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| Ponderosa Pine |
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| Ponderosa Pine |
Yesterday’s rest with writing, the Shasta failure half digested, a short walk, then a nap, I slept to dream-groans rising under me, foreshadowing laughs of demons. Today, I drove to the peaceful and lovely McCloud River, walked the trail along it, hoping for its help in sorting out unhappy circumstance from enrichment that might not have come if I had reached the summit. The pine trees seemed to say this is a good way to think about it.
Morning mist rising from Middle Falls—thin, ephemeral, fading
The falls behind it—strong, maker of mist, the ancient one
Yesterday’s mist—did anyone see, did mist even rise, or reach
the top
What if it did—and what if it didn’t
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| Above Middle Falls on the McCloud River |
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| Jet trails above Mt. Shasta |
I rose on a trail above Middle Falls
on a jet above Shasta Mountain
see how small, how weak they are
mist from the jet, and mist from the falls
important now, remembered for years
but what of the process
the making of mist
that fading thing
that comes and goes
what of the process?
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| Upper Falls on the McCloud river |
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| Upper Falls on the McCloud river |
I walked on up to Upper Falls, that splashing roaring tumult,
and watched as it obeyed the laws we call of nature. Loveliness and inspiration aside, it obeys
without knowing, falls without caring. It
does what waterfalls do. If all matter’s
so constrained, leashed to genetics’ demand, then where is one who understands? Some, it seems are free to go and say what no
longer is.
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| McCloud River above Upper Falls |
There is a pool, they say, above the turbulence of falls,
where Shasta lilies grow along its sides, and frogs contently rest. A place where flow is gentle and there’s time
to watch the birds, where no mountains loom to challenge lonely souls,
and if there are, the soul’s at rest and simply looks.
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| Mt. Shasta from ten miles east of McCloud on Hy 89 |
A poem by Erika Wilk
a snow cone
to be conquered
the lone climber
seeking the summit
what flavor will it be
I am so proud of you for going as far as you have and am glad that you are safe on more level ground- at least a little more level. Your photos are,as always, spectacular. Thank you for inviting us all to share your adventure.
ReplyDeleteBe safe,
love, Erika
Erika, It’s good to be back on hospitable ground. Mt. Shasta is not a place one can live or even visit for very long.
DeleteEverything is flowing~~going somewhere, animals and so-called lifeless rocks as well as water. Thus the snow flows fast or slow in grand beauty-making glaciers and avalanches; the air in majestic floods carrying minerals, plant leaves, seeds, spores, with streams of music and fragrance; water streams carrying rock...While the stars go streaming through space pulsed on and on forever like blood...in Nature's warm heart. - John Muir
ReplyDeleteSo you didn't make it to the summit of Shasta. So what? Steven always says to me, "be here now". Embrace each moment and rejoice! Wake up to each new day and appreciate the abundance of life and beauty that the mountain of Shasta, and the light above, has provided. You, more than most, understand and appreciate the "process". The trees, the rivers and waterfalls, the animals and wild flowers are all of its children. You are the fortunate one to be in such company as a very special guest of the mountain. You are definitely not alone, and we are, and will always be, your attentive audience.
"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks" - John Muir
Time to stop concentrating on the quest, sweet Sharon....and enjoy the journey.
Thank you Gail and John Muir for these good insights. Yes, I feel that I was “a very special guest of the mountain.” I used the word “failure,” but that seems not right after a few days of consideration. Only as the quest is the summit is failure possible. “Enjoy the journey,” was my real quest, and in that I did not fail.
DeleteYou have reached the summit of something extraordinary....you have scaled the story of Shasta with aplomb, sharing passages of detail with ua all, giving us images of snow and storm, letting us follow your steps in preparation.and in ascent. The total is it, sum is summit. Summit special anyway. I applaud every victory you have made and celebrate what we all have gained from your ventures.
ReplyDeleteThank you thank you.
(And i think the snow cone tastes like lemon ice)
It is a pretty good story, isn’t it, Susan? Better maybe than a simple tale of going up and coming down. I have attended picture-talks of climbers whose stories feel in memory less interesting, even though they are better climbers. Thanks for saying that, it helps with the recovery process.
DeleteYes, beautiful,I love your "snow cone", Erika... your poem... and also your comment. Sharon... I do not see it as any failure... just a part of the process of becoming... of course I cannot speak for you, but for myself... I see the day as the day and the summit as an arbitrary thing. But I am not you... I see the summit lovely, but no more important than any other point on the mountain graph... (no climber I guess, just a wanderer...) That you smiled on the w made me happy, and that you survived well also makes me happy. Our strengths and weakness (if so we call them) ... I see as random points... not linear but in a field. A progression like petals on a flower or the number of blooms... not to be counted so much as admired and put in the thrown bouquet of of our being...look forward to your musings and stories, and many more shared adventures!
ReplyDeleteSuppose I had decided to climb up Mt. Shasta as far as The Heart, and to make it a three-day, two-night climb. Then I would have returned just as I did return. But my story would be much different. It would read like a cruise to the Bahamas with a little more effort and suspense. As the story is in memory and in the minds of those who heard it and who no doubt will hear it, it is filled with hope, dream, struggle, the great effect of a small technical oversight, and two days of whimpering after I came down like a dog running low.
DeleteThat you smiled on the way down... makes me happy!
ReplyDelete