The View From Here

There is the old adage, “Put one foot in front of the other…” Those words hold true especially when we are hiking along the trail in our effort to get from one place to the next. Often those words serve as guides particularly when the weather is least cooperative. It is in those ‘other’ times that I am awed by one other feature of walking.

I love looking back from where I came from. It is truly awe inspiring to realize my feet, my legs, my entire being got me to where I am. In my typical day to day life the distance between the points I travel is shortened by getting in a car or hopping on my bike. Going to a friends, or work, or to some other destination is shortened and blurred by the fact I am using a vehicle. Granted, pedaling my bike takes physical energy and endurance that a motorized vehicle does not require this still seems different from walking.

When hiking it is all on me. Stopping to look ahead and behind reminds me of so many things. First, how small (and insignificant) I am in the big picture. Then there is often the view or views. Standing at the rail of the closed for good fire lookout near Sierra Buttes is a prime example. Beyond that I am struck by just what it is I am doing. I am walking a distance, sometimes a great distance in a very self contained manner relying on my own wits, energy, and determination. This has been frequently augmented by the accompaniment of friends and hiking partners who share in my experience.

Looking ahead on a clear(ish) day also informs me just how far I have yet to go, what landmark awaits me in an hour, another day or more. Looking back, I am humbled and invigorated by where I have come from. One section of the PCT that really brings this notion home is anywhere along the PCT roughly between Castle Crags and Mount Ashland. Here, your near constant companion is Mount Shasta. Even though we don’t set foot on that behemoth its presence is made known for days. So much so that the mountain loses some of its luster at times because we have seen it for so long and from a variety of angles. But depending on how close or far away it is becomes a good measure of the ground we have covered.

There are numerous places like this all along the Pacific Crest Trail. Too many to mention here in any detail. Most important is the realization of what we are capable of. How persistence can really pay off. That even in our tiny selves we can notice that this place we call the PCT on this bigger place called California, Oregon, or Washington that all sit on an even bigger place called Earth is important and worth saving and protecting. I never get tired of the view from here…wherever that is.

Getting Bent at Pipeline, Mount Shasta.