[at-l] Risk vs reward

[Andrew Claus]

Good morning.  I woke up very early this morning, disturbed by thoughts of Meredith’s death.  To take my mind off things and get back to sleep, I picked up an escapist novel, as I often do.  I fell asleep last night on the final page of “First Law” by John Lescroart, in my opinion one of the best legal/cop thriller writers around.  This is what I read this morning:
(The two characters, Gina and Michelle, have just survived a long episode of danger and intrigue, and have both lost loved ones to violent crimes in San Francisco.  They’re hiking a section of the JMT/PCT out of Tuolumne Meadows, in June.) 
Now, well in to early evening, the two women had been hiking in long shadows for an hour or more when they came around a bend in the path and found themselves suddenly squinting into the sunlight that reflected off a field of ice that covered the entire trail.
’At least now we know why we haven’t seen anybody coming the other way,’ Gina said.  She unshouldered her pack and took a long drink of water.  Grimaced.  ‘This iodine pill thing.  I don’t think I’m getting very used to the taste.’
’I stopped using it,’ Michelle said.
Gina stopped in mid-drink.  ‘Then why am I still gagging on this stuff?   I thought there was giardia’—a particularly unpleasant parasite—‘everywhere up here.’
’There is, I suppose.  But my dad used to hike up here all the time and he never used it, either.  And never got sick.’  She shrugged.  ‘If I’ve learned anything the past year, Gina, it’s that the world’s a dangerous place.  It’s never really been safe, although it’s comforting to pretend it is.  But really there’s risk everywhere.  Might as well embrace it and enjoy the days.  So I’m going to drink the goddammed good-tasting, non-iodized water.’
Gina took another pull at her canteen, made another face.  ‘Will you think I’m a wimp if I don’t?’
’Absolutely.’  A big grin.  ‘But who cares what I think?  You do it your way; I’ll still like you.’
Michelle stood up, brushed off her bottom, stared at the ice shelf looming up ahead of them.  ‘Talk about risk,’ she said.  ‘Do you want to go for this?  Maybe we should give it up?’
Gina, too, was on her feet.  ‘And miss the best view in the Sierra?  I’d rather die trying.’
’So we go on?’
’Lead on, girlfriend, lead on.’
(On my PCT hike, I was in the same place at the same time, and I can verify that Lescroart got the hiking part right on.  And I didn’t treat water there, either.)
The reward is what it's really about.  It struck pretty me hard first thing this morning and gave me the shivers.  The rewards are simply too great to tremble in fear and stop hiking.
Garlic


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