May 24, 2012, Lakewood, CO
12:29:17, hours MDT
...continued hiker’s meditation…
At Buckley AFB/Aurora
Temp: 57°F (14°C)
Partly Cloudy
Humidity: 33%
Wind Speed: NW 10.4 MPH G 18.4 (9 MPH G 16 KT)
Barometer: 29.74 in
Dew point: 28°F
Wind Chill: 55°F
“You cannot see the Grand Canyon in one view, as if it were a changeless spectacle from which a curtain might be lifted, but to see it you have to toil from month to month through its labyrinths.”
John Wesley Powell
Sometimes I sense the consciousness that Powell pointed to, right here in the city- region of metro- Denver. At other times and mostly at other times— the awareness of connectedness to the flora, fauna and weather is only attainable it seems to me, by going out there and parking the car and walking one way for many miles and nights.
It is a profound idea in that one can not see the whole in one view or it might suffice to think that we are seeing the whole from a cruise ship brochure or these days from some ubiquitous ‘e-tailer’s’ website promoting this commodity or that. When the larger view/ perspective of laboring through the Grand Canyon in Arizona settles into one’s longer term perspective it is on account that the seer has lived there over a time and never merely glanced in from various spots on it’s rim.
Sometimes obtaining this perspective of John Powell’s is worthy of the physical exertion, toil and hustle— and beats to heck the sales on sale day over at Whole Foods or the undemanding comfy set-ups of those tourist accommodations.
How are your back packing plans this year?
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