first there is a long stretch of uphill, rocky path. i made it almost halfway up before my legs began shaking. being the stubborn person that I am i walked back to the bottom to try again. i did a few pointless stretches, found a good song on the ipod and started up again. sadly i made it less the second time!
feeling defeated i climbed up the rest of the hill at a walking pace. to my suprise, as soon as i reached the top of the hill the land opened up into a beautiful plain
it was absolutely beautiful! after taking a minute to take it all in i continued down the trail that was growing more discrete, a trail less traveled.
i should give you all a little background information here. towards the begining of my move out here i went on a couple runs with my aunt. for some reason she always carried her keys with her on our runs. the same day we saw a coyote and a rattlesnake she informed me of her fear of mountian lions...it must have been contagious.
so, i continue on my trek into the unknown. soon i come up on a rockier terrain again and cant stop thinking that it is probably the perfect environment for mountain lions. basing my knowledge off of the Parent Trap movie, i began to clap my hands and yell for lions (with the intention of scaring them away). my creativity brings me to yell things like -Mr. Mountain Lion, I am coming! I dont want you to eat me! I'm clapping so I don't scare you! Maybe you could just run away so I can still see you but don't attack me?! Hear me Mr Mountain Lion?!- ridiculous, I know.
i come around another bend, still yelling and clapping and slightly out of breath, when i decide to turn around. the plains i had just passed had opened up into a beautiful lake! i was taken so off-gaurd that it took my breath away - really. the lake looked untouched. of all my travels i dont think ive seen anything so beautiful in my life.
at this point i took out the i-pod. after a few moments of awe i continued on my way. yes, i continued to yell and clap. the hike became significantly more difficult as the path continued to disappear and the number of large rocks continued to grow. the next small opening i came to offered a view of the peak. i gave most of my attention to the growing view of the lake beneath me and took a minute to overlook the valley behind me where life rushed on as always. i stand a yell for the mountian lion for a minute before i continue into the rocks, then take one last glance at the peak.
there, almost blending into the rocks, was a man sitting with his head in his hands. he was most likely praying or deep in thought, but part of me thinks he was just hoping this crazy screaming girl would shut up and turn around. thats exactly what i did! i was so embarassed! i didn't even yell for the mountain on the way down but instead picked up the pace and booked it out of there. to continue the embarassment i wiped out gashing up my knee and my ankle. relief hit me as i made it back to the head of the trail remaining anonymous and still alive with all my parts intact.
i know this is getting long but please bear with me. last night i returned to that trail. cleverly i sang to the songs in my ipod to scare off any large cats instead of yelling to them :) the same sense of awe struck me as i hit the same points in the trail but this time i made it to the top. i sat up there a while. to my left were undeveloped green hills as far as i could see, to my right was one of the largest cities in the US.
sitting on the ledge i felt so incredibly small. i wonder how anyone can sit in the presence of such beauty and not believe in a an higher power. my heart ached for all things going on in the city off to my right, for all those people who choose not to see this, or are never told that its here.
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