Category: Sierra Nevada

Reprieve

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Spring is by far my favorite season in this little corner of the world. It is a fleeting, magical time as the desert literally explodes with life and color. But it is also the busiest time in my yearly work cycle and I find myself constantly pulled in two directions. It’s a dilemma. While I long to be outdoors witnessing as this seemingly lifeless landscape begins a new cycle of rebirth, I need to be indoors preparing to send yet another crew of wee ones out into that Big Kid world. Thank goodness for Spring Break.

Hiking Kearsarge Trail

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Wandering with Winnedumah

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As preparations for Thanksgiving day are underway, any proper foodie would thoughtfully present you with some sort of lovely and healthy dish with which to nourish your body and please the palate of your holiday guests. Although I am forever grateful for nature’s beautiful bounty and the nourishment it provides, I must admit that during this time of giving thanks, my mind tends to wander from the table, shying away from the accepted act of overindulgence as an expression of joyful gratitude. In this season of giving thanks, my heart always heads for the hills where Mama Nature never fails to heighten my awareness of the abundance of beauty in my life. So, in keeping with tradition, my hubby and I sought some nature time this past weekend and found ourselves pondering our plenitude as we wandered with Winnedumah.

Winnedumah Paiute Monument

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Magic at Meysan Lake

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Have you ever had one of those moments, so profoundly beautiful you find it difficult to convey? My husband and I experienced such a moment last weekend. I know what you’re thinking. Oh great, here she goes, waxing her profundities again. But quite frankly, I am having trouble attaching words to my profoundly beautiful moment, except to say that it was magical. And though I am not a fan of fairy tales, I do believe in magic.

Meysan Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the Clouds

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I don’t know about you, but I am a practical sort of gal. I tend to be the grounding force in my relationships, the voice of reason, or as my hubby affectionately terms it, the thundercloud rainin’ on someone’s parade. Admittedly, this is so. However, even I need a little escape from the realities of life now and then. I believe there are times when it is perfectly appropriate to blatantly shirk your responsibilities, stick your head in the clouds, stay awhile, play awhile and enjoy the moment while you can.

Pacific Crest Trail

 

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Restoration Project

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There are those moments in life when we find ourselves simply depleted. With diminished brainpower, devoid of energy, deficient in sleep and lacking inspiration, we feel spent, trampled and lifeless. In those moments I wish I could just step away, fence myself in and post one of those boundary signs: Protected wilderness area. Keep out. Stay back. Restoration in progress. Unfortunately for most of us, life refuses to stop, or even slow down, for those desperately depleted moments. So, we have to find a way, in the midst of the day-to-day, to breathe life back into the soul by creating our own personal restoration project.

View of Humphrey's Basin

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Summer Solstice at Sailor Lake

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Yes, I know. The summer solstice has come and gone…old news, weeks ago, long since moved on. That’s the way it is with me…a little late, after the fact, better late than never. It has taken several years for me to come to terms with that, to accept it and embrace it, but I am at peace now with my belated and not-so-punctual ways. And now that Summer is in full-fiery-force, I am revisiting a few precious moments of celebration as we welcomed this new season with two of my favorite things: a sunset and a starry sky. From a tent, by a lake, with a waterfall, no less.

Sunset and Sailor Lake

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So the Season Begins: Backcountry Camping

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It is that time of year again. Temperatures have reached the triple digits, desert adventures have gone into hibernation mode, the cooler runs non-stop as weekdays take on that lethargic summer pace. But when the weekend comes, we head for the hills seeking the shade of those swaying pines, the cool relief of glacial waters and that rejuvenating alpine air. And so it begins. Our mountain season and backcountry camping.

Mt. Goode and Long Lake

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A Little Prince, A Little Star

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I have a favorite book. We all do, I’m sure. Mine is called The Little Prince by Antione De Saint Exupery, you probably know it. I never tire of the wisdom contained in that one little story. You know, the kinds of insights we grown-ups collect from those precious little people in our lives. 

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”

…that kind of stuff. The kind of stuff that gives you cause to pause and consider the little things in life, that really, when you think about it, are not that small after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Taking it in Stride

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I often talk about the cycle of seasons and what I love about them. How I love those points of transition as one season slowly fades into another which then begins to bloom into the next. I love to watch for those telltale signs that Mother Nature is preparing for change. In these parts, you really have to be attentive in order to see the signs as spring and fall hardly exist at all. But as the sun begins to shift, the long shadows fall later, wildflowers begin to bloom on the desert floor and the spring winds begin to blow, I know the mountain season is approaching.

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Winter Wandering

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At year’s end many of us are granted that blessed little break from the regular routines of daily life, an opportunity to reflect on the adventures of the past year and prepare for that to come.  We celebrate our various holidays as the winter solstice ushers in another cycle of seasons.  Ideally, this Winter Break should be a time for slowing down, pausing, taking time to connect with ourselves and our loved ones.  Somehow, I lost a grip on that ideal and the hustle-bustle energy managed to take hold.  The past few weeks have flown by and I suddenly find myself searching for my break.  I start to worry that I may have missed it, having been swept up in this strong current of commotion.  But then I come to this space, where it has been so quiet for all these weeks, and it is here I find solace in my sacred Winter Break.

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