Map Check 2025

Field Notes III.L: A review of the past year's photography and adventures and where things are headed from here

Welcome to Field Notes!

Do you still remember that crowded road and why you left it? Shoulder to shoulder with countless others. Sweaty. Smelly. Eyes downcast, watching every footstep scrape the pavement just beyond the last.

Someone said this was the way. No one knows who decided, yet somehow everyone agreed. Decades of toil in careers that are either meaningless, arbitrary, or ensnared in a self generated spiderweb of policy spun by the arachnid of fear. Emails on the holiday because this company is a “family.” Don’t forget the diversity training before the end of the year, mandated by the People and Belonging Department.

And always pay taxes. Because your government is a generous master and only demands 40% of all of your efforts to hand out to special interests and to fund foreign wars. Just stick to the road everyone is on and whatever you do, follow the law. That’s what they all say. No one in this day and age throws tea into the harbor.

Everyone agrees there’s a destination, though none can really see it. Just save up enough. That is the mantra. Save. The word is a phantasm though, because the materialistic cost of keeping pace on this road exceeds all resources. Saving for retirement? What is that? A lifetime of mental anguish hoping that some theoretical numbers in a theoretical electronic construct reach a magical level at some point in the unforeseen distant future to allow our aged and broken bodies to sit in the recliner all day worshiping a flat screen god? Its absurd. But everyone still walks this road.

You remember looking up. Sunlight danced between the leaves in the treetops. You saw mountains in the distance, rising with an abiding dignity unmatched by anything you’ve ever known. Instantly you knew that you had to reach them. You had to step off of the road.

But now you’re in the thick dark woods. There are no paths here. You have a notion of where you are headed, but the branches scrape your skin. You descend into a ravine. Loose earth falls away as you scramble. Remember those peaks and what they looked like, because now the sky is obscured. The daylight is fading. Something growls in the shadows.

You hear seductive whispers in the wind, floating down from where you once were. “Come back, you cannot get through that way.” “Everyone else is over here, you’ll be in good company, you can have peace of mind.” “There are donuts in the office on Fridays.” No. Tie yourself to a tree and plug your ears with wax. Those Sirens’ calls are empty promises. Lies.

Don’t despair. The challenges are immense, but this is what it means to blaze a new path. Pause and look back. You’ve come so far already. You’re drawing nearer to those mountains, even if they are momentarily out of sight. But you must stay true to your course. You must re-orient and shoot your azimuth.

It is time for a map check!

I’m writing metaphorically, of course. Still, this visual of blindly stumbling through an uncharted and hostile wilderness is kind of how I’ve been feeling lately. It’s the feeling of striving and trying for something different and better, but for which there is no established path to success. And, in fact, there is not even a real definition of success.

I’ll be honest and say I’ve been struggling with motivation for photography over the past year. I still love doing it, but it is cost prohibitive to do it at the highest levels or to even make physical prints of my images. The worst part about photography is the amount of time I spend on a computer to process the images, and then the vast majority of them simply live out in the ether of the internet- on social media, in my Field Notes essays, or on my website. There must be a higher purpose to all of this than just a fun personal hobby.

I find myself becoming rapidly disillusioned with the promises of the digital dream world, filled with so many dangerous lies. And now the delusory chimera named AI stalks that realm, sucking out our attention like a vampire and luring us into further dissociation with nature. There must be something better.

So, much of 2025 was focused on finding that purpose and a direction for all of my efforts in photography, writing, and study.

January brought some relatively rare, very cold temperatures to the South. With it, we even had a dose of snow. I was working on some of those days, so had the excuse to be out driving amidst the icy conditions.

Ice portraits and snow were fascinating when I considered the light, shadow, and texture with camera in hand! I had a superb time photographing them. Still, I continued looking for photography inspiration not dependent on chance environmental occurrences.

In February I set out to find inspiration by deliberately trying something different. It was a Perspective Shift. I had the idea to use my GoPro to photograph underwater in a stream. The most surprising and interesting results came from placing the camera on the stream bed and shooting straight up through the water at the trees. Kristi Keller 🇨🇦 had the brilliant idea to try this again when the trees were green. I never got around to it, though. Perhaps this coming year?

I then read a fascinating essay by Brittany Polat on Wabi Sabi Stoicism. The combination of the Wabi Sabi aesthetic with Stoic concepts is such a synergistic pairing! I set about trying to capture these concepts in my own photographs.

What intrigues me almost as much as this specific theme is the general concept of expressing philosophy through photography, or art in general. It is a question that surfaces in my mind almost daily, at this point. While I made several attempts at Wabi Sabi Stoic photography, I felt that I needed a better understanding of Stoicism’s relation to aesthetics and art before I could proceed with confidence. But I don’t even know if there are resources or references for that. It may be a path to blaze on my own.

I did not chase as many waterfalls as in the year before. Part of that was due to my truck being in need of repairs. I hesitated to take it on the rough dirt roads accessing some of these locations. Amicalola Falls is a state park with paved roads though. My little red Toyota could handle that. And I did brave some remote spots to access Tabor Falls and Opossum Creek Falls.

Opossum Creek wasn’t a very successful outing. Maybe it deserves a re-visit? And my truck now has an entirely new front suspension and brakes (thanks for the birthday present Mom!), so hopefully 2026 will include many more waterfall chasing adventures.

As winter faded I scheduled a thru hike of the Bartram Trail. When Hurricane Helene ripped through Appalachia in 2024 I was forced to cancel it at the last moment. I continued planning, though, and secured the time to hike it at the end of March and beginning of April. Then a large wildfire erupted in the Warwoman Wildlife Management Area, closing part of the trail.

There was no workaround. I had to pivot fast and find an alternative. That’s when I learned of the Georgia Loop. This route uses the Duncan Ridge Trail to connect two points on the Appalachian Trail, making a 60 mile loop. It was an excellent back-up option.

The majority of time on this trail was in dense fog, clouds, and rain. Not the best conditions for photography. Still, I had a superb time and had a touch of the Appalachian Trail experience on day 3 as I met several thru hikers starting their journey towards Maine!

I’ve hunted catawba rhododendron and flame azalea in the mountains in the past with marginal success. This year I found some specific information about when the best times for blooms typically are and I made a strong effort to find those flowers.

I visited Gregory Bald and then Andrew’s Bald, both in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I was overjoyed to find the blooms I’d been seeking! At the time, perhaps inspired by Wabi Sabi, I was thinking of clarity of mind and of zen and had many related thoughts on these trips.

Over the summer my son brought up the idea of going on a backpacking trip with me. I cannot describe how much that meant! Of course we’ve camped together many times over the years, but his interests seemed to take him elsewhere in his teens and it had been a long time.

I put everything else aside. I assembled enough gear for him to use, although the tent option for him proved to be a failure point. Still, we had an incredibly worthwhile trip to the Shining Rock Wilderness in North Carolina, despite being wrapped in fog yet again.

Then came autumn. Though I had an endless list of places I wanted to visit in the season of fall, I saw another opportunity to hike the Bartram Trail and I jumped on it.

Sam Alaimo wrote an essay on Savage Stoicism around this time that I found particularly profound. His ideas influenced much of my thinking.

I cannot express how happy I was to finally hike this trail! It was so much tougher than I imagined, although I only have myself and how hard I pushed to blame for that. It was a profound experience of introspection and of learning about the land and how we relate. I’ll even say it was life altering, though perhaps the degree of course correction was conservative.

So did I find my purpose in 2025? Well, it’s a yes and a no. I am learning very strong reasons for pursuing the things I value- the photography, the backpacking, and especially the philosophy. And I’m working hard to combine them all in a synergistic way to lend meaning and purpose to life itself. But, it is all a work-in-progress. I haven’t found any ‘answers,’ whatever that means. Or any way to make these pursuits self sustaining.

Enough reflection. Now, where am I heading in 2026? That is another difficult question to answer. There may need to be some changes.

I’m all-in on Stoic philosophy. Along with classical and modern Stoic concepts, I’ve become curious about other perspectives, such as Zen or the character of Diogenes the Cynic. And the idea of making philosophy personal and relevant to ourselves is also compelling.

I will continue writing in Field Notes, especially because writing helps my own understanding. And along with the writing I will continue pursuing the photography as hard as I can. But I’d really like to explore more of the notion of incorporating philosophy into the images, if I can find a way to do that. My aim is for much more than pretty pictures. I’m trying for images that make a statement. That challenge assumptions and perspectives. I want to make photos and write essays that leave an impact. I don’t yet know how. To do that I’ll have to experiment and explore and try different things.

And of course, this will come within the context of the pursuit of adventure. Because adventure, in whatever form that takes, is about engaging in life in the most visceral way. In fact, it is the only way to put philosophy into practice.

So, more waterfalls, hopefully. I am also starting to look at my options for longer thru hikes. Several are on my radar, but they are either longer or further away. At this point, I’m not sure what will be possible. And I may expand my definition of adventure and take iterative steps in some new directions.

But change may also come in the form of regaining agency.

Agency is the ability to choose your own direction, act, and iterate without permission, while compounding your leverage over time.

Don Giannatti

Having a weekly deadline for Field Notes posts has been incredibly helpful in holding myself accountable. However, it is an enormous amount of pressure. I’m not sure that I can sustain it much longer. Many of my essays have been rushed and my ideas not fully formed or implemented. I don’t like that. I’ll still try to publish essays as often as I can, but I want to take more time with them. I want them polished before I offer them. The same goes for the photography.

And, there are also other projects I’d like to work on. In 2025 I made a ‘zine’ or book or whatever you’d like to call it about my thru hike of the Foothills Trail in 2024.

I’m interested in doing something similar for the Bartram Trail story and maybe others. All of this is very difficult to work on with the concurrent weekly deadline of Field Notes.

The point is, I’m still writing. I may experiment with styles or throw in some poems, or perhaps just publish a photo or even a drawing here and there. I might still publish most Sundays. Or, maybe the posts will come on their own timing. I don’t know for sure. I just cannot continue a promise of an essay every week, especially if it holds me back elsewhere or compromises quality.

If that doesn’t make you balk, I’d be grateful for your company in the next year. I’m not an authority, but I’ll try to offer any clarity I find. I’m not a paragon of virtue, but I’ll try to demonstrate just one example of someone seeking excellence in the art of living. I’m not a master of my craft, but I can show you my attempts to reach it.

There’s a whole world before us to explore, experiences to be lived, and existential truths to be discovered. Now, let’s get after it! See ya in 2026!!

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