The crisp morning air rose from the rushing water beneath the path. Each step a battle and each breath a gift, the mountain breeze supplied sustenance as if quenching an unmistakable thirst. Finally respite came with an overlook into the mountain valley. The morning sun rose as mist was dissipating and vanishing from within the valley below as though the veneer of my own thoughts was being lifted. Immersed in reflection, all sounds and smells were only those of the natural world. Each following step brought further thought, each of which had been suppressed more deeply than the previous thought. The path gradually lost its resistance value and simply became a medium for reflections and aspirations.
Three years ago, the steady ascent to Shining Rock met me vulnerable following a monumental tragedy in life. A close friend and I ventured to Cold Mountain and back, and I was left with a subtle awareness that life would continue and that I had enough strength to take the next step. That's all I needed.
I returned to Shining Rock Wilderness to reflect on the significant change in recent years and to prepare for the future. With Israel approaching in weeks, I hope to engage in spiritual reflection, reinforcing my own spiritual identity and what has informed it. Also included are my goals for this experience and educating myself about cultural and religious norms of that region.
Retracing my steps, I observed a deeply rooted hemlock tree downhill from the peak of Shining Rock. I had stopped to rest here following an arduous and difficult bush-whack from the creek trail hundreds of feet below. This time I chose to do the bush-whack after seeing the peak instead. Only after hours of mountain laurel and brier thickets, boggy tributary drainages, and fallen trees the trail emerged beside the valley stream.
