Summer, 2009
While hiking on Angel's Rest this summer, it was reminiscent of Costa Rica and the tropical rainforest experience I so enjoyed a good number of years ago, while walking barefoot through the jungle.
A light mist had prevailed in the morning near the summit, and some of the moisture filtered down to the lower areas, releasing a few wet drops onto the trail in front of me. By the time I reached the top, the wetness had disappeared, leaving a wonderfully close, humid environment.
Sitting high in the sky upon one of the basalt pillow-lava columns that overlooks both the east and west river gorge areas from Beacon Rock to Portland, and north to Mt. St. Helens and Silver Star Mountain, one is reminded of the ice-age floods and volcanic flows that shaped this exquisite gorge treasure, and the thousands of years of history during which native civilizations lived along the shores of these captivating waters. Lofty elevations give rise to altered perspectives and reflection that, no doubt, played a part in the Native American 'quest sites' that dot the gorge cliffs.
Returning down the mountain is always a time of 'release' and relaxation from the steady push uphill, allowing the mind to rest in contemplation of the surrounding beauty. A special moment occurred when I stopped and stood very still to experience fully what was happening around me in the humidity.
Steeped in the rising aromatic brew of earth's wildness, wafts of musky-sweet thimble berries passing through my nostrils, it seemed as if I had become part of this environment - part of this ancient tea of life, one with the raw elements of the mountain. There are wonders and mysterious secrets to be sensed - something that beckons and smiles warmly: "come again, and learn more" in this other dimension, this oddly familiar world with wordless thoughts and deep connections. 'Tis the greatest of journeys.
copyrighted 2009 Lorna Hewitt
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