Mystery in the Unexpected

March 4, 2014

This is my first blog post for the month of March.  I am starting the slice of life challenge. I am writing every day for the month of March. Yes you may be looking at your calendar and thinking this post is a bit late for the month of March. Well I was gone this weekend, backpacking in Cuyamaca, right next to 6th grade camp. We passed the sign on our drive in! Sorry 6th graders, I don’t have photo evidence.

This was one of the rainiest weekends in San Diego and I was scheduled to go backpacking with the Sierra Club. I prepped and packed the week before, begging and borrowing from those I knew to make sure I stayed as dry as possible. Worry crept into the back of my mind, wondering, if  my gear would hold up?  By 9 a.m. on Saturday morning we were at the trailhead, bundled up from head to toe, about to tackle the mysteries that lay ahead.

 

As we walked the wind whipped up the rain into our faces. We trekked through the forrest, away from the freeway, from the cars and into the wilderness. After all the planning, we were on our way. Then something wonderful happened. All the stresses faded away. We walked into the wilderness and away from the daily responsibilities. Meadowlarks sang in the flat stretches of land. And we walked on. Large trees changed into valleys of grasses and  we walked on. Raindrops pelted our hoods and backs over hills and valleys as we walked. With each step I felt lighter, more free.

When we arrived at camp, the rain stopped and we set up the tents. The air, rich with fresh smells after the rain, permeated the forrest. Later on the rain began again. We cuddled up in our tents, listening to the pitter-patter of drops on the tent roof, hopping we had set up the tent correctly, that we wouldn’t be flooded.

After the heaviest of the rain clouds passed, we hiked in the mist to a mountain top, looking out among the clouds. That night we sat under tarps strung between two trees listening to the rain attack our shelter, huddling together with new friends. While sitting under the tarp, I felt a renewed appreciation for a warm meal, for the comfort of a shelter and for the joy to be alive!