Every now and then you share a moment with a place, a person or both that will stick with you forever. This weekend I had one of those moments, freezing my knackers off halfway up Coniston Old Man eating a lukewarm dehydrated meal.
It had been a prime November day in the lakes. Pissing round with your mates whilst bagging Wainwrights, living on your own time with not a care in the world - The kind of day you long for throughout the week.
The hike was steady and the Wainwrights were out in all their glory, the rain even held off for the most part.
The pitch was flat and secluded and even though I accidentally left Nappers tent zip open for him to freeze to death (Sorry mate but still your fault), it couldn’t have been a better place to kip for the night.
And as we sat there, shivering, debating whether 6:30pm is a credible bedtime for three fully-grown adults, the most amazing thing happened.
The thick cloud that suffocated the mountains for most of the day split perfectly, showcasing the most incredibly beautiful, nearly-full moon that seemed so close you could almost pick it out of the sky.
The cold no longer mattered, the body no longer felt tired and any of the stresses of everyday life just melted away. In this moment, with my two mates, there was nothing else to do apart from watch the sky perform this show, which seemed to be for our eyes only.
And that got me thinking, it’s moments like these that keep you coming back for more. Yes we got pissed wet through the following day, had no gas to cook breakfast and had no water until our mouth was dryer than the Sahara, but does it matter? Absolutely bloody not. Would I do it all again? In a heartbeat.
There are so many people on this planet who will never experience those moments the mountains offer so often, the ones which put everything into perspective. Whether they care or not is another story, but having shared many of these moments throughout my time, i can firmly say the world would be a better place if everybody spent more time connecting to nature in this way.
It’s with this mantra that Summit Systems was born. Making lightweight, stripped-back quality kit to help people seek those soul soothing moments with nature.
And that’s our mission, to motivate people to get off their screens, get out there and experience what truly matters.
Over and Out
