Death and Smith

These were taken with my phone camera so the images are grainy.

Last week Jax and I hiked up Deathsmith Canyon--the canyon that raised me.  It is literally right behind the neighborhood I grew up in.  I walk Jax, the Jack Russell Terrier, a few times a week and he also happens to be the little man I evaluated with in order to do animal-assisted therapy.  We haven't been doing it as of late, but I hope we will get back into it soon.  Anyway, as a teenager I basically lived in these woods.  I know the trail like I know the sound of my voice...the landmarks, the sounds, the smells guided me through the trails and landmarks of my own life.  Yet, last week when I headed up the familiar path, I noticed a fork in the trail.  I had never seen it before; or perhaps 15 years ago it had only begun its embryonic stages of development.  Either way, a new path was available for me to travel.  I didn't hesitate long before I knew I had to take it.  I knew the discovery that was available on this mountain and was eager for the opportunity to explore it further. 

I was surprised by how different this trail was than the one right next to it that I grew up traveling.  This trail...full of open groves where the sun beamed in, mixed with canopies of Quaking Aspens and trickling stream.  I forgot how much Jax loves water.  At the arrival of our first stream crossing he jumped in and immediately laid down in it.  He then proceeded to run large circles (ovals really) through and around the stream.  I recorded and posted it here.  My phone is ghetto-silly and only plays it sideways so turn your head to watch.

 The trail inclined quite dramatically until I reached a point of plateau where I came to a grove of Aspens that Jax had discovered.  Upon entering this elegant space, I was protected by their quivering embrace as I continued my ascent up the mountain. 

I reached a point at which the trail just faded away; there was no actual destination to arrive at but the journey to get there turned out to be more beautiful than the arrival to the end.   Here are just a few of the views along the way.

Full moon

Once again, the mountain was my teacher.  It is the journey of discovery of the places not yet reached where expansion within the soul truly occurs--rather than arriving at the destination itself.  It is exploring the untrod places of my heart that I learn what I'm really made of -- weakness, strength, ignorance, and wisdom.