycle riding, ballroom dancing, economists.
And you'll have nobody to compare, compete or just plain converse with.
Now, does this mean I'm advocating you self-handicap yourself and not achieve your own personal best just so you can have a social life?
Hell no.
All it means is that you are on the fore-front, the vanguard, the production-possibilities curve of whatever particular interest piques you. It also means that you are more likely to go down in history as an "expert," a "connoisseur" that will be remembered for your advancing of the field. It is just an observation and a somewhat-of-a-warning that if you do decide to focus on your own potential, it's a guarantee you'll achieve it, but it's a warning as to just how few people there are at your level when you do. And like me when it comes to fossil hunting, or Roosh when it comes to visiting different countries, or Victor when it comes to mastering self-discipline, you will be that "freak" 4 standard deviations to the right of the mean.
Or to quote an Alexander the Great quote:
"When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer."
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