Nature and Spirituality

Thursday brought 4 or 5 inches of snow and overnight into Friday a quarter inch of freezing rain. Friday brought 7 or 8 more inches of snow and power was lost from 3 PM to half past midnight. I'm not sure how many lost power in eastern NY, but in the three counties I heard numbers for it was approaching 100K.

It was a brilliant, clear and cold day today after the front moved through and I decided to take a short hike up a mountain I haven't been up in 40 years. Kipp isn't a large mountain, standing around 1,600 feet, but it has a shear 300+ foot drop-off on the west side that provides great views of Loon Lake and some of the local terrain of the southern Adirondacks.

After putting my generator back in the shed I slipped into suitable clothing and gear and took the short drive to the trailhead at a little after 10 AM. It was 5°F with little wind when I hit the trail, however there was a good wind at the summit, probably around 20 mph. Sitting here I'm applying some Burt's Bees lip balm as they are definitely chapped!

The first 4 pics are of my generator, across the street, dog and garage. The rest are on the trail up to the summit.

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Nature taketh and giveth! Two days of struggling with blowing wet and heavy snow and ice, generator and gas and then 3 hours of hiking in pristine snow and the solitude of nature and some stunning views from the summit of Kipp to top it all off.

Nature has always been a way for me to connect and especially solo. It's truly a place one can easily remain present and today was no exception.

[Moondance]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Thursday brought 4 or 5 inches of snow and overnight into Friday a quarter inch of freezing rain. Friday brought 7 or 8 more inches of snow and power was lost from 3 PM to half past midnight. I'm not sure how many lost power in eastern NY, but in the three counties I heard numbers for it was approaching 100K.

It was a brilliant, clear and cold day today after the front moved through and I decided to take a short hike up a mountain I haven't been up in 40 years. Kipp isn't a large mountain, standing around 1,600 feet, but it has a shear 300+ foot drop-off on the west side that provides great views of Loon Lake and some of the local terrain of the southern Adirondacks.

After putting my generator back in the shed I slipped into suitable clothing and gear and took the short drive to the trailhead at a little after 10 AM. It was 5°F with little wind when I hit the trail, however there was a good wind at the summit, probably around 20 mph. Sitting here I'm applying some Burt's Bees lip balm as they are definitely chapped!

The first 4 pics are of my generator, across the street, dog and garage. The rest are on the trail up to the summit.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared...OldestToNewest

Nature taketh and giveth! Two days of struggling with blowing wet and heavy snow and ice, generator and gas and then 3 hours of hiking in pristine snow and the solitude of nature and some stunning views from the summit of Kipp to top it all off.

Nature has always been a way for me to connect and especially solo. It's truly a place one can easily remain present and today was no exception.

Nice story and stunning pictures JASG.

Yes. I make a distinction between what I call the happened self and the happening self. The happened or psychological self is the memory constructed self which we carry around with us and through which we filter reality. The happening self is this wide awake, moment by moment self of present experience which is free of the burden of a time-line and a sense of separation (and therefore not really a self in the sense of a fixed entity.) Being out in nature (along with meditation) is the most effective way to connect with or sustain the felt-sense of this happening state.

Originally Posted by Moondance

Nice story and stunning pictures JASG.

Yes. I make a distinction between what I call the happened self and the happening self. The happened or psychological self is the memory constructed self which we carry around with us and through which we filter reality. The happening self is this wide awake, moment by moment self of present experience which is free of the burden of a time-line and a sense of separation (and therefore not really a self in the sense of a fixed entity.) Being out in nature (along with meditation) is the most effective way to connect with or sustain the felt-sense of this happening state.

What I hoped the pictures would capture but didn't was the colors, mainly red and blue twinkles, in the sunlight being refracted by the ice-encrusted branches. That was absolutely stunning and bordering on magical.

I used to do quite a bit of solo backpacking in my younger days and the absorption in the moment knowing one misstep doing something as simple as crossing a stream with slippery rocks and 50 pounds on my back and in a truly remote wilderness area five, ten or more miles from a trailhead could be very bad. The way I used to describe it to people who were concerned or thought me stupid was it was the most alive I ever felt.

[Anala]

JASG stunning pictures! Thank you for sharing!

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

What I hoped the pictures would capture but didn't was the colors, mainly red and blue twinkles, in the sunlight being refracted by the ice-encrusted branches. That was absolutely stunning and bordering on magical.

I used to do quite a bit of solo backpacking in my younger days and the absorption in the moment knowing one misstep doing something as simple as crossing a stream with slippery rocks and 50 pounds on my back and in a truly remote wilderness area five, ten or more miles from a trailhead could be very bad. The way I used to describe it to people who were concerned or thought me stupid was it was the most alive I ever felt.

Nice to get out in Nature.

I have been planning 2 trips for some time.

The first one I have been in that area before. What I want to revisit is an old Spanish fort, a ghost town, a few mill sites (place where they crushed ore) and have some fun with a river.

The second trip I have never been in that area. That area, back in the early 1800's, was a ranch and later became a military camp.

Both areas were once occupied by Indians.

As for dangers: the area has mine shafts, slippery rocks and occasionally some hidden people you can not see but you can sense their presence as they continue their journey into the country.

[BigJohn]

The distance in some of those pictures: how far away is that?


Where I live, there are some places were you can see 80-100 miles away.

[FoxTracks]

I think being in nature teaches you something about freedom and human nature. Nature can be very spiritual. I want to find some people to go hiking with in my area ^.^

Originally Posted by BigJohn

The distance in some of those pictures: how far away is that?


Where I live, there are some places were you can see 80-100 miles away.

The summit of Kipp is a mere 1,600 feet, so the furthest visible peaks are 20 or so miles. I've never been up Marcy but I have been up the second highest peak in the state - Algonquin - and the views from there are in the range you mentioned.

[Native spirit]

I Love snow to walk into Nature with it, there is nothing like it to be at one with your thoughts, its so Healing


Namaste

Originally Posted by Native spirit

I Love snow to walk into Nature with it, there is nothing like it to be at one with your thoughts, its so Healing


Namaste

Yup! Here's a hike from a few of weeks back and it began to snow shortly before I reached the turnaround point on Crane Pond. What I've always found magical about being in the wilderness when it's snowing is how quiet it can get. It was like that standing out on the ice when the snow started picking up.

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