Solitude,as the dictionary says, is a quality or state of being alone or remote from society or in a lonely place.
To me, solitude has always meant distant mountains and cold places with everlasting beauty-places that require reliance on myself or on friends with the same goals.
This feeling has the power of staying with you, especially when you can back it up with images as a reminder. One memory is of an early morning when a guest at the Birkenhaus agreed to join me on the 6:30 a.m. "milk run" lift to the top of Stratton Mountain and ski over to the Fire Tower from there. The trail was deep with snow, the forest was silent, and the fire tower was thick with windblown ice. The guest and I found we enjoyed the solitude, and the adventure of it, together-and Wendy and I were married two years later.
My solitude recipe for one person: pick a winter day with deep new snow, heavily-covered trees, and no human tracks ahead of you. Proceed.
