Throughout the heights of the San Gabriel Mountains, there are places of off-trail access with careful navigation and planning. There are numerous ridges, peaks, canyons, and valleys that lead you from destination to destination. Along the way, there are unforgettable features that capture the imagination.
The depths of this gentle canyon are blanketed with chaparral, granite, and stone. Within the San Gabriel mountains the Winter gives way to Spring and what comes forth is bountiful and lush vegetation.
All the while from the trailhead, the route was forested without any openings before reaching the top of Mitchell Peak. A gentle and easy-going trail, albeit less traveled and more remote on the Western side of the Sierra. To get to the trailhead, it was necessary to drive for miles on a backcountry dirt road. Not possible to reach in a standard passenger vehicle. The effort, the time, and the cost of reaching this place were completely worthwhile because of the accomplishment and the memories sure to follow.
Sometimes, while on the march to your chosen place and destination, there are these wilderness pockets open to curiosity. A clearing among many that aren’t all that remarkable, but significant nonetheless. Largely because of what grows there. What nature is doing there and how it contributes to life by shaping the character of the forest. Each hidden place in full view is a canvas filled with meaning and beauty.
There are times while up high, you just don’t know where you’re going to end up. You know where you’re heading, but what lies in the distance along the way is uncertain. Is there a drop off? Will you become stymied? Is there dense thicket? Will you have to turn back or climb more? Are you on the right track? When up high with such a distance in view, the fear is exhilarating. It is during these times of exploration and pursuit that I feel most alive. And this answers many questions about life, who I am and where I am going in general.
Traversing a ridge to a path of uncertainty.
While under tree cover, or at lower elevations along the terrain, you can’t really always see your destination. From navigation and planning, you improve the possibility of reaching your prize. Yet the best perspective is to keep in mind that the trip is about the journey and the time to get there. As much as it is about the destination to mark a meaningful achievement. Your wilderness experience is what you make of it.
The way to go is obvious. Even though the way to go is very far out on a remote trail, it genuinely feels like you’re going somewhere. What’s on the other side of the path isn’t really as relevant. As compared to where you’re at at the moment. Step by step all but missed getting where you’re going. Only to look back and see where it is you’ve passed. And what it is you’ve missed.
“The true ownership of the wilderness belongs in the highest degree to those who love it most.” -J. Muir
Sometimes taking the time for full immersion into the forest is all it takes to get your mind clear. To be in the moment and to dwell in the area that is just refreshing. Step by step through the enormous trees that tower before you along the way. To see, touch, and smell them is a unique experience for those who love such places the most.
This is what it looks like when the way to go is obvious, but doubt still settles in about it being the right way. Finding your way through an obscure path is either an exercise in risk or a wise decision made. Depending upon conditions or your perspective.
What once was by how something appears before you is a reminder of time passing by. Conditions change and there are ebb and flow. Calm water that was once rushing and churning is only to settle again into what it has carved out for itself. The space it leaves behind makes an impression. An impression that lasts for a short while or for thousands of years.
While up at higher elevations, it’s possible to at times get stuck in a storm that moves in fast. Sometimes it’s a race to take cover and get insulated from ground strikes or lightning. Other times its just drama where the clouds move in and around you. Or through you, above you and underneath you. There were several times while up high that I had to race to safety. A few times with enough fear that I felt it necessary to vomit once danger passed through.
Trekking at cloud level (~8000 feet).
In a world of enormous creatures in this wilderness place, Titans such as this can fall and come to rest. After centuries of standing strong and tall, they fall from their stature and come to rest such as this. In a very brief felling event, they begin to die. They come to rest in their space and provide shelter and sustenance for other creatures of this wilderness kingdom.
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