Happy “Almost Summer Solstice” to all the souls who are taking the time to read this blog entry.  I hope each and every one of you are experiencing a wonderful start to the summer months and that you are engaging in passions you love and live for. 

I thought I would take the time to write about a place that leaves me speechless, no matter how many times my body crosses into it.  A place that exemplifies the ever changing and ever evolving earth.  A place that, even after eons, continues to change and look different.  A place that takes the breath away from one’s lungs with its soaring altitude as well as simply from the sheer beauty.  A place like no other in this country.  Yosemite National Park.

Growing up in the rolling hills of eastern Pennsylvania, the “mountains” we had access to were the Alleghenies, Blue Ridge, Poconos and South Mountain Range (and I use the term “mountain” loosely as the tallest mountain in Pennsylvania is Mount Davis at 3,200 feet tall).  During those days of my first experiences with the mountains of Pennsylvania, I remember being at peace in them.  Feeling that sense of calm and wonder at the same time.  There is one place that stands out that truly fostered and made my mind wonder about what else was out there.  The Kinzua Bridge in the Allegheny National Forest.

I remember the first time I had a vantage point clear enough to gaze out on the Kinzua Creek Valley and marvel at the magnificent scenery in Northwestern Pennsylvania.  I remember thinking that this view was both majestic and inspiring.  It made me feel at home.  It made me smile.  It calmed me and filled me with sheer joy.  I still hold those images in my head and smile.  The vantage point from which I stood and filled the photo catalogs in my cerebrum with countless still images, is now gone.  The view from the middle of that 2,052 feet long, 301-foot-high viaduct, was stunning.  The bridge swayed in the gentle mountain breezes as the humidity from the creek valley below melted away in the sheer beauty of the forest all around.  The way the stark steel stood in contrast to the lushness of the forest all around still sticks in my head and heart.  The towering railroad bridge was lost in a tornado, 16 years ago, but the memories will always remain.  I am so thankful to have grown up in a beautiful state and have my love of the outdoors fostered there while climbing and hiking trails with names like; Susquehanna, Turkey Hill, Conestoga and Gettysburg.  These places were the foundation for love affair I was to have with the Sierra Nevada.  I love my home state and always will have a piece of my heart there, but the Sierra Nevada stole my soul.

Driving on highway 120 east, there is a stretch of road where all of a sudden a gentle, sprawling meadow gives way to the behemoth rock that is Half Dome.  The altitude at this spot reads a touch over 5,400 feet, but standing there outside the car gazing into the Yosemite Valley staring at this monolith, makes one feel like one is on top of the world.  It is a view that will resonate for the rest of one’s life.  Four billion years of tectonic movement, glacial shifts, earthquakes, floods, temperature variations all which, led to this moment.  This view.  This world famous hunk of granite. 

As the axles underneath the car turned and bodies were carried through the hollowed out granite above, I sat in slack jawed amazement of what was unfolding in front of me.  Walls of granite which dwarf the Empire State building rise out of the ground and soar into the troposphere.  Incense cedar, lodge pole pines and Giant Sequoias cover the ground with a regal nature that give shade to the creatures which move about the forest floor.  The sweet smell of the conifers that fills the lungs and stimulates the mind to bookmark this memory for all of one’s earthly life.  

Following the meandering two lane road down into the heart of Yosemite National Park, you are greeted with waterfalls out of storybooks.  Horsetail Falls, Ribbon Falls, Bridalveil Falls and the highest waterfall in North America; Yosemite Falls.  The first time my eyes fell onto the upper portion of those falls, I had a moment where I knew I had to climb it.  There are some hikes/climbs/peaks which simply call to my heart and soul.  This was one of them.  6,700 feet above sea level with a total drop of 2,425 feet (the 20^th highest falls on our earth).  The falls are as stunning as they are high.  The mist blows hundreds of yards out into the valley on breezy mornings and freezes in mid-air (on winter days) forming an array of crystals and ice paintings on the sheer granite face next to it. 

My soul was longing for the mountains in recent months.  It had been dormant for far too long.  My boots had been relatively idle since our epic, 22 mile trek up Mount Whitney.  The opportunity presented itself in a weekend with no kids at home to make the 3.5 hour drive down to Yosemite to climb these falls and my heart leapt at the chance. 

The car was packed up and ready to go at 8 pm on Friday night.  Everything I needed was sitting in the trunk of my Subaru Forester.  Boots, hydration, trekking poles and my journal.  All that was needed was my camera and lenses.  Asleep at 10 pm and wide awake at 2 am.  I tossed on my Dri-fit shirt, sandals and pants and jumped into the car.  The moving music of Anugama quieted my soul as the miles melted away and I neared the park.

Pulling into the parking lot near the legendary Camp 4 (I think I saw Alex Honnold’s van on the way in near El Capitan; but can’t say with 100% certainty), I sat for a moment to take in the falls and allow my heart to fill up on this place.  This wondrous realm of mountains, valleys, waterfalls and canyons.  This place where my heart is full and my soul is at peace. 

The 3,175 vertical feet of climbing over 4 miles passed in the blink of an eye.  The trail was remarkably, uncrowded for a nearly summer morn.  True hikers and their trail pals were out enjoying the misty morning below the falls, shivering as the “mist” was more like a downpour one would expect in the Amazonian Rainforest.  The shutter on my camera snapped shot after shot as the trail climbed and the noise from the valley dimmed.  The roar of the falls became a memory as the trail shifted north and around to the back side of the falls.  The final mile of the climb was steep and dry.  The ridgeline was nearing.  A small copse of trees marked the terminus of this trail and the split into trails that led to other parts of the park.  A short spur trail carries one to a viewing area that can only be described as Awe-some.  The word must be split as there are few views like it.  A view of my beloved Yosemite lay in front of me.  The throng of tourists was far below and the horns of their cars, muted by the thunderous falls, were on my left. 

I found a gigantic boulder in which to rest on, sat down and closed my eyes.  Letting the words “Om, Mani, Padme, Hum” repeat over and over and over again between my ears, I was truly and fully, at peace.  Allowing only the roar of the falls and the mantra I chanted to be a part of this moment.  As my mediation ended, my eyes once again opened to the view of the Yosemite Valley and my lips found that familiar smile.  Gazing out over the valley which captivates me each and every time I am here, I looked around at the peaks and quietly named them in my head.  With each name recited, I either remembered the hike up or earmarked it once more to place it on the “To Hike” list. 

Far too often are we consumed with trivial nature of existence.  The 9-5, mortgage payments, car payments and ferrying of children to their variety of events.  We lose our sense of adventure and freedom.  It is an onus that hangs on us until we are able to set our souls loose and venture to the places where we are truly alive.  As this year dawned, I made a promise to my soul I would allow my boots to find the places where I heal and feel at peace.  I don’t consider myself a motivational speaker or even someone whose opinion should be valuable at all, but by writing out these thoughts and ways to live, I am holding myself to it and giving myself permission to live and explore with passion and zest.  I know how important it is for me to find myself in the mountains and forests and allow them to heal me.  Not all humans associate the climbing of mountains with solace; some find the gentle waves lapping at the shore of their favorite beach to be heaven, still others love the hustle and bustle of Big Cities.  I hope each person reading this will truly think on this and care for yourself in the same fashion; whatever your place of respite is. 

I bid you all, a wonderful and happy summer.  I leave you with my second favorite quote by John Muir, “Keep close to nature’s heart…  Break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.  Wash your spirit clean.”

If you’ve made it this far, perhaps you are willing to try and guess what my favorite quote by Mr. John Muir is?  If you fancy a try, leave it in the comments below and if you are correct, you’ll win a free 8 x 10 landscape of your choice to celebrate my 3^rd year operating Lost Soul Imaging.  June 25^th will be the deadline and prints will ship on July 1.  I want to thank you all, especially to those of you who take the time to read every month, for being here and looking at galleries as well as interacting.  I love photography and the visual art it is.  Thank you all.   

Namaste, friends.

"Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time..."