Grand Canyon Trek in April Cool Weather

With four hiking buddies I spent seven days hiking in the Grand Canyon from the Grandview Trail down to the Tonto Rim Trail; on to Phantom Ranch and back up Bright Angel Trail. The original plans were to hike up toward the North Rim, but heavy seasonal rain led to swollen creeks that were dangerous to cross. So we amended our plans and did a long day hike from Phantom Ranch up to Ribbon Falls through the impressive Bright Angel canyon that eventually emerges into high desert. Wildflowers displays were amazing with fields of Sego Lilies, Brittlebush, and various blooming cacti. The grandeur and scale of this canyon is like none other.

Snow Time in the Sierras

Solitude

Snow flakes sieve down from leaden sky,fall on his parka sleeve, each flake unique.He stops. Watches the flakes land, then melt instantly—ice art turned to water.

He listens to his heart pump, blood rushing to his ears, then he resumes skiing. His poles dig deep into the soft snow leaving blue tunnels behind.

He spots a squirrel scurrying to a cache of pine nuts; sees a few animal tracks, but no other living creature.

He passes fir trees wearing shrouds of snow

on their boughs, each branch bowed down, grieving.

He stops to listen again— a slight rustle of flakes falling on his jacket

and the pumping heart, every molecule in his

body at peace with heart’s rhythm.

Ice-blue solitude soothes; erases his work-a-day world.

Flakes drift down as he resumes his journey out of self.

2/2010

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Photos from Patagonia

Patagonia Featured Fearsome Wind

Peter and I took a marvelous trip to South American in November-December with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) to Argentia and Chile. After a few days of recovery in Buenos Aires we headed south to Patagonia. The winds were fearsome, but scenery was terrific. Go to http://picasaweb.google.com/norma.wightman/PatagoniaAdventure# to see 101 select photos of our adventures. A highlight was being able to land at Cape Horn--certainly the farthest south we have ever been. Taking a small boat through Chile's fjord country and landing at various places via zodiac was a great way to experience that part of the world.