The View from Up There

A few months ago, I took a writer and a photographer on a river trip and a hiking excursion for a travel piece in the French magazine Le Figaro.

These guys were so much fun and willing to scramble up every hill and over every boulder that looked like it might be climbable. Every time we’d come to a destination, mind you, the destination in and of itself was stunning, they’d asked me, “What is up there? How do you get there?” I’d say, “I’m not sure; there isn’t a trail, and I’ve never been, but let’s go!”

So with this fearless French duo, I got to see the sights beyond the sights that everyone visits—the views of the mountains and the deserts that only the people willing to ask, “What’s up there?” get to see.

When I am not writing about my own made-up worlds, I’m out exploring the real one. Sometimes, though, I forget to ask the important questions, the “what is up there, what comes next” questions. This trip was a good reminder to always aim beyond what’s easy. Because the view from “up there” is unmatched.