Sometimes our editor can be very amusing; other times she is delightful. That should be worth a bit of favorable treatment. We digress. She has these two issues that are worrisome, though. The first is: An insensitivity to our feelings. Just the other day, she mentioned that whenever she gains elevation in excess of 1,500 feet, her heart races and she often feels overcome with elation. We remember when she used to feel that way about ‘you know who’. We are compared with elevation these days. However, we still compare her to ‘a summer’s day’.
The other issue is fear of lightning, well founded, of course. We agree entirely and understand as well as share her trepidation. However, yesterday for example, we wished to make a very early start but she preferred to sleep late. We concede she did accede to our request after a reasonable amount of ‘begging’. However, this morning we needed to do some work so we agreed to a much later departure. Earlier, we found her pacing on the patio, her brow creased and her face pale. We understood the problem. She was checking for clouds. “Can’t we wait until sunrise so we can at least have a reasonable chance of spotting black clouds?” we asked. Truth be told, when we began dating our editor 43 years ago, she made no disclosure of this fear.
We spent much time in the Inyo National Forest over the last week or so. It needs no confirmation from us as to its spectacular nature. In general, the diversity of California is unbelievable. From our limited knowledge and perspective, we are amazed in continuing to find varying sights that encompass nearly every aspect of the geography of the world. Let's not forget its neighbors—don't even get us started on Utah, Ariz...
The Sky Meadow hike was a short one, no more than five miles, with an elevation gain of about 1,000 feet. It was a day in which we had to slow down a little and perform some mental exercise instead—not a bad thing. The latter hike to Lake Saddleback was just over 7 miles with an elevation gain of 1,500 feet. The views from the basin of the mountains, which have experienced glacial action, ‘knock the socks’ off a person. The lakes are not bad either. We think the lesson of hiking in this area is never to take it for granted as the views are continuous. We suppose it’s possible to become blasé when such beauty confronts one at every turn.
Finally, the last four days in Bishop have added a further dimension to the trip. The downside to this town is the heat, although it seems to cool in the evenings. However, wherever one stands, the towering mountains appear to have their peaks in the sky and clouds; it’s not that they are bashful; rather, damn intimidating. The state, as we write ad nauseum, gives one an idea of the great beauty of the planet we inhabit.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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