Wednesday, January 25, 2023

The style of writing I like best came from telling true stories around the campfire at Horse Camp and various other campfire and party experiences of storytelling

 There is this informal nature to people who are interesting who travel the world and often meet at places like Horse Camp from Spring until Fall of every year. There is a hired caretaker for the Sierra Club there whose job it is to facilitate the rescue of climbers who get into trouble climbing the mountain. Horse Camp is at Tree line (where the trees stop growing because of Altitude. This doesn't mean that NO trees grow above there it just means most trees cannot survive at higher altitudes only a few. So, Horse Camp is around 8000 feet and by 9000 feet no trees can grow at those altitudes at all. I spent my 25th birthday in 1973 while driving a friend and her daughter to Mt. Shasta to take a bus from there to Alaska where she was from home. After I put them on the bus north then I climbed with snow shoes to Horse Camp as that time of year there was about 20 feet of snow there then in 1973. I dug down with a snow shovel there so I could open the front door which at that time had an unlocked Chain I believe bolting the door closed so any climbers who were in trouble or who needed to get out of the storms could find relief inside of the Large stone building there with a fireplace and wood stove inside as well as old fashioned metal spring beds fit only for one person which were more like metal cots than anything else. There also then was a big picnic table inside with a log book for all the people to write in about their exploits On Mt. Shasta for others to read also. There also were candles and sometimes lanterns of various kinds there too for public use especially in emergencies. That day (my 25th birthday) I had recently given myself a Yamaha Gold nylon string guitar and so I brought that with me to play for myself and to sing while there alone sitting next to the wood stove to keep warm enough to be in 20 feet of snow at that altitude. After I dug down through the snow about 10 feet or more to open the door which swung inwards (Thankfully) I built a fire and set up camp inside. There was also wood enough to keep warm for awhile too then. I also had to dig down where the window looking up towards Mt. Shasta peak was because it too was obscured by snow as well so I would watch the incredible sunsets where the mountain turns pink and gold in the sunsets before turning a more purple towards night time.

But, this style of writing i was starting to develop even then at 25 even though I didn't fully get it working to my satisfaction until I was about 30 to 32 and began writing about Arcane (Saint Germain) on New Deva, the Water planet in 1980 then. But, I turned 25 in 1973 which was about 7 years before and about 1 year before I married the first time and had a son who is now almost 50 years old and married with a son himself.

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