'Dear twins' up early for breakfast (young mule deer).
-Click on arrow to listen to Brian Murray sing a song that might be nostalgic, especially for
South Africans. The music will continue playing while scrolling up or down.-
How long is a piece of...stick? Golden tops make me weak at the knees. (Waited a long time for this one.)
The Piute hike is another that we are crazy about, amongst many others. We mentioned in an earlier
blog that catching the mountaintops on fire, that is, with the sun lighting the tips at dawn, is a
favorite pose. It was on this day we were fortunate to get visuals of the phenomenon. We remember a time
many years ago when we were listening to a sermon, a few moments before we dozed. The rabbi made an interesting
observation, although perhaps not practical in our world. He said always look up, never down. Of course,
he probably hadn’t walked on a treacherous trail. Nevertheless, we concur. He said that mining, for example,
meant digging into the bowels of the earth and sinking into the depths. However, searching and climbing upwards
is where the beauty and personal growth are found. Sentimentally and spiritually, we agree that he made a
wonderful point. When we climb up to the heights of the world, especially when combined with the light from
the different sources, the sun, moon, stars and planets, we do indeed see and experience much beauty.
Tunneling into the earth is intimidating. Nevertheless, we still like to hold some gold in our portfolio
even though it’s sourced from below.
On our return from Piute Pass, Jen stops in front of the lake with same name.
Above and over the pass, another Lake by name of Summit.
Life is a narrow bridge—editor not fond of this type of obstacle before breakfast...or after.
Jenni is always amazed when we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere (often), surrounded by beauty,
in areas so vast that one almost wonders whether we are the last surviving humans on the planet. Through the
eyes of two little people, we realize how insignificant we are in the big picture. Nevertheless, the objects
we see and record, elevate us so that instead of feeling like outsiders, we absorb what we witness, making us
so much the better for it.
We arrived before sunrise to try and capture scenes like this. It works out sometimes.
Heading for the pass in a boulder and rock filled bowl below amazing mountains.
Jenni reaches the first of three lakes, Loch Levon.
We have always smiled about not being intellectuals for which we are still grateful. However, we
realize the need for a bit of a brain to survive, to try and understand the issues of life as well as to use
it in decision making. Where is this going? Who knows but perhaps we realize we really are physical people, with souls.
The physical side allows us to explore, struggle, sweat, build, meet challenges, experience and enjoy while pursuing
the adventure that is life—tough but exhilarating. The real highs come from within by pushing oneself to the limit;
pushing the envelope as it's sometimes said. We do believe in a balance within life but find that at the extremes is
where we learn most about ourselves. This is all too philosophical but to repeat, if not for anyone but ourselves,
vigorous participation in life sure beats passivity.
Piute Lake at fore, Loch Levon behind, nearly a mile between the lakes.
One of the reasons we chose this season to visit the Sierras.
Fascinating how many mountains have a lower pedestal before them.
The hike was eleven miles from the car park, inconveniently distanced from the trailhead, and climbs
a little less than 2,000 feet, depending whether ones goes off trail and flits amongst the rocks. Now guess
who likes to do a bit of bouldering from time-to-time.
Finally, we did four hikes in the Bishop region, a most amazing setting in a district that’s magnificent.
This followed our sojourn in the desert cities around Palm Springs, including the adjacent Joshua Tree National Park.
At time of writing, we are experiencing the renowned Yosemite National Park from Lee Vining.
A contrast of lakes. In drought stricken California, water is aplenty at altitude.
A golden moment in the Golden State early in the morning.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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