Monday, December 08, 2014
Live & In Color!
We're live now! Find us on the dial for updates on our progress! This is KK6PMP and KI6BDF signing off!
Monday, December 01, 2014
This Water Belongs in Mombassa...
As we reckon with the force that is nature we are reminded of our insignificance. We push on. We return week after week with shovel and rake. Try to bend at the knees. Don't look back. Dig it out again. Take many breaks. The trail is finally giving back to us a little bit. We may be beyond making it passable and are starting to make it better. We are beginning to understand its habits and desires. We are working with nature and not against it. The first rain of the season has brought with it some additional objections but we are prepared! We will not leave it behind! We are now communing with the natural world in all its majesty! It pulses and shapes itself and we have come to breathe within its rhythm!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
The Rim Trail - Week 3
We are now beginning to see the real fruits of our labor! Each new foot of trail fires our enthusiasm. This week we actually saw one person out there. Hey, Earl!
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Welcome to the The Rim Trail
Sharon is always annoyed that the trail takes us "all over the top of the mountain" before it descends and we feel like we are beginning. But I like the first part. It meanders amidst the pines and there are always a deer or two bouncing about before the sun comes up. Its a shady trail and it descends gently over four amazing miles to Newcomb Pass. The trail has been neglected since the fires and has recently become impassable and dangerous. Footsafari to the rescue! We are reclaiming the trail and if we ever finish we're going to post signs or maybe put a bench or something. Its going to be great. Last Sunday was our second week on the job and we are learning as we go. The trail is fighting us a little here and there but we shall prevail!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Suzie Sunflower
A woman named Suzie Sunflower arrives at 6:00am so Sharon and I can head out to the mountains. This is the second week in a row we have made a longer than usual day of it and we have been rewarded for our efforts. There is no one else on the trail and we have hours to ourselves surrounded by the the lush, overgrown scents of Spanish Broom and poodle-dog bush in bloom. We sink beneath the California Bay and the great Oak. We take a moment beneath the Alder where the once-river still has a voice and a small hummingbird darts and hovers among purple flowers. We grasp the tall Pine which has seen the great fire and before we break away we thank each other for being us.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
The Cosmic Birthday Dog!
Happy Birthday to me! What a fantastic hike we had through Red Box and up the Kenyan-Devore Trail. One of my favorites. Actually this might be my new favorite. This level of Peace and Quiet has not been realized in quite some time. Its a different kind of feeling to be on the trail for over five hours and not see another person. For me, I feel peaceful but a bit vulnerble... in a good way. You can really stop and hear the forest waking up, exploring itself and moving you along with its chatter.
This trail is not well traveled which is exhilarating. I feel a little bit like I'm following an elephant trail. The visible trail is narrow and the vegetation is hovering over it so you have to push it aside to pass. My old friend, Tarricula Parry, is heavily represented and I am still drawn to the smell of it as well as the tall, elegant stalks which often gather in large groups like they're about to take off on a trip of their own.
There is water in the river although not much. I recall a trip down here in the not too distant past when we had to wade through the river and the water reached our knees. It was so cold I could barely stand it and the rocks below were slippery and sharp on my feet. Today I can easily walk across without rock hopping. Ahhh the landscape here is changed for good. Or for my lifetime at least I think. Gone are the large, high pine canopies and here, for now, are the yucca, sagebrush and poodlebush. The baby pines cause me to wonder how long it will take them to grow as high as their forebearers. As I reach out and touch their delicate limbs, I wish for them a gentle but steady rain to see them through the hot summer.
I stop briefly to visit one particular tree which survived the fires. This is a tree I have come to know over the years and one that I am fond of. Its the tree I think of when I think of this trail and the tree I look forward to seeing when I make my plans to come here. Its a tall pine but its not about what kind of tree it is, its about the energy of that particular being. I want to feel as if the tree is happy to see me too but I know that the tree has no use for me. Seeing the tree and being in its space for a minute or two, somehow brings out in me something of value. Some kind of confidence, some sort of sense that I am welcome, a little bit of contentment. This trail is all uphill so after I have caught my breath I move on.
When we reach the top the warm sun is welcome and there are some people shuffling about the cafe already. The cafe seems to have its act together this year and I am tempted by croissants and apple pie in the window. My birthday tradition has become a cosmic dog and I cannot be swayed even by the breakfast sweets. One cosmic dog with mustard please! And a big happy birthday to me!
This trail is not well traveled which is exhilarating. I feel a little bit like I'm following an elephant trail. The visible trail is narrow and the vegetation is hovering over it so you have to push it aside to pass. My old friend, Tarricula Parry, is heavily represented and I am still drawn to the smell of it as well as the tall, elegant stalks which often gather in large groups like they're about to take off on a trip of their own.
There is water in the river although not much. I recall a trip down here in the not too distant past when we had to wade through the river and the water reached our knees. It was so cold I could barely stand it and the rocks below were slippery and sharp on my feet. Today I can easily walk across without rock hopping. Ahhh the landscape here is changed for good. Or for my lifetime at least I think. Gone are the large, high pine canopies and here, for now, are the yucca, sagebrush and poodlebush. The baby pines cause me to wonder how long it will take them to grow as high as their forebearers. As I reach out and touch their delicate limbs, I wish for them a gentle but steady rain to see them through the hot summer.
I stop briefly to visit one particular tree which survived the fires. This is a tree I have come to know over the years and one that I am fond of. Its the tree I think of when I think of this trail and the tree I look forward to seeing when I make my plans to come here. Its a tall pine but its not about what kind of tree it is, its about the energy of that particular being. I want to feel as if the tree is happy to see me too but I know that the tree has no use for me. Seeing the tree and being in its space for a minute or two, somehow brings out in me something of value. Some kind of confidence, some sort of sense that I am welcome, a little bit of contentment. This trail is all uphill so after I have caught my breath I move on.
When we reach the top the warm sun is welcome and there are some people shuffling about the cafe already. The cafe seems to have its act together this year and I am tempted by croissants and apple pie in the window. My birthday tradition has become a cosmic dog and I cannot be swayed even by the breakfast sweets. One cosmic dog with mustard please! And a big happy birthday to me!
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