Today my friends Julie, Shawn and I went hiking in the Columbia Gorge. It was a beautiful day, perfect for a hike and we picked a good one to do. For those in Oregon, you start just west of Multnomah Falls and go up two miles of switch backs to the top of the ridge. Then you go for a mile toward Multnomah Falls then two miles of switch backs going down. It's 5.5 miles in all. I'm sure I will be sore tomorrow.
Today particularly reminded me how much influence my Native American roots has over me. When I live in the city, I feel like I'm suffocating and every so often, I just have to get OUT. Out into the woods with creeks, lakes, small trees, and wild flowers. MOUNTAINS. It's like hearing the song of my soul in discord among buildings but when I go into the woods, I hear the harmony of the earth and of God in perfect sync with the beat of my heart. The earth speaks to me in a way I can't explain, water, especially like the creek I drank from today, sings to me and touches me deeply. I feel like myself out there in the wild, I feel free.
Particularly on the second half of the hike as we stayed close to the Multnomah Creek before it reaches the famous falls, I saw all these wonderful places I would have loved to stay at and just talked to God. Sunlit with shade, the water flowing past, it looked like Heaven to me. I wondered if that is what it will be like after I die. That God and I could take a walk through this beautiful and wild garden, talking, sitting, just being together. It sounds wonderful to me. At one particularly beautiful and inviting spot, I said, "It looks like you created this place, designed it like a gardener would." He simply replied, "I did." He did indeed. I will be (hopefully) hiking a lot this summer.
365-09 #145Labels: 365-09 Challenge, Hiking, Photography
