Care and Feeding of a Warm Grape in a Vast, Cold Expanse

At the very tail-end of the rather anemic winter we had here in Southern Oregon, I went for a nice long ski tour in the mountains just south of Ashland where I live. I toured out to one of my favorite spots on the flanks of Mt. McDonald where I sat down (on my sit-pad) and took a little time to connect, drink some tea from my thermos and just BE.

While skiing out to my spot I was exercising and plenty warm - at times having to slow down to keep from sweating as I know wet is something that I do not want to be in a snowy environment.

I arrived at my destination warm and wearing a sun visor and t-shirt (wooly) on my upper-half and ski-pants down below. After stopping it was critical to maintain the heat of my system - my warm grape. After all, I am merely a bag of warm water out in the vast and cold mountainous expanse of the mighty Siskiyou Range. I needed to work quickly and in an organized fashion in order to maintain the heat I had generated from the ski-out to this spot.

I made a short time lapse video of the process to illuminate how a clothing system works in the real world.

Had I not layered up and sat on my sit-pad and had a thermos of tea I could not have sat and enjoyed that spot for nearly as long as I did.

Having the right gear and knowing how to use it to stay safe in an environment such as this is critical if I am to have enough time and energy to connect with the Earth.

I am a tender vittle — as we all are: warm grapes.

Take care of your grape. Keep it warm. Keep it cool. Keep it just right.