Persistance equals Success

Just to update you...the lake has been found and what a breathtaking site.

Heart Lake..well worth the  climb

And the view was beautiful as well

 

I am so glad I didn't let last weeks hike be my last attempt at finding this place of beautiful creation.

Failure or Success, it all Depends on Your Perspective

This morning I decided to drive to a nearby town and do a hike long a creek and up to a lake. After all the hiking in Arizona I was missing being outside and exploring and as today was my only free day I decided to make the most of it and go for a 3 hour hike on my own.

I found the place to park the car with no problem and headed off on the easy trail that ran along a beautiful flowing creek. I was thankful to be reminded that there is beauty in nature right in the middle of a neighbourhood and that it wasn’t necessary to be in another country to find such gifts in nature. It was also good to know that I could get out and have these adventures on my own. I had packed my backpack with water, snack and with music to listen to and happily walked and ran along the trail.

Harrison Creek

There were two loops to the trail, the Harrison Creek trail and the Heart Lake trail. My plan was to take the first half of the Creek Trail and then turn off and go to the Lake Trail, not doing the full loop but I planned to turn off of it to hike straight up to the lake at the top where the website promised me fantastic views.

I must admit it was a little scary being on my own as there were posting on the signs warning of bears but the trail was well marked with big map signs as I went along and I had my music to keep me company. I managed to turn off and head to the Lake trail where I once again stopped and checked out the map. Now if I had been smart I would have taken a picture of it so that I could check it on my way as this loop was over 6km’s long and I had no intention of doing the whole loop, just taking the 20 minute hike up to the Lake. As I headed along the trail, which really was a logging road, I felt I had gone too far but then right around the next corner was a post with a red top that said Lake Loop – 6.4kms so I headed up the steep incline towards the lake. It went on and on and up and up...I was getting very tired and very concerned. Finally I thought...this can’t be it ...I am on the Loop trail not the trail to the Lake so I grumpily turned around and headed back down.  I was very disappointed in myself and well to be honest had quite the pity party as I walked back down to the post and then to the map. Upon reaching the map I still really couldn’t figure out which way I needed to go to the Lake...I honestly could not make sense of where I stood and whether I should go right or left so I headed back to the car in a foul mood.

Where I think I made a wrong turn??

I knew this pity party needed to stop and that I needed to feel thankful for what I was experiencing. Seeing there was no one else around to give me a stiff kick in the butt I felt I better do it myself. So I made myself focus on all the good things of the day, the sights I had seen, the enjoyment of being outdoors with the sun shining. Then I thought of all of my friends who were not with me because of health issues, some battling cancer and others having their mobility slow fade away from suffering with MS. I have such a wonderful life and I am so very thankful for all that life has given me yet somehow it is so easy to slip into those pity parties.



The unattained goal on the distant hilltop.

 

So if nothing else, I had a good two hour hike, I listened to some inspiring music, I saw beautiful waterfalls and spent time being thankful for all of creation. I learned that one should take a map with them, and be mindful along the trail. The hike, well maybe it was a failure but in so many other ways it was a success. It really does depend on one’s perspective. To me focusing on the positive, although not always easiest, is certainly the healthiest. Next Saturday...look out Lake ...I am determined to find you!

Beauty in Nature

Mountain Top Experiences and Gratitude



Kind and Generous Friends

Thanks to the kindness of three of my good friends I spent this past week exploring, hiking and having fun in Arizona. I had never travelled down south before and was amazed by the number of mountains that surround the flat desert places. It was a week full of discoveries and adventures shared with lots of laughter and fun.

Bell Rock in the distance

Our first hike was in Sedona where the colours of the land and rocks were breathtaking. We spent the day hiking the Bell Rock, visiting the chapel and lastly climbing up to the airport vortex. The day was a day of spiritual beauty. At the Bell Rock I enjoyed following the pathway marked by cairns up and over the rocks. There were small shrubs and trees with their barks twisted in growth from the vortex. At the end of the pathway we continued to climb up and over the rocks some of us being aware that we would have to come down what we climbed up. I would have taken off quickly climbing further and further up if not for my wise friend’s comment to remember that I would also have to be able to come back down. The views from the side of the mountain were breathtaking. I could see for miles across to the hills in the distance. The layers of red, orange and white rocks were beautiful with the sun shining down upon them. I could have sat there on the cold rocks forever admiring creation.



The view from Bell Rock

At our second stop we walked up a roadway to a chapel built into the hillside. Inside there was a very large cross in front of a huge window looking out over the valley. Along each side were candles which people were lighting. After a moment of prayer I went up and lit two candles, one for a friend who is struggling and one for all of the people in the world who would never have the opportunity to see such amazing land formations. Outside as we sat in the sun finding different shapes and formations in the rocks on the hillside, I was overcome with emotion. I felt so grateful and undeserving to be witness to such beauty.

The Chapel

The third stop was to me the most meaningful. It was called the airport vortex and was just below the airstrip on the flat mountain top. We stopped at the trailhead, near the top of the hill and climbed up to the vortex. It was located in a small valley between two small hilltops on the mountain. I could feel the strong movement of the air around me and felt a great sense of peace. We climbed to the top of the rock to the left and looked down onto the lower mountainside beside us. There was such a sense of peace. The rocks are so deep in colour and so rich. The sun was shining brightly and the skies so very blue. As we sat looking at the wonder of God’s creation we noticed on the hillside across form us that a man was giving a sound healing to a group of folks. They were stretched out on their backs on the edge of the mountain while he played beautiful music on his flute and then later on his drum holding it close to them allowing the sound to vibrate through their bodies. The sounds from the instruments floated through the air and across to us. It was memorizing and soaked deeply into my body and into my soul. I sat there in silence, in prayer and meditation, in thought and in awe, absorbing everything that my senses heard and felt. Before we headed back down to the car we joined hands and shared in a prayer spoken by my friend. It was beautiful and touched on everything that we had seen heard and felt and all of those people around us. What a gift to be part of.

Across from the Airport Vortex

Our second adventure had us heading south to climb the trails in the Sonoran Desert, in the Saguaros National Park. We headed off on an 8 mile hike to try and reach Wasson Peak. It was hot and dry and the pathway was very sandy. We were surrounded by the enormous Saguaros cacti and other smaller prickly pear cacti. There were also barrel cacti with yellow flowers budding from their tops and a red tinge to their spikes. Then there were the chain cacti which I am sure can fly as on the way back down one of them actually found their way into my shoe and another one into my friends clothing and unfortunately into his skin. They were eventually removed but not as easily as one would think, leaving spots of blood and bruising on the skin from the pulling.



Giant Saguaros Cactus

Along the ridge of the mountain we came across park workers, young men, who were diligently pruning the cacti and bushes along the side of the trail to allowing it to be more passable. They were silent in their work, and as my friend said, they looked like shepherds on the hillside taking care of God’s creation. They were indeed stewards of the land. Although we knew there were poisonous snakes, wild cats and other dangerous critters in the area we were lucky to only see the odd small lizard or squirrel. It was fun to spot them in amongst the boulders and small shrubs. There were only a few others on the trail and no one nearby as we climbed. The silence, disturbed only by the quiet sounds of the birds and other small creatures brought such a peacefulness to the afternoon.

At Wasson Peak, looking back along the trail

It took us approximately 3 hours to hike to the peak but the view and the feeling of accomplishment was all well worth it. We could look down on the city of Tucson and down onto the trail we had hiked up plus others. Although it was certainly not a difficult or too steep of a hike, we had climbed up over 1400 feet, reaching a height of over 4600 feet. I had never hiked to such a height before and felt pretty good about it all. The decent was made quickly and easily, only taking a little over two hours plus the time it took to remove those “flying cacti” from ourselves. It was such a good feeling to gaze back up to Wasson Peak and know that I had been there.

In planning for this trip I had thought about the sharing of adventures, the hiking, and the fun that we might have. I had no idea how spiritual and how emotional this trip was to be. There was so much to be grateful for. This world that God has created for us is so full of amazing beauty. The mountains, the deserts, the creatures and plants that live there, the dangerous ones, the peaceful ones, they are all part of our world and all require our respect. Their beauty and uniqueness had me constantly in awe for all that I saw before me. I found myself close to tears throughout the whole week. I was overcome with gratitude for the kindness and generousity of my friends. The friend, who had financed my trip, gave me a comfortable room to retire to and amazing meals which more than satisfied my hunger, who encouraged us to go out and explore and not worry about her, she was content to stay home and prepare meals for our return. The friends who allowed me to join them each and every day, hiking, exploring and even shopping, never complaining about having a third person along or my sometimes constant chatter, always including me and checking to make sure that I was okay with everything as the days and adventures passed.



Open hearted friends

I will never forget this past week. I cannot come up with the words to explain deeply enough all that I felt and still feel. It brought such joy and happiness to my life. So many life stories shared while creating new stories and memories to share in the future. My life is so good, so full and feels so complete. I have to constantly remind myself to enjoy it and to not slip into my past habit of feeling I don’t deserve all of this goodness. Every person deserves to enjoy life and all that it has to offer. It is so sad and unjust that in our world it is not so. Millions of people suffer daily, have little to eat and no place to live while others of us live easy lives full of amazing adventures like this past week. It will never make sense to me nor really to anyone else, so I try to make each moment in life count, to be thankful for all that I have and all that I am able to do. I believe we need to be thankful to God each day for all of creation, to be thankful for the people that come into our lives, for the love and care we share with family and friends, and to always try to do what we can to make a difference so that someday this world will be a place of peace, a world where everyone will be able to share in the spiritual beauty of creation and friendships as I have this past week.

Advice from a Saguaro

Stand Tall

Reach for the Sky

Be Patient Through the Dry Spells

Conserve Your Resources

Think Long Term

Wait for Your Time to Bloom

Stay Sharp!

                                                   Ilan Shamin