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My Gen X Playlist: Ends of the Earth – Lord Huron

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One of my favorite hikes is in Zion, Utah. The hike is called The Narrows. It’s a two day trek down a canyon, in the river. The river is literally the trail. Sometimes the water was at our ankles, other times waist high. There were stretches where there wasn’t any dry land to the left or right of us, just the river and canyon walls that extend high into the clear, blue sky. At times the canyon walls narrowed to about 25 feet across and it’s just you, the sound of the river and the feeling that God really does exist. Once we couldn’t touch the bottom and we turned over on our backs and used our backpacks as a floatation device to float downstream.

When you take the two day top down route, there aren’t many other people because of the limited permits in the canyon. You have to reserve a spot well in advance through a lottery system. If it’s the only lottery that I ever win in my lifetime, I’d still die a happy guy.

Halfway down, there was elevated dry land where we camped for the night. I’ll never forget the moon’s reflection off the canyon walls and the sound of the river singing us a lullaby to sleep. You just can’t recreate that feeling.

This was the hike that made me appreciate Mother Nature for the first time. It was an amazing experience and opened my eyes to how much more there is to see. It was pretty awe inspiring.

We’ve since been back and brought our friends. We didn’t do the two day top down route. Instead, we enjoyed a day trip in The Narrows from the bottom up. It’s a little more crowded this way, but still pretty cool. We went about eight miles up river until the water level was at our chests and then turned back around. Despite the crowds, we still had a great time. But I’ll be honest, there is nothing like the two day trek downstream when it’s just you, God and Mother Nature.

I’m running out of river songs. I’ve picked a few of them for past posts and the search this morning felt all too familiar. Natalie Merchant has a song called River which is about the death of River Phoenix. The Talking Heads have an Al Green cover of Take Me to the River. But I liked the song used on the first Narrows link provided above – Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron. It’s a familiar song but I had no idea who sung it until today. They had me from the first few lines.

Oh, there’s a river that winds on forever
I’m gonna see where it leads
Oh, there’s a mountain that no man has mounted
I’m gonna stand on the peak

Definitely what I daydream about as I sit behind a desk all day. Damn, where do I sign up.

I found this awesome quote after I wrote the last few lines. The universe must be speaking to me. Thanks, Jack.

Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.

Jack Kerouac

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh

Oh, there's a river that winds on forever
I'm gonna see where it leads
Oh, there's a mountain that no man has mounted
I'm gonna stand on the peak

Out there's a land that time don't command
Wanna be the first to arrive
No time for ponderin' why I'm-a wanderin'
Not while we're both still alive

To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
Well if you won't, I must say my goodbyes to thee

Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh

Oh, there's an island where all things are silent
I'm gonna whistle a tune
Oh, there's a desert thats size can't be measured
I'm gonna count all the dunes

Out there's a world that calls for me, girl
Headin' out into the unknown
Wayfarin' strangers and all kinds of danger
Please don't say I'm goin' alone

To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
Well If you won't, I must say my goodbyes to thee

I was a-ready to die for you, baby
Doesn't mean I'm ready to stay
What good is livin' a life you've been given
If all you do is stand in one place?

I'm on a river that winds on forever
Follow 'til I get where I'm goin'
Maybe I'm headin' to die but I'm still gonna try
I guess I'm goin' alone

Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh

Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh

36 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: Ends of the Earth – Lord Huron”

      2. Truthfully, I’m in a long haul of ACL reconstruction recovery, so my actual hikes will be modest, but I can keep a list of ones like these and dream for next time I go through.

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      3. I hope for a speedy recovery for you! Zion is absolutely beautiful. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time there. You may want to visit Bryce as well. It’s not too far away.

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      4. Man am I making a bad first impression here: I went to my list to see about Bryce, and apparently I’m not even planning Zion this year. Which is the whole point of your post. Sorry about that. I just got myself all confused. I really am headed in that direction, just hitting different parks/monuments/federal lands for the summer. Until I get to places I hit up back to back, I have a hard time keeping them straight. Bottom line: lovely post, I think nostalgically about Lord Huron as well, and next time I’ll comment on something that’s actually in your post. Ha!

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Hahaha… no worries at all! It’s just great to connect with others who love the outdoors! I like the sound of your road trip. I’ve been thinking about trying to hit as many national parks when I have more time – maybe at retirement! Hope you enjoy the your time on the road!

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      6. My “time on the road” is my life – I this is what I do, travel from one good hiking/kayaking location to another, until my ACL injury last year. Hence me being so excited about this upcoming set of parks that I couldn’t get them straight. Hang in there – retirement provides ample opportunity to commune with nature.

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      8. Cool! I’ve been subscribed to yours for like a year thanks to the recommendation of @MarkMyWords, but I had carelessly thought it was only about the music. I’ll actually start reading now. 🙄 I share your music taste, too—don’t know what I was thinking. I’m terrible at community here (hence my very few followers and mangled responses to your post) but I’m slowly getting the hang of it. Looking forward to your future posts.

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      9. Hahaha… I share your challenges with online community. I’m really not on social media and just have this anonymous blog lol. I’m glad we overlap in music taste. I went years without listening to music so this blog was a great reintroduction back in. Looking forward to hearing more about your airstream travels!

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      10. Funny – listening to music used to be a big part of my life, and I’ve stopped lately. Which is a story for somewhere else, seeing as how these comments are under your blog, not mine.

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      1. He’s one of those authors it’s easy to feel as though you’ve read already, because he’s drawn upon so often. At least that’s how I experience him. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  7. “At times the canyon walls narrowed to about 25 feet across and it’s just you, the sound of the river and the feeling that God really does exist.” Great line. So many get the “god” feeling out in nature.

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  8. “At times the canyon walls narrowed to about 25 feet across and it’s just you, the sound of the river and the feeling that God really does exist. “

    —Great story friend, thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. ❤️Jack Kerouac!❤️If you follow him and Neal Cassady you can get on the Further bus and take it all the way to the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test with a Houston stopover at Larry McMurtry’s house . . . I recommend reading a couple books while you’re there!

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  12. Pingback: My Gen X Playlist: Angels of the Silences – The Counting Crows – MyGenXerLife

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