In the Mountains

There’s something refreshing, even quite literally, about facing raw, stormy nature. With an understanding, at some level, that we are no match for her, we human beings live protected. We don’t go outside if it’s snowing or raining too much, and, in our cities, buildings protect from the wild wind.

But just a few days ago I found myself, much to my excitement, in pure stormy nature with my Environmental Science class. In the mountains just north of Madrid, we made our way through the various ecosystems, feeling fall turn to winter as we gained elevation. All in the name of science.

A group of the bravest students and I took it upon ourselves to hike up the mountain, even though the wind was swirling fog around us, driving icy rain right at our faces, and, sometimes, threatening to blow us right off the path. We were just 30 kilometers north, and yet what we were experiencing could hardly be any more different from the Madrid city center. By the time we returned to the bus, we were soaking wet, cold, tired, and exhilarated. We napped on the way back to campus… some days Science can be particularly demanding.

But it was refreshing to be there. It was refreshing to see what we are learning in its real-world context. It was refreshing to see my professors eyes light up as he talked about the wolves who, though we didn’t see any, do live in those mountains. And it was refreshing to feel the rain on my skin, as it brought me face to face with wild, stormy nature.