I have been working for 13 days straight in what has rapidly become an extremely draining job, and I was really looking forward to forgetting about work altogether and just spending time doing a variety of quiet, restful and active things today with the person that I love and trust more than any other.
Happily the day went according to plan.
The weather, as it has been for well over a week, was cold, windy, cloudy and rainy.
And so LC and I spent the morning doing restful and mundane things - watching TV, drinking coffee, and talking and reading and other normal things one does when they need to rest and regroup and stay connected with each other.
I am not one to typically bring outside stresses home, but it has become increasingly difficult to stick to that recently, and so the stresses of my days have tested our relationship of late.
So far the relationship is weathering that test.
By early afternoon the temperature outside our warm "Unabomber Cabin" (the title one of my colleagues good naturedly gave to my out-of-the-way Out the Road Alaskan cabin) was heading south.
48 degrees when I got up this morning and 45 by lunch time. Yuk.
It is what it is.
It was time to get motivated and at least go for a walk.......
My Mountain Boy and I bundled up - him in two sweaters and a fleece lined jacket, and me in Xtra Tufs, two layers and a rain jacket on top, and winter hat - and we walked down our stone pathway and to the end of the driveway happy to be outside together.
We planned on walking to the end of our road, turning left and walking down the gravel road until we hit the cove and then walking along yet one more gravel road until we hit open channel.
On the spur of the moment I suggested to LC that we walk the short trail down to the water, and he agreed.
I found this trail by accident about a month after I moved into the house, and a few months before LC arrived from Tennessee.
I was walking down the road heading down to the water, looked to my right and happened to see a trail sign almost completely obscured by vegetation.
I almost missed it - and indeed HAD missed it a number of times on previous walks.
I love this little trail.
It is hidden. Only about 3/4 mile in length.
Gnarly and filled with roots and rocks and downed trees, meaning that it is much more interesting to me than wide open and easy gravel trails.
The trail parallels the gravel roads, although it takes many twists and turns along the way.
It has many small up and down hills, and has many places where you need to climb over downed trees.
It ends at the insection of the cove and open channel - the same section of water where a few months ago I stood alone in amazement and watched a whale only 50 feet from where I was........
The road that our house is on........
And two signs at the driveway entrances of our neighbors homes..........
Once we walked to the top of the hill we turned left down yet another gravel road, intending to walk down to the water.
Not very far down this road however is the almost completely obscured trailhead, and that is where we veered off the road and onto dirt trail............
Pictures of the early part of the trail........
My Mountain Boy and I have had many talks recently about our quality of life, and how and where we envision our future with each other.
This beautiful place is beginning to feel like a beautiful cage.
And after my being here for almost nine months, and after him being here for not even four months, we are assessing our lives, and cautiously trying to determine exactly what we do from here.
Tough but necessary conversation in the middle of a beautiful trail, and my introspective and truly significant "Significant Other".......
Everything around us was full of rich and vibrant signs of fall.
Rain-soaked ground.
Moss covered trees and moss covered rocks.
Pine trees.
Yellow bushes.
Ferns.
And an abundance of toadstools growing in both the rich soil and on the sides of trees...........
A common sign on trails in Juneau...........
By the time we reached this portion of the trail the moss had increased, the trail was easier to walk on, and the ground underfoot was soft and spongy.
A good thing for two people whose knee joints have been worn down as a result of years of physical abuse..............
Steep drop-offs leading down to the rocky beach...........
Not too far from the end of the trail is a place where you can climb relatively easily down to the water.
We tentatively made our way down the steep hill and met this beautiful and open channel view.
The last time I walked down this hill was before my Mountain Boy arrived in Juneau.
I had heard a whale spout while on the trail, but the view of the water was obscured by the trees, so I could not see him.
I climbed down this hill hoping to catch a glimpse of the whale, but never did.
I remember sitting on the rocks at this place, on a beautiful, warm and sunny day talking on the phone to my Mountain Boy down in TN, missing him so much and wishing that I could share this view with him.
Today I was glad to have the opportunity to finally do just that.
The weather was very different. Our mood was very different. But this place is no less spectacular.
I love this particular place, and am always grateful that I live so close to something as beautiful as this..........
While we were walking on the rocks we again saw our sea lion.
He is huge, and always appears to be alone.
I have seen him three times in my travels this summer - twice at this place and once while at Lena Beach.
He was too far away to get a decent picture of him, and we climbed back up to the trail to walk all the way to the cove, hoping that we could get a picture of him there.
We never did get our picture.
Maybe, hopefully, another time. Because he is not only big but also beautiful, and this apparently is his home.........
Abundant life on the rocks.............
After scrambling back up to the trail we lost it at the top, saw the road and decided to take it all the way to the end.
Not as interesting walking, but it was still nice to be outside.
I needed this walk.
And whether walking on mossy and spongy trail or climbing over gnarly root-filled trail, or scrambling down a steep hill to the beach, or balancing precariously on slick rain-covered rocks, or walking easily on open gravel road (all of which we did today) I was content...........
The last little downhill to the water and the cove........
After spending quite a while on the rocky beach off the trail, we only spent a few short minutes at the end of the trail.
Our sea lion was gone.
We had been watching a handful of hardy kayakers on the very choppy channel, and with increasing winds saw that they were heading across the cove to call their adventure for the day.
And by the time we got to the cove the weather was quickly taking a turn for the worse.
When we first left the house the sky actually looked like it might clear.
We saw a small piece of blue sky for all of about five minutes (sucker patch) before everything quickly turned back to familiar grey again.
We had been at the cove for only a few minutes before it started to rain heavily.
The winds moved from gusty to strong and it became obvious that a storm was building.
A beautiful and very peaceful overlook close to the cove..........
And one solitary seagull standing alone in the approaching storm..........
Devils Club in the Fall..........
By the time we arrived back at the house it was pouring rain.
I needed this quiet walk.
We both did I think.........
He advocated going into nature, for an experience of the sacred...
to reestablish your contact with the core of things, where it's really at...
The way back to the meaning is to go out into the wilderness
with an open heart, to feel it as a mystery...
something totally outside your ordinary thought patterns.
The Holy Other."
Excerpt from "Explorers of Infinite" by Maria Coffey
No comments:
Post a Comment