Saturday, September 10, 2011

6.13 Castle and Heart Lakes, climbing to the ridge above lakes

Hmm!

Who would read what we write when people have access to grand announcements from POTUS? In case there is anyone out there, we believe the more things change, the more they remain the same. We don’t see change in human behavior since the beginning. Of course, we realize even our editor hasn’t been around that long but we trust the written word and oral traditions. Anyway, the only change worth anything is when a person improves him/herself. As one sage once said and we misquote him poorly and append: “(t)he rest is just political hype”. As an aside, we notice 'that change’ may be out of vogue nowadays.

Jenni on cliff above Castle Lake with Shasta, of course

Jenni on rocks above Castle Lake (Click on pics)

When the silliness gets too much for us, we head for the mountains. In most places, we travel through the forests and are amazed at the vast lands that are uninhabited by man. We surprise ourselves at times as we motor south for four miles, east on gravel for six, swing another right at marker 52, over the potholes, through the soft sand and dust, eventually arriving, well usually, at a trailhead. Most times, nobody is about. It seems surreal—we are the last remaining beings on earth… or maybe in that forest. Then a person will sit or stand, depending on gender, to relieve oneself and all of a sudden, the forest has another couple of visitors. It happens more often than one would expect.

High dive from 'white beaut' with Black Butte in background

Symmetry with Shasta

The wilderness in Shasta-Trinity is far different from that we expected. In fact, what we saw today is amazing. We should have ceased showering, shaving, brushing hair and wearing fresh clothing about three weeks ago. Then we would fit in very well with the campers we passed at the lakes. Periodically, we admit that we are ‘square’ (oh, for a narrow waistline) but at least we are clean and without full body tattoos, unwashed dreadlocks and iron pieces protruding from our faces. Sometimes we fear for the animals for what they have to face. We think we got side-tracked again. Shasta is a wonderful place, in fact much more than that. We would like to visit frequently but not live here, though. If only we could take the mountain with us—that would be a 'wow'. Our editor reminded us that we first need to buy a house with a fairly large backyard. She’s become so detail orientated.

Hurry with my coffee, Dear

Today we decided that we should ease off a little. We needed to rest and be ready for the president’s speech. Should you believe that, we have a bridge in Brooklyn for you. Our rest day was truncated a little as we ended up hiking a short but steep hill around various lakes. The boulders at the peak were a delight and so we resorted to climbing and scrambling over the remnants of the last volcanic eruption. Now that we are ‘rested’, we have a couple of big ones ahead with the Shabbos to reinvigorate us.

A room with a view. Don't roll though

Cheers,

Jenni and Jeffrey

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