May 17, 2018 Sunrise, Sunset

Even the Los Angeles Basin looks beautiful at sunset.  This was Mission’s view from the San Jacinto Mountains as the sun went down over Santa Monica last night.  Today at sunrise, he was off down a steep descent hiking toward civilization, auspicious places like Beaumont, Banning, Cabazon.  He will cross the valley that leads to Palm Springs and then make another arduous ascent into the San Gorgonio Wilderness, the northern section of the San Bernadino Mountains.

“Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.  All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.”     John Muir

I know that Mission agrees with that quote and he certainly has a deep respect for John Muir.  But some of us love a comfy hotel and all our baggage at our reach.  Oh, and chatter is nice too. 🙂  So what contributes to the nurture of a wanderer, a solo traveler through the wilderness?

Years ago, I was helping my Aunt Melva move into her new house and we were hanging pictures in my cousins’ bedrooms.  There was a beautiful painting of a clipper ship on a stormy sea.  Aunt Melva said she hesitated to hang such a picture over the kid’s beds because she had heard that if a child went to bed each night staring up at such an image, his wanderlust would sprout and grow and he would leave the comforts of home to become a sailor on the high seas. We laughed together about such a notion but maybe there’s some truth to it.  We all know that the Pevensie children learned to respect paintings of ships at sea.  And what if a child’s view out their window is this?:

Fremont Peak, CA

San Juan Bautista Valley

This is only Fremont Peak, part of the Gabilan Range.  It stands a mere 3,173 feet above sea level but it affords clear views of Salinas Valley, Monterey Bay and parts of the Santa Clara Valley.   It is our mountain; perhaps it has worked its will on my family, so many of them are called to the hills.  Stephan is getting his fill of mountains, and they are only going to get higher for a while until he finishes the Sierras.  He has admitted that he is lonely at times.  Maybe he’ll hear enough inane chatter down in the valley today to fuel his climb back into the mountains. May the God who made the mountains and the seas protect and guide Stephan as he treks day 10 of his Mission.

“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God”  Psalm 90:2