Catching Up
Am I still here? Why yes I am.
And here is my blog, faithfully waiting until I feel inspired.
I hope all of you are enjoying a beautiful spring! (or fall if you are in the southern hemisphere!) What have all of you been up to?
My spring has been packed with ever changing energy. In April I took a Permaculture Design Course in Oregon. In so many ways this was a life changing experience for me. I am so inspired by Permaculture and all that it can do for us and the beautiful earth that we live on! And so now I am trying to figure out what ways I want to implement this new found passion and knowledge that I have in my life.
The first of May we packed up all of our belongings out of our little cabin and moved it all into storage at my parents house. We have been helping out around the property doing several garden projects, and helping my dad start out on a new adventure in making a living. He is making the shift from construction work (which is very hard on his body, especially at the age of 62) to making small projects out of his shop, like the Chicken Coop in the photos below! He has a wonderful place near by that will sell these projects for him.
Here Buddha and I are demonstrating the scale of the little chicken coop. Quite fashionable for a small flock!
And while Buddha thought it was quite nice, he wanted to get back home to his coop!
Here you can see the nest boxes on top, and then the storage area below that. Perfect for a couple buckets of feed.
And you can move it!
It was fun to be part of a new chapter in my dads life, and I hope it brings him relaxed days and great joy creating unique and fun projects in his shop!
We will be here for another week, and then we will be hiking the Oregon Coast Trail with some dear friends! It will be a beautiful month long hike enjoying the beauty of nature and the company of lovely people!
This is my life for now. I hope all of you have been well!
The Beauty of Gold
On Saturday we went for a beautiful hike along Gold Ridge near Slate Peak.
The magical thing about the Harts Pass area is that you gain all of your elevation driving.
Then when you get out to hike, you are on top of the world.
We had never hiked Gold Ridge before, and were so glad that we did.
The 360 degree views are amazing up there.
All around us there were all kinds of different valleys and Mountains.
We could even see down into the Methow Valley.
The ridge itself even changed with every step we took.
Look at all those amazing jagged peaks in the background.
The North Cascades are just amazing.
There is something so raw and spectacular about every section of the Mountains that surround us here.
We had SO much snow this winter, and such a late spring/summer,
that we have large patches of snow still up in the mountains.
This was a very unusual year as far as weather goes.
As we turned around to return home,
the evening light kissed the mountains all around us.
I love the pink hue that the bewitching hour casts upon the landscape.
In the two photos above you can see the tower that is perched upon Slate Peak.
And right before we made it back to the car we were blessed with a sunset.
Above you can see Jack Mountain on the right, and Mount Baker in the center.
I always love seeing this side of mount baker,
as I grew up on a property that looks at the other side of
this majestic mountain.
I can’t help but wonder if my parents are looking at the mountain at the same time as I am.
What a beautifully healing hike this was for my soul!
I am glad we had the chance to explore a new hike!
Summer Slipping Away
Where did this summer go? It truly melted away on me.
So what have I been doing with my summer?
It doesn’t feel like a whole lot actually.
Primarily I have been working, and often I am so tired from my morning of running around the restaurant, I feel like doing little else.
And so many afternoons are simply spent relaxing around home, and sometimes even napping.
When I do keep my energy up for the day, we make it out into nature for hikes.
And while there have been a lot less hikes this summer than usual, they have all been equally stunning!
These photos are from our hike to Cutthroat Pass.
We took the Cutthroat Lake trail up, and arrived at the Pacific Crest Trail at the pass.
It is fun to re-visit the Pacific Crest Trail any time we can.
These moments in nature have been very healing for my soul, and a wonderful workout for my body.
So often I wish I could just sit in one spot for days and absorb all the beauty that surrounds me in these areas.
And my garden has been keeping me busy these days.
As you can see in comparison to my earlier photo, the garden has filled in a Lot!
It is amazing how much food can be produced from such a small amount of land.
I have to admit I am not keeping up with my garden as much as I would like,
but I am managing to harvest and preserve a lot of what is coming out of it.
And eating some amazing fresh meals from it all also.
The other night I made a spectacular roasted tomato and basil soup.
The freshness of all the ingredients, and then the intense flavor of roasting was amazing!
I have also been enjoying canning.
I have a great abundance of jams, along with a few other canned items.
Now as our cooler evenings roll around, and the plants in my garden and nature mature,
I am reminded that summer is coming to a close already.
While I wish I had more of it to enjoy, I value the memories I did make this season.
I hope you all had a most magical summer, and were able to experience some of natures wonder!
Wildflowers Abound In the Hart
Yesterday We decided to go for a hike along the Pacific Crest Trail south of Hart’s Pass.
This is always a stunning hike, but this trip was a special treat.
All of the Harts Pass area is surrounded by spectacular views of the North Cascade Mountains that embrace it.
The Wildflowers were in full glory!
A long sloping hill of wildflowers is a deeply inspiring sight.
Natures palate is filled with some of the most stunning colours known to man.
Fires can inspire rejuvenation within a landscape.
With this fresh canvas to express herself upon,
nature exuberantly paints broad strokes of vibrant colours.
With layers of beauty such as these,
one could spend a lifetime absorbing all that lies within one scene.
Nature is a pure reflection of the balance of life and all that is.
Finding My Nature in Nature
I love how patiently the blog sits here waiting for me to be inspired.
The truth is I have been visiting my blog on a weekly basis, sometimes more,
but I simply have not been inspired to post anything.
Even when the desire to sit down and do a post overcame me,
I still could not get inspired as to what to share.
Until today.
So what have I been doing with my time?
Working, and enjoying nature!
Four to Five days a week my day starts at 6 am driving up to Sun Mountain Lodge.
I serve breakfast in a dinning room with one of the most beautiful views one could have
working in a restaurant.
Often being finished at about noon, I have the rest of the day to absorb nature in
one way or another.
So with this time we have been enjoying some beautiful local hikes.
We are blessed with a trail that starts practically right across the street from us.
It climbs up the hillside to a ledge that rewards the hiker with a
spectacular view up and down the valley.
It is a truly magical place to enjoy the beauty of our neighborhood.
The rocky outcroppings up there have been covered with Lewisia this last month.
These flowers never cease to take my breath away.
They are little souls that seem to be glowing from within.
I am so often reminded of the beauty that the Methow Valley embraces.
I truly feel blessed to live in such a beautiful corner of the world.
One of the reasons I love living in the Methow Valley is the abundance of
trails to explore.
One can scarcely drive anywhere around here without seeing a trail head sign.
Going up the Robinson Creek trail afforded me this opportunity to work more on my
fear of crossing logs over creeks.
I do just fine balancing on a log that is on land, but all that rushing water beneath me
gives me horrible vertigo, and I always feel as if I am going to plummet off the log.
So far I have managed to always stick to the log, but the feeling is never a pleasant one,
and often overtakes me with varying levels of fear.
I went back and forth several times, a feat that was made easier by the comfort of having a log
on each side of the log that I was traversing.
With time, practice and allowing I find these types of fears melting away.
Each fear that I overcome brings more peace to my being in each moment.
Nature is such an amazing teacher.
Through the last 9 years, all the time that I have spent outside,
she has reflected back to me everything that I am.
If I fear something, inevitably I will walk around the corner and there nature will be
with my next lesson.
There are many afternoons that I come home from work,
and make my way out into the garden.
This is a shared garden space, so my space is the long raised bed that you can see in both photos,
and another slender patch along the fence line that my tomatoes are growing in.
I love the process of a garden.
There is something so satisfying about watching a plant grow from a seed that you tucked into the soil.
And then to be able to harvest a bounty from those plants.
What an amazing feeling! Not to mention a treat for the taste buds!
I can hardly wait until everything fills in more, and the whole garden bed looks lush and vibrant.
It is within these little moments that I feel the most connected with Everything.
Often my inner stories melt away, and I find myself captivated in awe with the beauty and
wonder that surrounds me.
There is something so deeply satisfying to be out enjoying the dirt in one way or another.
Last night I was laying in the hammock, enjoying a few moments of relaxing,
when I hear a flutter right next to my head.
I looked over to see a junco with a mouthfull of bugs and worms.
It gave me a quick glance and then dissapeared into the little bush.
A chorus of little voices immediately followed.
Of course I had to go get a look at her little brood. What sweet little chicks they are!
I wagged my finger at them, and gave a little cluck.
I was rewarded with a song of excitement and four little gaping red holes.
How do you enjoy nature?
Capitol Reef National Park
I am finally back to my blog after the holidays.
I sat down with the intention to do a post several times,
and always found myself pulled away or distracted by something else.
And so now I return to posts about our trip to the southwest this fall.
We explored Capitol Reef on Bernie’s Birthday, Halloween.
On our way from Bryce to Capitol Reef we drove through Escalante National Monument,
What a spectacular, vast, moving stretch of land this is!
There is simply so much there that we decided it needed to be a whole trip in itself.
So we will return to Escalante in the future to absorb its immense beauty.
Steadily my little car climbed this hill.
We stopped at a view-point to enjoy the overlook of just a bit of Escalante’s beauty.
I love that even while seeing our path before us on a road map,
Nature still holds surprises for us around each turn.
I truely did not know we would be going as high as we did.
It had been quite cold, and as you can tell at the higher elevations some
snow even fell.
We ran into a couple icy spots on the road. This was the first main one.
I have to say we were both a bit nervous of the icy road with the downward
sloping turn. Neither of us knew how my new car would deal with it,
and perhaps because it was a new car we wavered.
Yes, it was fear, most likely completely unwarranted.
We pulled off the side of the road for just a little bit, we were not sure what was up ahead,
was it worse? Perhaps it would warm a bit?
After enjoying the view for a bit and hashing over our hesitation, we decided
that we were being too cautious. Of course if we were aware and just felt our way along the ice,
we would be fine!
And so we did, we moved forth, dissolving the fear that was holding us back.
Yay little car! You will be fine!
And so we all were.
Capitol Reef is a unique area.
It is called the waterpocket fold. A giant buckle in the Earths crust.
This has then been eroded in different ways to reveal the formations that are present today.
We stopped at the visitors center and watched a video about the park.
On our trip I really enjoyed the video at each park, they are well done,
and give you a better over all perspective on the park.
After learning a bit about the history of the site that the visitors center was on
(which I will talk about more below)
We drove to the end of the scenic drive.
This is a fun road that is paved part of the way, and then toward the end it turns to dirt,
and at the very end you are actually driving through a wash.
You are not allowed to go to the end if it is raining anywhere in the area because of flash floods.
At the end of the road there are a couple of trail heads.
We took the trail that went toward Golden Throne.
Shortly up the trail we peeled off layers that were quickly growing too warm
in the sunshine and physical movement.
I had my moccasins and Native American flute in my hands.
With my layers of clothes I shed my broiling hot running shoes and slipped on my soft moccasins.
We stashed our layers behind a rock and continued on.
The trail meandered through beautiful shades of red and yellow.
We zigged and zagged in and out of little washes
as we contoured the hillside.
We reached the top with a spectacular view of Golden Throne in one direction,
and groupings of mountains in the distance the other.
It was an inspiring place to sit and play my flute.
Its song echoed off the rock around us.
A wash below sang with me as the notes trickled down into its its corners and crack,
bouncing off a rock here, tumbling along the sand there.
And when the music tired of wandering the path that water followed down the valley it
would spring free and somersault among the sandstone,
bouncing ever higher on the energy of the landscape.
On the way back down we came to a part of the trail that
traveled along the bottom of a large cliff wall.
Any sound that was made bounced off it like a Parkour artist.
We stopped so I could play with my flute,
bantering with the spirits of the wall.
My flute sang, the wall spit it back.
I played more notes, and the rock spirits tossed them back, like a child tossing stones in a pond.
Every once in a while they would miss a note that got lodged in a crack.
I wonder if some day as the rains wear away the rock if one of those notes will become dislodged,
and trickle down the valley.
Will someone hear it?
Bernie joined in once in a while with his voice.
When we had finished playing with the rock spirits we continued back down the path to the car.
We returned to the valley that the visitors center was in.
This part of the valley used to be called Fruita.
It was a small community that lived in the valley and raised fruit trees.
What a beautiful place to call home!
There are still some of the old orchards, and even a house and school building.
They keep the orchards going as part of the historic site.
Our last stop was at a Petroglyph wall.
I had seen this once before on a brief stop in the park,
but I had forgotten all about it.
It is truely amazing to see the artwork of people who really no longer exist.
Our modern society has almost completely erased all civilizations that lived as our
Native American ancestors did.
I would love to be able to pop back in time, and see the community of the people who
filled this wall with their perspective on their world.
I would love to see how they were completely in tune with nature,
living with her instead of trying to dominate her.
So it is with their beautiful creations that we bid farewell to Capitol Reef National Park.
Zion National Park ~ Front Country
So after our 4 night cross park hike, we drove to St. George Utah,
and bought me new shoes, and loaded up on groceries.
After spending the night next to the river in a free “campground” we made
our way to the main entrance of Zion.
I wanted to do the “tourist” version of Zion also.
So we parked at the visitors center and jumped on their free shuttle.
We stopped first at the Zion Human History Museum.
It talked of the Native Americans, and then the White settlers that came through.
(What an AMAZING place to have a homestead!)
I can’t help but dream about what an area used to look like 100, 200 or 300 years ago.
What did it look like before White man got here?
My heart and soul wants to see it as it was when the Native Americans lived here.
I want to be immersed in it before there were roads, buildings, signs and cars.
We have become so separated from nature that now even when we take our
vacations in “nature” we have to be able to drive right into the middle of it.
We often have paved paths, and signs warning us what a treacherous place this nature is!
(signs warning of this, and stay off of that, and of course don’t do that!)
My mind, body and soul get wrapped up in being bombarded by the current
human impact, but I try to often transport myself to a place where
all I absorb is the nature that is left in between the deep grooves of society’s fingerprint.
The Virgin River is the shaping force of the Valley.
And what an amazing scene it has sculpted.
The Valley walls are amazing, the red rock hovers above you at every turn!
Next stop was Emerald Pools.
We hiked up to the Lower and Middle Pools.
This is the waterfall that falls from the middle to lower pools.
It makes a lovely spattering sound.
Even with the developed trails to these sites, and the immense amount of traffic they
get each year, you can still feel natures raw beauty.
We had no plan of what we wanted to do when we arrived in the Valley,
so we were simply moving toward what ever drew our attention.
What better place to go for inspiration than Angels Landing?
This was the beginning of my new path.
To let my mind, body and soul fly free!
So we started our climb.
The beginning of the trail is cut into the side of the steep red rock.
Beautiful craftsmanship went into cutting red rock into perfect squares and stacking
them as walls to keep the trail on the side of the hill.
Even some blasting so that the trail could snake even deeper into the side of the hill.
We got to the top of the first climb.
Several people were sitting at this point, some simply resting before moving on,
others with a weary look on their face as they looked up the trail,
resignation tattooed upon their features.
Without a pause we moved up the next part of the trail.
As you can see from the above picture it snaked along a knifes edge.
I loved to watch each person walking this part of it.
Some moved along with no effort, truely enjoying the journey along this unique trail.
Others inched and crawled along, but they were doing it!
I celebrated each step for them, because they were pushing through that fear to make it to where
the Angels dwell!
I felt good along my journey, fear that would have been there in the past,
perhaps even a week before were melting away.
Once in a while I would look down to see the ground next to me plummeting to the valley
floor, and a wave of fear would pass through me.
But I embraced it and would take a moment to stop and study the sheer drop next to me.
I marveled at the immense beauty of the place I was,
the unique formation that was this fin we were climbing out, and wondering
how the river shaped it.
All along the journey I was truely humbled.
How is it, for how small we are, how miniscule of a being,
we have managed to take over the earth?
We have explored almost every corner of this earth, and managed to manipulate most of it into
a “Resource” to be used.
How have we become so separated from our dear mother?
Even many of those that took this beautiful pilgrimage to the aptly named Angels Landing
took only a moment or two to look around, and then turned right back around.
I do understand that sometimes it is the journey that is the greatest undertaking for a person.
But how could one not spend hours, days, weeks on top just admiring the wonder of each nuance
in front of you?
I felt that our mere 2 hours on top was no where enough time to actually absorb what
was surrounding me.
I could have spent months up there and still not have seen, heard, smell or feel everything.
Here is one without me blocking the beautiful view. We were out on a fin that had this kind of view
almost all the way around us. It is just spectacular!
Almost everywhere you went on Angels Landing you were standing at the edge
of a cliff face. I really do not know how this fin was shaped the way it was.
I am endlessly fascinated by how nature shapes her landscape.
A true Artist!
While we were sitting on top of Angels Landing we saw many different people come up.
Some would stop for a little bit,
others would snap a couple pictures, catch their breath, and head back.
A lady and man sat near us for a little bit, and at one point she said
“Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a zipline from up here?”
Wow, what a way down that would be!
After an amazing sitting with the Angels
(and a few begging chipmunks)
We started our journey back to the bottom.
We did a couple more stops along the shuttle route, enjoying the rest of the Tourist
experience. And then made our way back to the car.
The evening light is truely magical on that red rock!
Zion entertained us for about a week.
The next day we explored around Springdale (I looked around the shops like a good tourist)
And then drove through the park one last time on our route toward Bryce Canyon National Park.
Zion National Park ~ Backcountry
Hi Everyone! We are back and settled into home.
Bernie sorted through our pictures and selected 250 of our favorites.
This is far too many to share in one post, so I will split it into the different areas we got to visit.
Technically our first stop of the trip was Great Basin National Park in Nevada.
I did not include any photos from this stop because it was cloudy the whole time we
were there, and none of them are overly stunning.
After two nights in Great Basin we drove to the northern entrance to Zion NP,
Kolob Canyon.
After talking to the rangers for a few minutes we decided to do a 4 night backcountry
hike across the park and back. This was not a trip we were planning on but Zion has been
an area I have always loved, and this would give us a chance to explore it in a whole
new way.
Our first two days of the trip across the park were cloudy, as can be seen in the above photo.
Our journey would take us down La Verkin Creek Trail, Hop Valley Trail, Wildcat Canyon Trail
the West Rim Trail, and then back along the same route.
As we moved into the early morning hours of our second night camping out the clouds
opened up and dumped rain on us. Now one of the greatest disadvantages of camping in a NP
is having to use established campsites. The thousands of people that pitch their tent on that
small patch of dirt over the years pack it into a substance almost as impervious as cement.
Not to slowly the water built up into a small stream as it moved down the small
hill that led straight to our camping spot.
I flipped on my headlamp and found an adequately pointed stone to start my miniature ditch
system. Water started to stream under our groundcloths (which is but a thin layer between the
ground and our sleeping bags). My little ditches gradually grew into a system that drew
the water down and around our tarp.
Finally satisfied with the path of the water I looked down hill from our tarp at the other
“camp spot” and said a little prayer of thanks as I witnessed all the water from the surrounding area
creating a small lake where we had first pondered setting up camp.
Once my feat of engineering removed the risk of flooding I enjoyed listening to the waves
of rain beating against our little green tarp.
Right after dawn the clouds released one last deluge of rain and hail, as if it were
throwing a hissy fit knowing that clear skies were moving in.
And then there they were! Clear blue skies!
The temperatures were lower than I had expected for our journey through the southwest,
but the beauty was amazing!
I am endlessly fascinated by all the different layers of rocks. The textures, colours, and
shapes are amazing. The beauty of nature is so often missed in our society.
If I could share one thing with everyone in the US, it would be to stop and truely see the amazing
beauty, energy, peace, and wonder that nature holds.
I never fail to be amazed by the energy of Red Rock Country. It instills the very
essence of nature into your soul.
Zion wrapped me in a very strong inspirational grasp. It was the perfect start
to our trip. Our backcountry hike provided me the opportunity to reflect on
what I have been doing lately, and what I want to do with my future.
The nights provided me with very vivid dreams sharing great insights.
The days were filled with amazing grand vistas, inspiriting ones soul to re-connect
with our mother earth.
There were a few points along the trail that were not filled with grand vistas. These moments
were the times to enjoy the little details that fill each moment.
We also filled these moments with talks of life, the small and large of it.
The beauty of experiencing the grand adventure of Being Human.
It is amazing how sunshine can transform a landscape. When we had first crossed this spot
grey clouds filled the sky. There is still a vast beauty to the area,
but the energy has a little more of a subdued feeling.
As we re-traced our route everything seemed to glow from within.
An old dirt road carried us back into Hop Valley.
My sandals decided to do a little bit of self destruction half way through our trip,
although it was a bit inconvenient that they decided to come apart in the middle of a hike,
I decided it was a sign that I was starting a new path in life.
I did still use the sandals for part of the hike, but I also took the opportunity to use my
moccasins. What a beautiful way to connect even more with the earth.
With a thick slab of rubber between your feet and ground it is easy to plow forth, ignoring
what lies upon your path. When a thin piece of leather is all that is between your feet and mother earth
you are able to feel your surroundings instead of insulating yourself from them.
I could feel the mud push up against the soft leather of my moccasins,
almost as if it was squishing between my toes.
The leather truely feels as if it is a second skin.
I was amazed at all the different directions that some of the rock layers took.
The movement of the earth frozen in time and then slowly revealed, as if a big red curtain
was being drawn away over the millenia.
I have to admit I was a little smitten with rocks on this trip.
Above you can see a couple of the cows that lived in Hop Valley.
On all our hikes across the country we have seen many free range cows.
Cows in all kinds of habitats.
I have to say these cows have the most scenic place to live of all the grazing lands we have seen.
And they have truely adapted to their surroundings.
As I walked pass a cow, talking to her as I went (something I often do with all kinds of animals) I followed
her gaze up the “cliff” above her.
There I saw my first rock climbing cow.
This might sound out there, but I have never seen a cow that had climbed up such a steep incline.
The first one we witnessed up there was a partially grown calf. He was poking around in
the brush. After admiring his climbing capabilities we turned to continue on and suddenly heard
a loud crash behind us. I turned around expecting to see a calf in a pile of rocks,
but no, he held fast to his spot, not even a hint of being flustered.
Hmm, rock climbing cows, its a whole new breed.
La Verkin Creek had a particularly beautiful scenic bend. I loved how the
water had worn down through the rock in this one spot. The sound of the cascade was
mesmorizing, and the view breathtaking. A beautiful place to reflect on our 4 night backcountry
journey across the park.
Well everyone, that is my story of our first leg of an amazing journey!
I hope you enjoyed it!
North Cascades ~ Day One
When we were still hiking on the Appalachian Trail earlier this summer I was dreaming about getting back to Washington for a hike in the North Cascades. Originally I thought that we would take a week off when we got back home and then take off on adventures of different lengths through our mountains. Well, the rest period proved to be a little longer than that week, and a month after ariving back in Washington we made our trip into the North Cascades.
We chose a 40 mile loop near Ross Lake. We have had the chance to hike through North Cascades National Park in the past, and the mountains are so rugged you really dont get to enjoy them because you have to hike through the valleys where the views are extremely limited. The ridgeline we followed on this hike is one of the first ridgelines to the east of the park that allows you to hike up high and get an AMAZING view of all the mountains. You are truely immersed in the center of the mountains in that area. We took my Canon Rebel Camera with us, and took turns taking pictures. This is a collection of pictures from both Bernie and I.
Our first day we started out hiking along a most beautiful creek that follows highway 20 for a little while. The song of the water tumbling over the rocks dimmed the sound of what traffic did happen to go by. This stretch of Ruby Creek has several reminders of its prospecting past. There are a few old cabins, barely holding form in this world any more, their stories fading into the dirt even faster than they are.
And then we started our climb. Its a stretch of a few miles to get up to our first real views of the hike. I huffed and puffed more than I was hoping to, but it was a good journey up. The trail took us through beautiful woods with little streams cascading down the steep hillside. Even though its a steep climb up, it was so very nice to be on a graded trail again! The east coast does not quite grasp the concept of switchbacks, so it was lovely to experience those once again.
Soon we found ourselves with the first views as we stood in McMillan Park (my moms maiden name……). It was not a very big park, but the woods opened up in little patches of meadow and wetlands. I was out front along this stretch, and as I strode along the path all the sudden a movement on the trail ahead of me caught my eye. At the same moment s/he saw me. I believe we even froze at the same moment. About 150 feet in front of me a coyote stood almost motionless, assesing the situation. I even started to second guess myself, is there something on the trail? Or are my eyes playing a trick on me thinking a log is an animal? Nope! I saw its tail twitch. So there we stood for a moment, Bernie paused a few footsteps behind me. And then the coyote decided to move along, and it trotted off the trail into the woods. I am sure watching us long after we had last caught sight of it.
Next we came to Devil Park Shelter. I had forgotten that there were a few shelters still dotting the North Cascades. Many have been torn down over the years instead of putting time and money into repairing them, which is a bit sad really. This one needed some roof work, but it was still a fun experience. It made me feel as if I was on the Appalachian Trail once again! We enjoyed a little break exploring around the shelter. A deer and group of grey jays stopped by while we were there, on the chance that we might have something extra to share with them. While we did not pull out our food, we offered them some company and a little bit of conversation.
Devils Park was really the first amazing views we got! What an amazing energy the whole area had to it. And the light and colours of everything. I could have just sat in Devils Park for days to absorb everything. If one fixed the roof on the shelter you could easily set up a summer camp and just absorb nature 24/7!
As the day passed we started following along the ridgeline that we would be swinging around on. The light changed, highlighting different mountains as the day wore on. Giving us endless photo opportunities. Each moment was filled with such beauty, it was hard not to take a picture every second!
I love being able to look ahead, or behind us and see the trail stretching off into the distance. A faint slender line gently making its way across the sides of ridges. It creates such an amazing sense of scale. You can see where you have come from, where you are going, and how tiny your trail looks from this distance. You can start to feel the immenseness of a landscape such as this one!
That first night we slept in a lovely little blueberry clearing. We were both tired and fell asleep promptly at dark. I woke a couple times to enjoy the beautiful stars shining so vibrantly above, but would quickly pass back into dream land. Mmm, a lovely first day to our 3 day trip!
A Long Walk With Nature
We have finished another great pilgrimage! The Appalachian Trail was a great challenge for me in many ways, much more so than I thought it would be. It feels really good to be done right now, but I am also very grateful that it was an experience that I saw through to the end. This spring/summer we hiked about 2,500 trail miles, starting 300 miles before the Appalachian Trail (AT) in Alabama.
Here we are at the start of the AT on top of Springer Mountain in Georgia, after our 300 mile warm up.
Of course there is more than can be said about such a journey, but at the same time there is something so simple about the lifestyle on the trail. We carry everything we need on our backs, get up in the morning and hike until dusk, and enjoy nature as much as we can. As with any life style there are good days and bad days.
I love the simplicity of trail life though, you are living a pretty self sufficient lifestyle in which you are moving with the rhythms of the world around you. This is something that I think many people dont get to experience very often in their lifetimes.
I made it to the end! Here I am on the top of Mount Katahdin, an amazing end point for our journey!
This is Bernie’s second time making the journey from Georgia to Maine.
We took (and by that I mean mostly Bernie) over 1,900 pictures of our trip. Bernie will be putting pictures and his story on his blog soon, and this time around (since we now have highspeed internet!!!) I hope to share some of the pictures also and tell my own story of the hike. With this I hope to share at least a little bit of what I experience out on our long distance hikes both physically and spiritually/feeling. It feels great to be back home! And I look f0rward to catching up with all my lovely online friends also! I hope you all are having a wonderful summer so far!
One Third of the Way Through
Hi Everyone!
Another update along the pilgrimage of the Appalachian Trail. Can you believe that we have made it 1/3 of the way already? In many ways I can’t. It really is amazing how time flies when you are out on the trail. I am lucky if I remember what month it is, let alone what day it is. I think this summer is just going to disolve, we will be done before we know it.
This trip has plenty of new experiences for me, and the latest one that I am adjusting to is the humidity and heat. It is so vastly different hiking in high humidy, I am not used to that on the west coast. I feel my body learning to get used to this new feeling, although now that we have taken a zero in a hotel room with air conditioning, it might take a little re-adjusting.
Everyone’s comments are so wonderful, thank you everyone for visiting and sharing your thoughts with me! I really do enjoy it. In my last post Gaelyn and Tammie asked what trail might be next on our mind. At this point I am not going to fully commit, but there is the possibility that next year we would hike the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). The CDT was actually my first long distance trail, of which I only hiked 2,000 of the ~3,000 miles. It was extremely challenging for me in so many ways being my first hike, and so I am tempted to do the whole thing over again from start to finish. This would allow me to hike it with more ease, and have better memories over all of the journey. There is a lot of time in between now and then, so it is hard to say that we will do that for sure, but if we do that will be my triple crown in three years. The triple crown is hiking all three of the major long distance trails.
Well my body is well rested, and the sun is shining outside, I believe it is time to get back outdoors and continue the trek north. We start hiking along the blue ridge parkway in the next day or so, it is supposed to be a beautiful stretch, and I look forward to it! Enjoy summer everyone, it is a beautiful time of the year!!
Onto Another State
Well, we have made our way into Virginia. We hiked into Damascus yesterday at about 2 in the afternoon. We decided to take to evenings off here in town, mostly because I am just plain tired.
Its really a beautiful experience being immersed in nature on a daily basis, but there are those days that the body just decides it is tired. The last couple of days on the trail were this way for me. Actually Sunday I started out really strong, climbing up a series of hills for several miles, feeling really strong. But then in the afternoon my energy just drifted out of me, and forward movement was not on the top of my bodys list of priorities. But none the less, we hiked 24 miles that day. There is something very valuable in being able to move through those moments of challenge, and know that your body can do some amazing things. When we know that we can accomplish anything we set our minds to, the world opens up in endless possibilities!
Spring keeps coming out with more and more beauty each day for us to enjoy. I am learning more wildflowers each day, and getting familure with ones that might be just a little different than those we have on the west coast. The green of the trees is slowly creaping up the hills, and soon we will be engulfed in the ‘green tunnel’. I really look forward to this, while some people do not like the concept of hiking through the tunnel all day. I think the filtered light that comes down through all the beautiful green leafs is AMAZING! I am celebrating the different feel the hardwood forests have from the evergreen forests back home.
This is such an interesting trail to me in so many ways, because the feel of it is so different. As another hiker put it, the Appalachian trail is very Domesticated. What a perfect term for it! Just about every day now we cross a road that either will take you to a hostel or a town. These are a strong temptation to many people along the trail, and thus being it is quite easy to spend LOTS of money along this journey. We are not enticed into many of the stops that we cross, but try to make our stops count. We try to really enjoy the towns that we do go into.
We have been slowly moving through the ranks of hikers, catching up to people we had been hiking off and on with before we took our three zero days (a term used along the trail, describing a day that you put in no trail miles) with our friends Lyndsay and Jordan. Its great to see some of their faces again! Its such an interesting community that develops out here on the trail. Bernie and I pass many hikers, and most likely will not see them again, but we have caught up to the front wave again. These are people with a rythm quite close to our own, so it will be nice to fall into step with them again, and get to know them even more.
When we started this trail we had decided to ‘take our time’ and move at a pace slower than we typically do on a long distance trail to enjoy the journey. We are really enjoying it, and stopping often along the trail to enjoy views and good company, and still find ourselves moving at a good pace. So it looks like we will most likely be done with this trail before we thought we might. We will most likely find ourselves at the end of the trail sometime around the end of July or begining of August…… It is interesting when you get in ‘hiking shape’ your body just flows along the trail (well most days at least).
There is so much I could say, and sometimes I feel not enough words to express it. Each Long Distance Hike is a unique experience, and this one has all kinds of new lessons and things to explore for me. I hope I convey a little bit of that in my updates for others to have a tiny taste of what we are experiencing out here, but to really get a feel for it, you will have to come out and hike it yourself!
Thank you for sharing in my life everyone! I wish I had the time to catch up with everyone, and respond to each comment. Just know I appreciate each of you, and the beautiful thoughts and feelings you share with me.
Each Little Thing
We are on the Appalachian Trail! We have made it 30 miles into the trail, and are enjoying a bit of relaxing time at the hostel here at Neeles Gap.
Its a great feeling to be on the AT, we are now on our journey north. I feel that spring has started just as we get on this trail, a fresh begining to a new journey. We have been meeting some nice people, and have had the chance to get to know some of them a little better here at the Hostel. The hard thing is that no one is putting in the same mileage as we are, so we really will not see the same people again, unless we stop for a day or two like here at the hostel.
Its so magical being out in nature. Although I do have to say that this trail feels a little closer to society than any of the other trails we have done, but thats an amazing dynamic to experience too. Its so great to see people that have not had the chance to experience the outdoors for long periods of time starting their journey along a trail that will bring them closer to nature and all the wonder that she holds. It’s as if everyone is sticking their toe in, testing the waters, getting a feel for their new world.
I love looking at the little details as I move along the trail, I seem to be able to focus on the small details better than the larger picture much of the time for some reason. But I feel that I get to experience some things that very few would ever notice. Like, did you know that crickets like chocolate? On one of our food breaks the other day, I happened to look down at my pants, and there was a tiny little cricket type creature, snacking on some minute crumbs of my meal. I wanted to find him something to eat, and found a little piece of chocolate. When offered to my little friend, he started to gobble it up. Now who would have ever known!! When his appetite of sweets had been fulfilled, he started to explore. His little antenai going a mile a minute (sugar high?) as he jumped from leaf to leaf around our viewpoint.
I look forward to all the other small and large details that fill our experience along the trail. I hope we have the chance to check in online and update along the way. I would love to practice my writing, and learn how to become a story teller of our hiking adventures. Until next time, enjoy each moment everyone!!
New Horizons
A New Adventure is expanding upon my Horizon.
It’s gentle call getting louder.
Offering new perspectives of the world from within and without.
What paths lay ahead of you?
This Tuesday night Bernie and I fly out of Seattle to Birmingham Alabama.
We will then make our way to our starting point on Wednesday.
We are starting about 285 miles before the Appalachian Trail,
In Alabama on a trail called the Pinhoti Trail.
This summer’s adventure is hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).
We will hike a total of about 2,500 miles this summer.
I hope you all have beautiful Summers,
Filled with adventures and explorations of your own!
Always remember that Life is one big journey,
Enjoy each step of the way!
If you would like to see Photos of last summers adventure
along the Pacific Crest Trail visit Bernie’s Blog Here
The First Pictures of Our Journey
Here are the first of our pictures to share! Twin monuments sit at each end of the trail, but the landscape that surrounds them is truly opposite ends of the spectrum. It’s great to look at these pictures next to each other and remember all the amazing places that we traveled between these two points. The trail starts at the Mexican border near a little town called Campo. It ends at the Canadian border near Manning Park (a park in Canada).
Yep, those outfits were worn all day, every day for 4.5 months. I did get a new pair of shorts after about 1.5 months, because I had lost enough weight my shorts kept falling down. And then I got a new shirt 1.5 months ago, not because my other one was worn out, it was going strong, but I needed to switch things up….. Its amazing how well everything lasted.
It’s such an interesting experience to start and end at the borders of our country. One of the main reasons to hike a long distance trail such as the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is to free oneself from the rules and neurosis of society. And there you are, standing at the Mexican border, a barbed wire fence right behind the monument, a swept road behind that (yes, they sweep this dirt road at least once a day to watch for footprints) and a massive steel panel wall behind that. Border patrol zoom back in forth in MANY different vehicles (I wish we had a choice what our tax money went towards….. ). And then there you are, standing at the Canadian border, literally in the middle of no where, with a 15 foot wide clear cut that runs along the whole border here in the Northwest. There are many other things along the way that remind you of our society, but its really a blatant reminder at the start and end of how seperated we have become. Its really quite sad in its own way.
I have looked through some of our pictures, and its amazing to look back on the journey. It evokes great feelings and emotions. Its so funny what we remember and forget, and then what comes back to us by reflecting on the photos. There is so much I want to share about our trip, but I am still at a loss for words, its an experience that is so beyond words in many ways. Maybe as I look through the photos the feelings will help to inspire and coax the words out.
It already feels like a couple weeks since we finished, and it has only been 5 days. Time is such a fluid and relative thing. I have really been enjoying just relaxing the last few days, allowing the body to heal and shift rhythms. But in ways I am starting to feel a little restless, I think it is time to start putting my energy into creative endeavors again.
The End of a Great Pilgrimage
Hi Everyone! Well here we are, at the other end of our great American Pilgrimage along the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s such an amazing experience it’s hard to put into words in many ways. I’m glad I had the chance to hike it, and the passion and determination to finish it. This year it was estimated that 400 to 500 people started the trail with the intention to go all the way through, and I would guess that at the very most 100 will have finished by the time the weather makes it too hard to get through.
The Pacific Crest Trail is such an amazing 2,650 mile cross section of the west coast. Every area is beautiful in its own unique way, and so very different. It’s amazing to me feeling the energy of each area and each different habitat. Each place speaks to your soul in a whole different way. And it’s always interesting to see what areas each person feels more at ease in. The goal is to be at ease in all settings, but usually we have climates and areas that we are more comfortable with. Over all I felt like I did better than in the past adapting to my surroundings, but I know I could have done even better. But it’s all a process.
We took around 2,000 pictures along the way to remember our great journey. As I type this Bernie is uploading them to my computer to start working on them and picking a few of our favorites to make a slide show with and to share online. Sometime soon we will be able to show you the spectacular places we journeyed through. We looked through a few of the pictures the other day and its amazing to look back on the beginning of the trip. It seems like so long ago now, and many details have already blurred in my mind. It will be great to have the pictures to remember through the years.
We started on April 27th 2009 at the Mexican border; we finished at the Canadian border on September 13th 2009 at 8am. It really was a bittersweet moment. My body had become somewhat tired with the daily 25 to 30 miles, and was ready for a break. But when you spend 4.5 months hiking, it really becomes a lifestyle. It’s great to be immersed in nature on a daily basis, and in a different rhythm than how life is typically lived in our society now. So it is always a bit sad to shift the rhythm away from that again. And it’s always amazing the simplicity of hiking. All that you need is carried on your back, in a little backpack. It makes you appreciate how little we truly need. And of course you could do with even less than what we had.
My fun and crazy story from the trail that was a side trip is this: When we got to Ashland (We stop at towns along the way to resupply and sometimes get a hotel room to relax and rest) I called my mom to ask her to look up prices on Hotels.com to see if we could find a better deal. She said “Why don’t you fly home for the weekend?” I was confused and a little suspicious. What it turned out to be is that I had an older Ford Explorer that had many troubles and was going to cost much more than it was worth to keep in good working order. My parents had been looking around to buy me a newer car, one that would be more dependable than mine. They heard about the cash for clunkers program (anyone that doesn’t know of it, our government was paying car dealers to give to buyers $4,500 per old car if someone bought a new car that got 10 miles per gallon better than their old one) , and were trying to surprise me with a new car. It turned out I needed to be there to sign paperwork since the car was in my name. So I flew back to Bellingham for 2 days to get my new car, a Kia Soul. I flew back down to Ashland and kept on hiking. This was exciting to me in many ways, but one of the main reasons it was exciting is because I have been working on manifestation techniques while on the trail. And I had been working on manifesting the Kia Soul because I loved how they looked, and they are supposed to be good cars; I really needed something better than my old car that was just getting too tired. I know many don’t really believe in the Ask and it is Given theory, but I swear to you it works, it has worked in many ways for me. Since we have gotten back to Bellingham I have really been enjoying getting to drive it around.
There are many great life lessons learned on the trail to bring into every day life. And as always I hope to continue the learning process through life. Every moment is a great adventure, if you don’t feel wonder with each moment in life its important to take some time and reflect on how you are experiencing this thing called life, and change things up until you are in awe with everything you do.
I hope everyone has been having the most wonderful of summers, and I look forward to catching up with each of you! I have been inspired this summer to try some new things, as I play around with them I will let you know what they are and how they are going for me.
A New Adventure
Well everyone, tomorrow a new adventure begins. We fly to San Diego to start the Pacific Crest Trail.
I will miss getting to interact with everyone in blog land.
I wish you all the best of summers!
I hope you have the most spectacular time doing what each of you love!
Thank you for all the kind thoughts and comments that you have all shared with me.
Recent Outings
This first photo is from a trip last week (photo courtesy of Bernie). Bernie and I went up to the Mt. Baker ski area, and headed out on showshoes. It really was a beautiful day to be up in the snow. The sky was SO blue! And I got my first (although meager) sunburn of the year! I am so excited to have enough sun to get a burn. It was nice to hear the crunch of snow as we explored the slopes. Both Mt. Shuksan (the photo above) and Mt. Baker are spectacular from up there.
Yesterday we made our way back to the Chuckanuts (big surprise there!). First we hiked up to Fragrance lake. Its a great uphill climb, through a beautiful forest. It’s a good one for me to get in shape. It was a beautiful hike, but nothing inspired me to take pictures along the way. But when we got back to the car, this little guy was sitting on the passenger door, resting in the warm spring sun (This picture is for Joan, the bug lady). We all know what honey bees and bumble bees look like, but have you taken the time to get close to your flowers and look at all the different native bees in your area? I think it is something a lot of people miss. Last fall I had the honor of seeing the most beautiful emerald green bee. It was so beautiful! And I had never seen one before.
We then drove to larabee State Park, which was near by and walked down to the beach.
The Red Flowering Currants are still blooming in full glory. They really do add a beautiful burst of color to the countryside.
I love the patterns that the water wears in the sandstone along the shore. I really wonder what causes these little pits in the stone. Just a weak point that errodes out?
We sat on the rocks, enjoyed the view, and studied tide pools.
Sometimes the tidepools look back. This charming little fish was trying to get closer as Bernie took this photo. I think he liked getting his picture taken, cause all the other fish swam to their hiding spots. There were also two large Red Rock Crabs sitting in this little tide pool. We tried to take some pictures, but they just didn’t turn out. Its amazing all the life that can live in such a small pool of water.
We then drove down the road to a little mud flat/cove that we had not visited before (well, maybe I was there when I was young, I can’t remember). The tide was out, so it was a nice (although squishy at times) walk. We got to see three areas relativly close to each other, but different in feeling.
Back Into The Chuckanuts
Another outing to the Chuckanut Mountains. This is the primary place we have been going for our hikes lately. It is one of the nicer areas in Bellingham. It has some nice trails that wander through the woods. We ended up doing a loop trip, up to Lily lake and back.
One of the first things we came across was a few beautiful Red Flowering Currants. I love these plants in the spring. They are one of the first flowers to come out, and their color is so fresh and vibrant. Many of them were just budding out, so I have lots of great color to look forward to for a little bit from these jems.
On our way up my attention was grabbed by a pair of trees next to the trail. Some times trees will grow very close to each other, but usually they just grow straight up. These trees looked as if they were truely in love. You can’t see very far up these trees in the picture I took, but they make one complete twist around each other. Now perhaps I am just projecting, but they really seemed to have an essence of love to them. Ah, they made me smile and feel all mushy inside.
When we got up to the top, there was snow! Snow? Yes, it seems that winter does not quite want to release its hold. We keep seeing fresh snow on our foothills. Neither of us expected to make it up high enough on this hike to hit the snow, but alas we did. It was actually fun to crunch around in the thin layer of snow.
Here is Bernie enjoying the snow, and protecting his beloved camera from the inclement weather (it was hailing just a few minutes before this shot). Can you all tell I gave him a haircut recently?
On the way down we came across a little waterfall. There were actually a good hand full of them on the way down, but this was one of the more enjoyable ones. I am drawn to the waterfalls lately. They are a peaceful place to linger for sure.
Another enjoyable outing into the Chuckanuts. Plenty of uphill for getting in shape, and just as much downhill for an easy glide down.
A New Backpack!
The other day we went to REI just to look around, I really did not expect to get another backpack, because mine is in fine condition. But I ended up trying on a couple any ways, and they are sooooo much more comfortable than the one I have been using. It’s pretty amazing how they are changing the backpacks, they are making them formed to the body so much better.
The pack I ended up getting is made specifically for women, so the harness is shaped to fit the body better, and the length is made to fit women better. Its a really nice pack, just a little larger than my other pack at 3,000 cubic inches/ 50 liter. Its and Osprey backpack, the model is Aura 50.
It’s so exciting to get a new toy! I loaded it up with my gear the other day. Bernie and I do lightweight backpacking. The baseweight of my backpack (the backpack, with my hiking gear like sleeping bag, extra layers, sleeping pad, personal items, and such) is 14 lbs. With a full load of food and water we might get up to 30 lbs max. Usually we are more around 20-25 lbs. Many people think it would be hard to be comfortable hiking this lightweight, but we have everything we need, and we are plenty comfortable in any situation we come across.
We hike in Teva sandals. Another choice that many would not make, but we have found it to be much more comfortable for us. We used to hike with running shoes, but I was having trouble with my toes running into the end of the shoes too much (I ended up loosing a nail because of this, ick!), and so over time we decided to switch to sandles. We have probably hiked somewhere around 3,000 miles in sandals.
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life
Yesterday we went for a hike up to Pine and Cedar Lakes in the Chuckanut Mountains. I chose it for getting in shape on the hills. Its a pretty good climb up to the lakes, and it takes a bit of a direct route up the hillside. Not only am I working on getting my body in shape for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, I am also working on my mind. I am changing beliefs that have not served me so well on the trail in the past.
I have always had a bit of a challenge with the hills, and have known for quite some time that this is mostly a mental problem. Instead of looking up a hill and dreading the climb, I am learning to embrace the hill, and enjoy the journey up it. Bernie and I were coming up with thought patterns and intentions for the climb yesterday, and over all I feel like I did quite well! I did not breath nearly as hard as I usually do when in this kind of shape. Its sometimes a bit disturbing to climb hills with me, because my face almost turns purple at times. This is one of the many symptoms I am working at getting rid of.
My body stayed pretty relaxed our entire hike up, simply by changing the way that I think. This is a very strong lesson to learn when doing any activity. The more we embrace it and enjoy it, the less of a burden and challenge it becomes to us. One example is if we are out for a walk with someone, and we come up to a long steep hill, at first we might think “oh god, I have to climb that”, so right away your body starts to feel like a lead weight, and you have to drag it up that hill. But if the person you are with gets you talking about something you are passionate about, your mind is suddenly no longer focusing on how hard that hill is. Before you know it you will be at the top of the hill, you wont be breathing hard, and you will feel great, because you were focused on something you really enjoy, not making the hill into an impossible task.
One book that I was raised with, and always go back to for perspective on the different ailments that we carry in our bodies is Louise L. Hay’s “You Can Heal Your Life”. If you have never seen this book, I highly recomend it. The funny thing is I have actually not read the book through, but there is a list in it, with all the main body parts, what they represent, and then diseases that we get. It tells you what the typical reason for these problems are, and a new thought pattern to help you overcome these problems. So I looked up shoulders, since that is one of the main problems I am solving before we leave on our hike. She said that shoulders “represent our ability to carry out experiences in life joyously. We make life a burden by our attitude”. This is very true for me, especially with hiking. I have turned it into a burden at times for myself in the past. I know that I no longer need to do this, I know I will enjoy each moment it has to share with me, even if some of them do happen to be challenging. So my new thought pattern is “I choose to allow all my experiences to be joyous and loving”.
Sometimes the hardest part of changing our thought patterns is deciding to do it. Once we make this choice, we start to flow into a healthier place, and more thought patterns will naturally change to serve us better. I still have a lot of work to do in many aspects of my life, but I feel good at this moment working through some of these thoughts and fears that have been serving me very poorly for many years now.
After our nice hike up through the woods we came out at Pine Lake. Both of the lakes are not all that large, but they are pretty little gems hidden in the trees. As you can see, its been pretty chilly around here lately, there is still quite a bit of ice covering the lake. The weather is warming quite quickly over the last couple of days, so I believe spring is finally on its way around here.
We spent our time exploring around both the lakes, enjoying the scenery. Bernie got to play around with is new camera, and figure out some of its settings, and how it works under different light conditions. When we were done at Cedar Lake we made our way up a side trail to a few overlooks. One of them looked down on Bellingham, and it was kind of interesting to see it from a different perspective. Its amazing how much it sprawls…… kinda sad too. And then the other viewpoint looked out across the San Juan Islands. It wasnt quite sunset, but the light was still very nice. It was a nice place to pause for a few minutes. I was not doing so well on changing my beliefs on cold, and was feeling quite chilly at this point. I was looking forward to moving again, and so we made our way down the trail.
It was a good outing over all. My body felt good, it was nice to end a 7 mile hike with many hills without feeling sore and tired. I actually felt like I do after a few weeks of being on the trail, strong and relaxed, which is exactly what I wanted to accomplish!
Finding Balance
The chaotic energy has not left our lives yet….. We ended up returning to Washington state last Tuesday. We have been spending some time trying to figure out the next step. I kind of wimped out on poor Bernie. I just didn’t quite feel up to doing both the Arizona Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail all in one summer. Together it would be a total of 3,400 miles, which I am sure I could do, but for some reason I just don’t feel up to it. Possibly partially because we haven’t done a long distance hike in quite some time. So I am much more excited about doing the Pacific Crest Trail, and it looks like at this point (we keep going back and forth between doing one and doing both) that is the one that we will be doing. I am getting quite excited about it.
The only downside to waiting to do the PCT is the waiting. It is 2 months away, and Bernie especially is very ready to get out into the world and do something new and fresh. So I do have to say I feel a bit guilty at limiting his adventures for this season….. He is being quite understanding with me, but does have moments of frustration at the idea of waiting around for a couple of months.
I do not feel like I am in the shape I would like to be to do a long distance trail. So one of my main goals for this period is to get my body to the place I would like it. I have trouble with one of my shoulders, it often starts to hurt quite a bit when I wear my backpack for extended periods. I need to do some upper body work, so that it is stronger, and will no longer hurt me. I want to really work on the mental aspects of getting ready for hiking also. In the past I easily fallen into focusing on the negative, whether that was pain, or the challenges of terrain. So I am going to turn around my perspective on the whole experience, and enjoy each moment for what it has to offer.
One thing that we might do over the next couple of months is to find some type of spiritual/meditation center to volunteer at. It would be and interesting new experience. We have been looking online this evening for possible places around here, and other interesting places in the western US.
Another chaotic and frustrating thing that happened is that Bernie lost all his photos that he has taken since about Christmas, because his computer crashed, and when he got it working again, it did not save those photos. There is a slight possibility they might have been saveable by a trained computer professional….. which I do kind of wish we had done, because he had some jems. But as Bernie said, in the long run it doesn’t matter, it just is. Its just too bad. But he will get many more beautiful ones, so its not the end of the world.
I do hope that things calm down a little bit, we have had quite a few crazy things going on. Its strange how that kind of energy comes in waves every once in a while.
One thing that I do want to do with my time here is to get some crafting done. I really would like to make some more of those re-usable shopping bags. I also wanted to try making some re-usable produce bags. I saw a plan for them online one time, and have a couple of ideas to play around with.
Well, that’s how everything stands for this moment, but I dare not say that’s how its going to happen, because things keep changing on a weekly or daily basis lately.
Greetings Blogland!
Hi everyone. It has been a while! Sorry for the lack of updates. Well the weather continues to be rather wet around here. We did have a couple of days of dryness though. That was nice. We got to get out and stretch the legs a little bit.
Last Wednesday Bernie and I went to the free day at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. When we got there mid morning the line was sooooo long, we decided to go take a walk through the park to pass some time. We walked along a few nice paths and made our way down to the beach. Its always nice to see the Pacific ocean, and the waves crashing against the sand. We had a nice little walk in the sand, watching the surfers trying to catch the waves (they weren’t the best quality waves for surfing, at least they didn’t seem to be, but what do I know…) And then we sat on a nice little bench looking over the beach and ate our lunch that we had brought along.
We made our way back into the park and decided to give it another try with the line. It was shorter this time, and we only had to stand in it for about an hour…… Free day is VERY popular aparently, probably because it cost $25 per adult per day to get into that place normally. Thats sooooo expensive, especially if you had a family. It was a fun experience over all. The aquarium was pretty interesting. They had a few very large tanks, and then many smaller ones with all kinds of different types of habitats and creatures. We didn’t make it into the Rainforest dome, because there was a large line for that, but it looked pretty interesting from the outside. Thei other exhibits weren’t too bad. Although I do have to say, I was excited to see their Penguins, but VERY dissapointed when I actually saw them. They had those poor guys in a dispaly that I thought was much too small, especially since they had about 10 animals in there. I felt so sorry for them. I have a real hard time supporting places that do that kind of stuff. A few of the tanks in the aquarium were much to small for the animals in them also. Oh well, its only expected with something like that I guess.
And then the last two days we have gone for hikes in the hills, to help me get in better shape, and to enjoy being outside a little bit. Yesterday was quite the workout for me, there was one hill that the trail went pretty much straight up on. My legs feel it a little today for sure! But it was nice. There was some ridge walking, in which you got expansive views from.
Unfortunatly we have been getting very few pictures, either because of rain, or grey days. We did find a hummingbird on a nest a week or so ago, and if we happen to get a sunny day before we leave for Arizona Bernie wants to try to get a picture of her. She was quite cute, the nest is barely large enough for her to stick in.
We are planning on leaving for Arizona the begining of next week as long as everything goes right. The weather has been warming up and drying out there over the last week. It will be nice to get into some real sun! And then we should be able to get some nice pictures! Hopefully there will be a few more dry days this week, so I can go up and down a few more hills to get back into shape, so I’m not huffing and puffing each time we have to climb a hill on the hike.
Hope all is well for all my blogland friends. I will try to make it into libraries now and then while we hike, so that I can do updates on our trip. I wish I could share pictures along the way, but I will at least try to share some of the best when we are all done.
A New Adventure!
Well, it looks like the blog will take quite a break this summer…… It makes the blogging part of me sad. But the adventure will be worth the break. We are headed out the end of this week to drive to Arizona with Bernie’s parents. They are dropping us off at the Mexican border, and we will be hiking the Arizona Trail. It is a 800 mile route that travels from the Mexican border to the Utah border through the heart of Arizona.
To see some maps and more information on our hike visit the Arizona Trail Association’s web site at http://www.aztrail.org/ . Bernie has had the itch to hike for a little while now, and its been a bit since we have done a real long distance trail.
And then if we are feeling good after the Arizona trail, Bernie would really like to make our way to southern California to start the Pacific Crest Trail. This is a trail that travels from the Mexican border in California to the Canadian border in Washington. It is about 2,650 miles long. Bernie had finished this trail before I met him. He did it over 2 seperate summers. If we do happen to do it this summer, we most likely would thru hike, which means we would do the whole trail. For more information on the PCT visit http://www.pcta.org .
Hiking a long distance trail is an amazing experience. It becomes a way of life. When you hike one as long as the PCT you are immersed in nature for about 4 months or so (depending on your speed, and the length of the trail you are on).
Bernie and I have hiked quite a lot since we have been together. We started with the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) which is a 2,700 mile trail that travels from the Canadian border in Montana to the Mexican border in New Mexico. I only finished 2,000 miles of it, because of an injury, but Bernie did the whole thing. Then we moved onto the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) which is a 1,200 mile trail that travels from Washingtons outer coast to Glacier National Park in Montana. And then over a few different trips we completed about 3/4 of the California Coastal Trail.
It has been a good number of years since we have done a long distance trail, so it will be fun to get into that lifestyle again for a little while. We will be taking my camera with to get some nice memory shots along the way. I hope to share them with all of you one of these days when we settle down long enough to do that.
I wish everyone the best of summers! May adventures abound for all of you, and beauty surround you!! Everyone that is doing a garden this year, I wish you a wonderful crop, and lots of joy playing out in the dirt! To all the creative people out there, keep expressing yourselves with your beautiful crafts! Perhaps we will run across a Library every now and then, so I can drop in on my blog and let you know how our adventures are going!
Enjoy each and every moment! And always Do What You Love!
