one of the many things on my list of things to do more of in the days ahead, is to be outside and to hike! so this week, on our annual mother-daughter trip, I wanted to take isabel to ramona falls off hwy 26 at the base of mt. hood. this place is one of "those" places for me because i will never forget how it took my breath away the first time i saw it when i was just about isabel's age.
i was brought here 30+ years ago against my will as part of my summer church camp experience. in my backpack I carried a brown paper bag with an apple, a cookie and a soon-to-flattened peanut-butter and jelly sandwich prepared lovingly by Judy the camp cook. i don't recall a water bottle or sunscreen as part of the equation but i am sure some adult was managing those elements. what do I remember about this day was of course the eventual destination: the incredible layered, rocky falls that bath you in the spray and cool breeze that emanates as the water crushes down on the rock below. part of this experience all those years ago that really stuck in my young head was the terrain and experience on the trek up the mountain. in the lush forest on the 3.5 mike hike up, mossy ground cover overwhelm the eye. The birds are singing...loudly! It's lush because the water is there, running down and through and protected by the trees. The mossy ground cover is everywhere and covering everything. it is on every tree limb and trunk, each rock and down every short embankment to the creek running along side the trail. this soft, green ground cover blankets the edges of the trail while the overhanging trees filter in just enough sun to refresh the traveler and give sweet relief from the hotter, drier, dustier parts of this trip. these hotter, drier, parts felt like walking through hell to me back then and by listening to my own teenager now, she was also pretty miserable during these portions of our hike.
so while i was really eager to show off the beauty of the beautiful parts of ramona falls to my daughter, i was nervous for myself and for her for the not-so-beautiful parts of this hike because i remember how miserable i felt 30 years ago. what i discovered along the way was that, while i loved the lush, cool and beautiful parts of this hike as much as ever, i found myself relating more to the dry, hot and not so beautiful parts much more. every time i walked out into the hot-dry-bare rock-no shade-lots-of-fly's part of this hike, i connected and i seemed to be enriched in it. the shade and the cool and the beauty were that much more shady, cool and beautiful but i had some observations during my moments along the dry path.
...it's really quiet. the birds aren't singing, sounds of water rushing down the creek is so distant it almost isn't audible, and the hikers move through quickly. as i walked along, all i could hear were my own foot falls hitting the sandy path. quiet...to hear what all the sounds of the more lush parts of the trail distract me from. quiet...to hear what i might miss otherwise. quiet...to hear the still small voice.
...i can see. it is bright and open and while there isn't much to look at that is "beautiful", i can see the individual new growth that sprouts here and there among the grey rock, dry and dead looking trees and the rotting logs that litter the path. most importantly, i can see clearly the outline of the hikers shoes that have already passed this way to either the falls or returning to the trail head. foot prints that tell me, this way has been passed and they have returned. foot prints to tell me i don't walk alone.
...the encouragement to keep hiking almost always comes during these hot, dry spells of the hike. During the more shady portions, hello's and smiles are exchanged between us and those we pass. but during the desert portions, words of encouragement are quick: keep going, you're almost there, the path gets cooler up head, you're really going to love it when you make it to the falls, you can do it! people feel the need to encourage when things seem difficult and dry and i appreciate that....oh how i appreciate that!
up the trail, all these years later, and i have a new appreciation for the respite of the shade and the promise of the destination but i no longer begrudge the desert on the path.
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