"Because it's there..."

It was the Golden Age of Adventure in the 1920's and the people of this world were just starting to uncover the great challenges that the Earth had lay out for us to conquer. Superlative descriptions such as "widest," "longest," and "furthest" were words that drove insatiably adventurous men and women into a crazed pursuit of titles awarded to those who conquered such likely described Earthly monuments. One man became obsessed with one word in particular..."Tallest."  Before George Mallory set out on his final attempt to climb the world's tallest mountain, he was asked "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?" To which he replied, "Because its there."  - What a badass!

Since he never returned from his final ascent up the mountain, it is still debated today whether George Mallory was the first person to successfully reach the summit of Mount Everest. I don't even partially claim that this Walkabout is anything even remotely near the level of achievement sought out by Mallory but it is his pursuit of his adventurous vocation that draws me close to him.

While there are countless reasons why I am setting out on this expedition, if someone asked my "Why do you want to visit all the National Parks?," one answer I could give is, "Because they're there." With the declining value people put on the wilderness and the natural transformations our land is going through in general, Our National Parks may not exist the way they do today, forever.

Mallory was said to have taken a photograph of his wife with him to place at the summit when he reached the top. I've been thinking about it and I would also like to somehow leave my mark at each park. It doesn't even have to be a physical thing. It could be just doing or saying something at a significant landmark at each park. All ideas...crazy and tame alike will be entertained!

George Mallory