Arlos music

 http://youtu.be/2QB1W-FKtTY

Click the above link for a video of Arlo, our eldest grandson playing a solo in a performance. he has only been playing the Sax since October. Grandparents bragging rights.

Backpacking the John Muir Trail

This August a group of us backpacked part of the John Muir trail in the Sierra Mountains. We spent 5 days on the trails ups and downs for almost 50 miles from Yosemite to Mammoth. I didn't take my camera but here are a few pictures taken by my friend Janet.

                                           The group at the beginning of the trail,

                                       
                                           Kathy and I pumping water together. There was plenty of water from lakes                                             and rivers along the trail . We pump water to purify it for drinking.
                                           It  tasted wonderful.

                                        Absolutely stunning scenery everywhere

                                         
                                         After ascending Donohue pass we are above the tree line

                                       These 3 are out of sequence, taken on the way into Yosemite and hiking the                                            mist trail as a warm up to the big one. This is actually the start of the JMT                                            but we didn't have a permit to hike in from there.

                                       
                                          Mary and Randy had not backpacked before but we trained them well and                                                they loved it.

                                           This group picture was taken towards the end and we are all still smiling.                                  To be honest we really didn't want it to end. The difficulty of getting back to                                              "city" living was getting a shuttle bus with room enough to take us and our                                            packs into town, finding our hotel rooms not ready, finding our mexican                                                meal was way too much food to eat, but it was fun to go to dinner grubby                                             and gloat about what we had just accomplished....and of course, the                                                        margaritas tasted good.

                                        Thousand Island Lakes where the JMT crosses the Pacific Crest trail. I went off to pee where I thought was off the trail and to my surprise a young man walked by indicating I was on the trail. So I have peed on the pacific crest trail, cause for a chuckle as there is a friendly rivalry between hikers on the two trails.

                                     
                                         Each of our camping spots each night were wonderful.
                             
                               Notice the black bear canister which we each had to carry to store all of our food.

Joel and I at the end, Devils Postpile Mammoth. I still am amazed that we hiked from Yosemite to mammoth. Next year we are already planning to do the next section of the trail.

note: Mike didn't go with us this time because he is still cautious about his knees holding up. He does all the day hiking with us and plays tennis so maybe next year he will give it a try.

today

The beach was awesome today. First it was about 80 degrees and I paddled up to my knees most of my walk. Then there was a huge bait ball and a million birds diving. Then a huge aggressive seal was chasing the surfers. Riding the scooter we enjoyed all the scarecrows on the way home. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful life.

Last week we were in Yosemite. Mike took a Yosemite conservancy workshop from Julia Parker, a renown Miwok basket maker. I hiked and enjoyed time to myself, absorbing nature and chatting to people. We stayed in the tent cabins at camp Curry, a place we have learned to love.

                                        I had fun taking a selfie with vernal Falls on my head.
                                       I love the mist trail, even for the 3rd time this year.

                                               There was a wedding party hiking together.

                                               And climbers practicing their skills

Late afternoon meeting up at the Awanee Hote

or the community lodge at Curry Village.

                                                    The tent cabins are magical at night.
                                       We just kept walking around, feeling the night descending,

                                Julia Parker teaching native                                   American basket making.
                                                                             

                                 This is our new friend James who works as a locksmith in Yosemite.

                                The whole workshop was held outside, even in cold and drizzle.
                                No one complained. It was a magical experience for Mike

                                      Then we had to leave Yosemite for the 3rd time this summer.
                                       It calls to us and we will come back next year and volunteer
                                          and stay longer.

In July I came to Yosemite to backpack almost 50 miles of the John Muir Trail with 11 others, 7 from Cambria, 3 from Colorado and 1 from northern Calif. and most of us over 60 years old. My friend Janets  and Dorothys daughters had accomplished the entire trail last summer so they inspired us to plan this trip.We did the first 10 miles from Happy Isles as a day hike , then began 5 days on the trail from Toualmne meadows to Devils Postpile in Mammoth. It was a fantastic experience and this Sunday we will give a panel presentation at our Cambrian Unitarian Universalist Community.

                                                    Starting out from Cambria

                                      Dayhiking the Mist Trail with a rainbow at the bottom of Vernal Falls.

                                                The clouds spilling over Nevada Falls

                                       Janet and Dorothy, whose daughters made us want to do this trip
                                        Janet and her brother Jim had also done parts of the JMT with their dad                                                                          when they were young

                                         Mary and Randy. This was their first extended backpacking trip.
                                         We trained them well and they loved it.

                                                     Jim watching the storm coming in.

                                       

MY THOUGHTS ON HIKING THE JOHN MUIR TRAIL

I was born to do this. I love backpacking and have for 40 years. I love the preparation. I love living life at its simplest. I love the level of clarity and consciousness, the deep thinking and the zone I enter when life is slowed down to one foot in front of the other with only what I carry on my back. I love the heightening of senses I experience being conscious of everything around me. The awareness of my body moving through space.

     One thing that I chose to do differently this time was to leave my camera behind. I found that my whole purpose shifted, no longer thinking in terms of “What beautiful scenery. I should take a picture” Instead I worked harder to imprint the experience in my mind, and found the “picture” came with more awareness of sounds and smells and feelings. I must admit that there was one time when I was walking alone and saw a particularly breathtaking sight that I did think that maybe in the future we would discover how to control our brains to just click and store our photos in our brains. I found that my thinking became looser and deeper, and more creative and very positive. Sometimes I did ask Ken to take a picture for me.

   Which leads me to another observation. Some of the hike for me was definitely about solitary thinking time and finding the rhythm of my own pace, and testing my self-sufficiency. But when a few of our group became lost for a while on the 4^th day of hiking, the consciousness of the whole group seemed to shift to a definite sense of community. Everyone genuinely wanted to help the late comers set up camp, pump water and prepare food. There were genuine hugs and words of concern. Janet led a check-in around the campfire that evening giving everyone a chance to share their feelings about the day. Afterwards, Randy calmed our minds with a dramatic reading of a Sherlock Holmes story. The next day we all seemed to have modified our own agendas, choosing a more group experience and being more community minded. I found this just as enjoyable and even more bonding for our group.

    This kind of wilderness experience is definitely not for everyone, but I do encourage everyone to find some time to experience a deeper relationship to the outdoors and the natural world.  I consider this to be part of a meditation routine that can be developed even in our own backyard. My friend Tom Cochran is not a backpacker but he can find it on the beaches of Cambria. I quote from his blog:

    “The fewer filters between us and nature, the more we see and feel the interaction, the greater the molecular impact on our minds, bodies and heart and soul”

                                                                                 Sue Davis