Ashton Caton: Beauty From Ashes

In April 2015, Boone, North Carolina residents Ashton Caton and Nathan Jackson boarded a plane for a month-long backpacking trip in Nepal, specifically trekking the Annapurna Circuit and the Everest Base Camp Trail. Ashton and Nathan began planning their trip over seven months prior with the intent of finding adventure and pushing their limits in some of the toughest terrain on earth. For Ashton, this trip was also a personal declaration of a simple but difficult philosophy: Do not delay the dreams inside of you. Roughly 40,000 people annually take the beautiful trek the duo was embarking on, but this particular trip would be remembered for far more than adventure and beauty.

The two friends landed in Katmandu, Nepal and embarked on the first phase of their journey along the Annapurna Circuit, a route which typically takes 15 to 20 days on foot. This trail is the more diverse of the two trails the men aimed to trek through forests of Fire-Blue Pines and East Himalayan Oaks, over rivers spanned by wooden suspension bridges, and through scenic alpine meadows through several different climate zones. It took Nathan and Ashton 14 days to complete the circuit.

After a couple days of rest, the two friends flew into Lukla, Nepal and prepared for their second, more grueling hike to the Mount Everest Base Camp. Unlike trekking the Annapurna Circuit, hikers on this trail, upon reaching the end, must turn around and take the same path back. The terrain here is both bleak and majestic. Mountain peaks tower above as hikers dare themselves forward. Nathan and Ashton reached Mount Everest’s Base Camp on day five, savoring their accomplishment and witnessing a view only dauntless explorers are blessed to behold.

On day four of the return journey as the men passed through the small village of Phakding, something akin to an alarm rang through the valley. Ashton first thought it to be a fleet of fighter jets as the sound echoed all around them and the ground shook back and forth like an ocean making it impossible to stand. Buildings in the village cracked and crashed; the second level of a nearby building flew out onto the road a few feet from Ashton. In this moment he doubted he would escape the narrow street alive. Within a few moments, the roar dissipated.

Ashton looked for Nathan who had been a few minutes ahead of him but couldn’t find him. Cries from people in the village began ringing through the air, sorrow in a language he didn’t speak. Yelling for Nathan, Ashton sprinted down the trail, finding him quickly and, like Ashton himself, miraculously safe. Bewildered, the pair continued the two hour stretch back to Lukla where, upon arrival, they learned the breadth of what just occurred: a magnitude 7.8 earthquake had hit Nepal and Katmandu had been hit the hardest.

Ashton’s flight was scheduled to depart from Lukla and land in Katmandu for a connecting flight. Meanwhile, estimates for the death toll in Kathmandu were over 1,000 with many people unaccounted for and likely trapped underneath rubble. With no running water and most communications down, tensions were escalating and rumors circulated that Kathmandu was turning more chaotic and dangerous every minute. When Ashton and Nathan finally reached the Lukla airport, they witnessed body bags being carried off of the plane Ashton was scheduled to board. Upon hearing that the hospital in Katmandu had no room left for the deceased and bodies were being brought to Lukla instead, Ashton realized he wouldn’t be able to board the plane. The duo searched for a safe place to stay, but most buildings were too unstable as aftershocks continued both day and night. Each aftershock was equally traumatic, bringing a constant stream of uncertainty as well as an alarm that awakened the primal impulse for survival.

During the night, as Ashton attempted to sleep, the earth again rumbled. It was only a tremor but before any logical thought could process, Ashton’s body was moving through the doorway, down three flights of stairs, across the ground floor dining area, and out the main entrance. Amazingly, his body reacted to the threat of another earthquake before his mind had a chance to realize what was happening. Ashton recalls, “I could never move that quickly again in my life. In that moment, I felt like I met another side of myself. And I saw other people’s survival mode taking over as people were robbed, beaten up, and even gruesomely murdered for [something as simple as] a plane ticket. Everyone was acting out of a part of themselves that is usually hidden. I became brutally aware that although people go around with cordial greetings in regular life, this primal instinct to survive by any means necessary is in all of us. There were no masks here, for better or for worse.”

Later, this awareness would make Ashton wonder if faith and primal impulse could coexist. At that point, however, he and Nathan just needed to keep their heads low and wait for a way home. It took nearly a week, but Ashton was able to secure another flight back home. Nathan’s flight was already secured as his departure had been originally scheduled a week later.

Once home, Ashton began the journey of recovery which arrived slowly through rest and quiet. His mind and heart were disheveled as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sleepless nights became ongoing battles. The aftershocks were still rumbling through his life. Upon a friend’s suggestion, he began reading Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables and in the silent space of reading this redemptive work, Ashton started to feel whole again. Songs began forming within Ashton and as his journal filled up, songwriting became a self-prescribed therapy. To move forward, Ashton knew all of his songs would need to be completed.

Staying true to his philosophy, Ashton brought together a group of friends who could help him realize this vision. This was the formation of the band Royal Nature which would culminate in Arcane, an 11- song album. The word ‘arcane’ means to be known or understood by very few—mysterious or secret. Initially, this word signified the way Ashton felt about the experience he went through. “The destruction and primal instincts that I faced made it hard to find anyone who could understand what I went through,” he explains. “But after time, the word also began to symbolize the path that the human spirit takes to heal after enduring immense tragedy.”

Royal Nature focused on reflecting these qualities in their music by starting with sounds that

were ominous, dark, and sometimes disturbing. Over the course of the album, the music gradually transitions into redemptive anthems with lush and beautiful sonic landscapes. Although the music never quite resolves into complete serenity, it does land on a sense of hopefulness in the midst of mystery.

Looking back on the surreal experience, Ashton reflects, “I don’t know why so many lives were lost or why I am still here. You can’t reason yourself out of the suffering we all have to face or the animal instinct that exists in us. But in the struggle to make sense of it all, I found that beauty healed my soul in a way that sleep, food, and logic could not. Beauty serves a purpose and brings healing.”

In Les Miserables, the character Bishop Myriel has a garden plot in which he planted flowers. He is questioned one day why he doesn’t make his garden more useful or practical and he responds, “The beautiful is as useful as the useful,” adding after a pause, “More so, perhaps.”

“All praise goes to God, Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. He is the Father of compassion, the God of all comfort. He consoles us as we endure the pain and hardship of life so that we may draw from His comfort and share it with others in their own struggles.” (2 Cor 1:3-4, NIV)

Hear Ashton’s journey expressed in music for yourself at www.royalnatureband.com.