"Emergence"

 Waning Gibbous Moon

Just in time for the Spring Equinox this past Sunday, a group of local Native artists and engaged citizens combined to create a street mandala they call Emergence on Mariposa Street in the center of the San Juan Bautista historical district. It was painted with non-toxic tempura paints that will wash off/erode in a month or two. Like any work of art, it is open to different interpretations depending on the beholder. You might see it as a symbol of changing seasons or of mother nature's patterns or of a shift in a socio-political paradigm, or of an emergence from the past few years of being cocooned by social distancing. These photos are not very professional and they do not show the best (overhead) angles of the mandala, but I hope they give you an idea of its beauty.

I feel a combination of things when I stand there and soak in the messages of the mandala. Most moving for me are the cyclical nature components. They reinforce the sense I have that it is time to get back to my roots, to emerge from being so carefully restricted, to put on my pack and hike real miles with my "home" hanging off my shoulders, changing places nightly. I want to go backpacking and I want to go soon, while I still have the strength and the health to move along with the rhythms of the land.

Of course, for me, carrying a pack in the mountains requires training beforehand lest old bones and connecting tissues rebel and sideline me for untold days and weeks. After much consideration and map study, yesterday I took my first steps in that direction by driving. I followed the twisting, narrow road up to nearby Henry Coe State Park with a full pack in the back of my trusty Hondo. This was to be my first overnight hike with gear in almost three years. 

However, when I arrived at Park Headquarters and consulted with the friendly and efficient Ranger, I learned that many local colleges are on Spring break right now. Most of the backcountry campsites within my current realistic hiking range were already taken. The dispersed camping sites (undeveloped areas you can camp without a permit) are located beyond the miles I wanted to or could do at this point. So I decided to do a three-hour loop hike wearing my pack over lots of steep hills just for practice. I accepted the facts that my emergence will be a slow grind and that this day was just its beginning. Henry Coe's trails (mostly hilly) and dirt roads (ridiculously steep) are terrific training grounds for long hikes. It was a great day for hauling a load up and down in this most perfect season. 

My chief observation from yesterday's walk? That place is a woodpecker paradise.

I have no idea how this tree came to be, but I like it.
No, I don't think woodpeckers sculpted this tree!

The Monument Trail

View from very steep Hobbs Road

Another view from Hobbs Road

I am happy to say that I awoke this morning none the worse for wear, but very cognizant of the need for further loaded shakedown cruises and simple overnights before the summer comes and I can head for the high country. 

Peace, Love, and Re-Emergence,

Jim

#2,022 in 2022