Back to the Wild

Time in the wild is a mainstay source of peace and inspiration. For various reasons, I haven’t backpacked into the wilderness for almost five years. Lately, I have drifted into a modified approach of car camping and day hiking. I’ve not found the same sense of spiritual renewal with this method. Too much proximity to the car and technology, and complexity of gear and logistics.

I decided to reverse the trend. I backpacked up into a magical granite canyon full of raging waterfalls and blooming dogwoods. Oh, how the sweet feeling of truly being in nature came rushing back to me in those first few miles up the trail. My senses were filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of moving water.

Snowpack on the peaks was feeding waterfalls throughout the canyon. This flowing water became like the flow of prana through my body. I felt an upwell of sattvic energy. Climbing on the granite brought a feeling of grounding and connectedness to Earth. Balance.

At the top of a falls, I found a pool of water etched into the granite. This pool became a lens upon which my mind focused inward, away from this outside world and into the light within.