The Rambling Hermit

Spent Saturday working with the Lean-To Rescue crew building a new base for a recently disassembled lean-to. Even though I myself am a trail steward and put in the time, money, blood, and suffer the day-after pain of it all, I still am often blown away by volunteers and what they can accomplish. What we did today was the easy part, but most of what the group does is not so cushy.  I do find myself wondering why people volunteer to do such hard work, I have been asked the same question many times on the trail and never have an answer that goes beyond an out-of-breath smile. Reflecting back on my own trail work I find I often don’t remember much of the days, though there are plenty of point for stories, the days are mostly just a block of brightness which is something you can’t actually explain; strangely similar to how crack addicts explain their experience. The question then arises, are volunteers purely altruistic or are they just  really  selfish?

The question of altruism and selfishness has recently come up in the most unexpected places. The most commonly referred to argument is one supposedly from Abraham Lincoln, but I have seen numerous variants, which leads me to wonder if it was something that was actually even said or just perceived after the moment. Nonetheless, it makes for a good story and makes a very interesting point….

“Abraham Lincoln illustrated the philosophical issue in a conversation with another passenger in a horse-drawn coach. After Lincoln argued that selfishness prompts all good deeds, he noticed a sow making a terrible noise. Her piglets had gotten into a pond and were in danger of drowning. Lincoln called the coach to a halt, jumped out, ran back, and lifted the little pigs to safety. Upon his return, his companion remarked, “Now, Abe, where does selfishness come in on this little episode?” “Why, bless your soul, Ed, that was the very essence of selfishness. I should have no peace of mind all day had I gone and left that suffering old sow worrying over those pigs.””Social Psychology” by David Myers, p477

So volunteers who put themselves through considerable hardships, pain and even danger, are they doing it for the world or for purely selfish needs and personal elation?

The master chainsaw carver roughing out my scrib lines.  Lincoln logs for big kids.

Little bit of clean up with chisel and hammer before we roll over the log for the first fit.

Put’n in 12″ screws is definitely a spectator sport, but it does keep the logs from falling in on you.

New base scribbed, deacon seat cut and most of the lean-to in place. We did a good bit more, but I did not take another pic before it got dark and declared time for beer.