My time resting at home has been an opportunity to imaginatively challenge myself and reflect upon the importance of family life. My dad has nicely outlined roofing fixes, garage reorganization, tree trimming, and other sweaty summer projects. Mom is allowing sister Faith and I to plan summer dinners, all of which surprise the family for better or for worse. Thirteen layer nacho dishes and Chinese chicken salad made the taste buds smile, while sour lemonade forced puckered lips upon Dad’s face. Aside from piles of medical forms and tedious documented messes (wonder why Health Care is outrageously expensive??), much free time has led me on many spontaneous adventures.
The Continental Divide in Colorado captured my attention this past week. My dad and I moved my brother out to a new teaching job in Colorado and I found the opportunity to scale Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park with two extremely nice strangers, now connected friends. The hike began at 4am in a packed parking lot and head lamps scattered across the mountain side. We crawled to the summit for a 9am “lunch break” and returned to the trail head by 3pm before thunderstorms could chase us back below tree line. The air was thin and my heart was pounding up around 14,000 ft., but I can’t be grateful enough for the chance to take such a hike. Piles of rocks owned every square inch of the glacial swept mountain tops. I now wish I had studied geology past Ms. Nelson’s sixth grade natural science class. Rocks rock dude, especially when you’re climbing around on them all day. I was on this same mountain with my family at age 7, now 23 I enjoyed the hike with a humbling spiritual flavor. Nature is some much bigger than human civilization. It pushes on the human mind. It forces one to think outside themselves. I can only contemplate the day when humans will be connected to nature; considered one with nature, “Man WITH Wild.” Perhaps my home in a California suburb will feel more natural and just as sacred as that feeling atop the mountaintop. MLK’s said he’s been to the “mountaintop” and seen the light. My goal is to get there too.
Go hike, it brings you down to Earth.
Les extrano a Uds, Jared
Joy atop Longs Peak, 14,256 ft
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