Hardwear Sessions

I was walking in a sauna, inhaling heavy, hot air, drenched, sweat pouring off me as if it were raining, gaining altitude up the mountain jungle with 80 pounds on my back, every step accessible only with a machete. The old man that lives in this steep mountain jungle walked with me carrying an 8-foot wooden contraption on his shoulder, and now I knew why: he wanted to hunt.

He stopped suddenly, planted the long, forked wood pole in the ground and pointed up into the tall, shiny-black-green trees above. He pulled out a slew of slings and attached them to the end of the wood pole, then took a stone from his purse made of vines and loaded his giant slingshot. I couldn't see what he was aiming at.

Schlakkk! One shot and a large possum fell 60-feet from the trees. Red, blue and green birds screamed and fled the scene. Before long we had a fire going. The whole possum was placed in the fire as is, its curly tail slowly coiling in the heat as its eyes oozed out of their sockets. After the fur and skin had been turned into a black charred shell, he took the beast from the fire and sliced open his belly. The intestines, among other organs, had been boiled in the carcass and he slurped them down with joy. The body of the possum went back to the fire so the flesh could roast. Soon I was feasting on possum legs like drumsticks with cat-like claws attached.

I still had over 8,000 feet to gain to reach the summit. Breath in, "The time issss..." Breath out, "Nowwww..." My reconnaissance to the eastern islands of Papua New Guinea were turning out to be exactly what I expected: absolutely no expectations and utter mystery. There was very little research information available for this area, though, I did know something for sure before leaving my home: that the area is remote, and the largest island summits on the planet relative to their surrounding land area/mass exist here. I was alone except for my best partners, Optimism and Enthusiasm.

Stay tuned for the complete story in the next Mountain Hardwear catalog...