***Keeping Hope Alive***
The great Jewish mystic known as the Baal Shem Tov had
discovered four great holy secrets. In order to keep hope
alive in the world, he went to a sacred place in the
forest, built an ancient, special fire, said a holy prayer,
and spoke the long-forgotten true pronunciation of the most
holy name of God.
It was enough. Hope stayed alive for the next generation.
The Baal Shem Tov's successor, though, did not know the
true pronunciation of the most holy name of God. But, when
the time came, he went to the place in the forest, built
the fire, and spoke the prayer. It was enough. Hope stayed
alive for the next generation.
In the next generation, the successor to the successor
only knew enough to go to the sacred place in the forest
and build the ancient fire. But it was enough; hope stayed
alive.
In the following generation, the next successor could only
go to the place in the forest and pray that this last,
single secret would be enough. It was! Hope stayed alive.
But in the next generation, the final secret was lost. So
the successor in this generation sat in his own armchair
and told the story.
Just telling the story was enough. Hope stayed alive in
the next generation - and the next and the next, as long as
the story is told.
from Doug Lipman
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Saddle between St. Vrain and Meadow Mountains , 10-18-2010
It was a fairly straight forward hike to the saddle at 11,000 feet. This is a very nice trail. It only had patches of ice and a light dusting of snow. Unfortunately there were no waterfalls or water features along the way (except of the snow kind).
Again, I had something following me in the rocks and timber to the side of the path. Probably a clan of ground squirrels related to the bunch living near Pawnee Pass. They must have some kind of telegraph or satellite that let’s they pass messages that Jeff is around. ;-)
I took out my trekking pole in the event they decided to ambush me for my apple granola bars or my Sasquatch Beef Stick I brought for snacks. I’d give up the bars without a fight. But I’d get in a tussle for the beef stick.
I came upon some bobcat tracks. Looks like the kitty was following one of the ground squirrels. From the condition of the tracks it was pretty recent; missed the cat by an hour or two at the most.
I had to break trail about ten times or so due to the snowdrifts along the way. I wasn’t sure if my hikers were water repellent enough to stay dry. They got damp and cold but not soaked. And they dried out pretty fast that afternoon.
At the saddle I ran into my first snow field of the season. It was up to my calves and I didn’t want to scramble in this up to the top of the mountain. It was too risky for me being alone to attempt the climb either peak in the ice and snow.
On the way down I met a man in shorts with his dog climbing up the trail. He seemed pretty enthused, asked about the saddle, and said, “Far out man.” You get to meet all kinds of interesting people out on the trails.
Pretty much a hike up and down. It was nice to have an uneventful trip. Wish I could have made it up one of the peaks, but they’ll be there for me to try later. Better safe than sorry. Although one must always be vigilant for the hidden hoards or maybe a couple of critters that want your lunch.
Again, I had something following me in the rocks and timber to the side of the path. Probably a clan of ground squirrels related to the bunch living near Pawnee Pass. They must have some kind of telegraph or satellite that let’s they pass messages that Jeff is around. ;-)
I took out my trekking pole in the event they decided to ambush me for my apple granola bars or my Sasquatch Beef Stick I brought for snacks. I’d give up the bars without a fight. But I’d get in a tussle for the beef stick.
I came upon some bobcat tracks. Looks like the kitty was following one of the ground squirrels. From the condition of the tracks it was pretty recent; missed the cat by an hour or two at the most.
I had to break trail about ten times or so due to the snowdrifts along the way. I wasn’t sure if my hikers were water repellent enough to stay dry. They got damp and cold but not soaked. And they dried out pretty fast that afternoon.
At the saddle I ran into my first snow field of the season. It was up to my calves and I didn’t want to scramble in this up to the top of the mountain. It was too risky for me being alone to attempt the climb either peak in the ice and snow.
On the way down I met a man in shorts with his dog climbing up the trail. He seemed pretty enthused, asked about the saddle, and said, “Far out man.” You get to meet all kinds of interesting people out on the trails.
Pretty much a hike up and down. It was nice to have an uneventful trip. Wish I could have made it up one of the peaks, but they’ll be there for me to try later. Better safe than sorry. Although one must always be vigilant for the hidden hoards or maybe a couple of critters that want your lunch.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Fern Lake (10-11-2010)
Rather strenuous climb but with four waterfalls.
The trail head for Fern Lake is in RMNP’s Moraine Park. As I headed to the TH I stopped to take a picture of the peaks in the area. I happened to look over to the side of the road across from me and saw three elk grazing. Kind of startling. I had brought my grandmother up to RMNP the night before and it was the first time in 50 years grandma hadn’t seen any.
Down the road was a herd of about 30. I rolled down the window and sure enough there was some bugling going on. Then I heard the clash of antlers. I actually saw two bucks going at it. They were circling around and hitting their racks together (not the butting of heads like Rocky Mountain Sheep). I’d seen it on TV but never in person. Awesome!
Then someone in a very loud 4WD truck pulled up on the tail of my car. They left the engine running and their lights on. That was the end of my elk watching the jerk. So off I went to the TH pretty ticked off.
I met a couple of ladies coming down the trail. They had been up photographing things. They were loaded down with lots of equipment.
One of these days I am going to get a beefier camera. But the one I have now works pretty well. It fits in my pocket and is easy to get to.
Up the trail you pass under some interesting orange-red granite rocks that lean towards each other above you. It’s wild to think these 30 foot plus boulders fell from the cliffs next to the trail and landed upright like this.
A short way further brings you to The Pool. Here three water courses come together—the Big Thompson River, Fern Creek, and Spruce Creek. Being low level this time of season it appears as any large pool on a river. During high water season it is described as having whirling eddies and rolling crests.
At The Pool the trail divides into two paths. One goes to Cub Lake while the other goes to Fern Lake. The marker is a little askew, not spot on, but fairly clear. I took the left branch and climbed up.
I got to see a delicate waterfall right next to the trail. It doesn’t appear on any map and thus has no name. But I’d have to say it ranks as one of my favorites. The form of its shape as it fell, almost dripped down its 20 foot watercourse was simply beautiful.
Also along the trail was a fascinating row of boulders covered by moss. Pretty cool formation.
I hiked the almost vertical mile to the top of the trail and encountered the trail marker broken and on the ground. I lifted it up and it said Cub Lake. Cub Lake? I wanted Fern Lake. Cub was in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go. Crap. Somehow I took the wrong trail. So I trudged back down the hill to The Pool.
On the way down I met two anglers on the way to Fern Lake. One of them said he had been to Fern and said that had been on the right trail. Had someone put the sign up at the top as a prank? The guy was so sure this was the trail that I followed him and his buddy back up the hill.
We got to the top and he thought the sign was odd. And it just wasn’t looking like the Fern Lake he remembered. He took out his trail map and decided he was wrong. Oops, this was Cub Lake.
It’s a small pretty lake at 8600 feet. It has water plants floating near its edges all around its circumference. At this time in the year, the plants have turned a golden color.
I wish I could have enjoyed it better, but I had climbed 3 extra miles, gained 1080 foot in elevation, and lost a couple of hours of hiking time. Timing would have been OK, but I had a Longmont Symphony rehearsal that night. Looking at the pictures I took of Cub Lake the next day, I found the lake to be simply beautiful. My mistake was worth the extra miles. To Cub Lake I could add the waterfall and row of moss covered rocks; it was worth the effort.
I left the guys at Cub Lake and got back down to The Pool. I discovered how I screwed up on which trail to take. Oh well. This one got past me.
I started up the right trail which was again very steep. Since I had read a book on Colorado waterfalls, I knew there was a falls kind of hidden on the north of the path. Since a lot of leaves had fallen, it was easier to find it. The books’ authors named it the Overlooked Falls and I could see why. If you didn’t know it was there and made the effort to see it, you couldn’t find it. It’s a 20 foot hoursetail surrounded by cascades.
En route to Fern Lake is Fern Falls. There was a young couple there so I tried to be scarce. The falls are 60 foot high and full of washed down boulders and trees. It looks kind of rough compared to others I’ve seen. It looks like the little brother or cousin of Ousel or Alberta Falls. In fact, the book said the type of rock under the water is the same for all three falls. I wish the author had noted what kind. I think it’s granite.
I continued up (and it was up) the trail to Fern Lake. I lost my pace and got winded. Eventually, I found my stride and plugged along to the lake.
Fern Lake is at 9530 foot in elevation and still below timberline. So the locale isn’t as stark as other high lakes I’ve been to. The Little Matterhorn and Notchtop Mountain rise above the lake to the southwest.
The lake was OK but my true objective was to find Marguerite Falls. The problem was I had to bushwack down Fern Creek. I’m not a particularly bushwacking kind of guy. I prefer trails even if they are steep and going in the wrong direction. I had a general idea where to go so I followed a game trail for a bit then pushed my way through underbrush and fallen trees till I heard the falls, maybe a third of a mile off the beaten path.
And it was so worth it. The falls lie in a stretch of cascades about 50 yards long or so. It was a tad bit difficult to find the two parts of the falls. Yet cascades are a form of waterfall imho—water falling over a downward pitch of rocks or other natural obstruction. On the other hand, a waterfall may be a form of cascade. Maybe that’s a better angle. Anyway, the falls were a beautiful patch of water – in form and sound - nestled in a private nook.
I sat down and relaxed by the lower falls. I had some trail mix (don’t get the “tropical” kind unless you like dried bananas) and water. [I now have a hydration bladder for my daypack. I still like the gallon jug better, but the bladder takes up less space which I’ll need for winter climbing gear like clothes and snowshoes.]
The trip back to the car was uneventful—took some pictures and said howdy to a few people. I didn’t hurt myself or get mobbed over my Chick-fil-A t-shirt like last week [see Sky Pond and Fall].
Overall, this was a nice hike even going up to Cub Lake twice. And seeing four waterfalls—who could ask for more?
The trail head for Fern Lake is in RMNP’s Moraine Park. As I headed to the TH I stopped to take a picture of the peaks in the area. I happened to look over to the side of the road across from me and saw three elk grazing. Kind of startling. I had brought my grandmother up to RMNP the night before and it was the first time in 50 years grandma hadn’t seen any.
Down the road was a herd of about 30. I rolled down the window and sure enough there was some bugling going on. Then I heard the clash of antlers. I actually saw two bucks going at it. They were circling around and hitting their racks together (not the butting of heads like Rocky Mountain Sheep). I’d seen it on TV but never in person. Awesome!
Then someone in a very loud 4WD truck pulled up on the tail of my car. They left the engine running and their lights on. That was the end of my elk watching the jerk. So off I went to the TH pretty ticked off.
I met a couple of ladies coming down the trail. They had been up photographing things. They were loaded down with lots of equipment.
One of these days I am going to get a beefier camera. But the one I have now works pretty well. It fits in my pocket and is easy to get to.
Up the trail you pass under some interesting orange-red granite rocks that lean towards each other above you. It’s wild to think these 30 foot plus boulders fell from the cliffs next to the trail and landed upright like this.
A short way further brings you to The Pool. Here three water courses come together—the Big Thompson River, Fern Creek, and Spruce Creek. Being low level this time of season it appears as any large pool on a river. During high water season it is described as having whirling eddies and rolling crests.
At The Pool the trail divides into two paths. One goes to Cub Lake while the other goes to Fern Lake. The marker is a little askew, not spot on, but fairly clear. I took the left branch and climbed up.
I got to see a delicate waterfall right next to the trail. It doesn’t appear on any map and thus has no name. But I’d have to say it ranks as one of my favorites. The form of its shape as it fell, almost dripped down its 20 foot watercourse was simply beautiful.
Also along the trail was a fascinating row of boulders covered by moss. Pretty cool formation.
I hiked the almost vertical mile to the top of the trail and encountered the trail marker broken and on the ground. I lifted it up and it said Cub Lake. Cub Lake? I wanted Fern Lake. Cub was in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go. Crap. Somehow I took the wrong trail. So I trudged back down the hill to The Pool.
On the way down I met two anglers on the way to Fern Lake. One of them said he had been to Fern and said that had been on the right trail. Had someone put the sign up at the top as a prank? The guy was so sure this was the trail that I followed him and his buddy back up the hill.
We got to the top and he thought the sign was odd. And it just wasn’t looking like the Fern Lake he remembered. He took out his trail map and decided he was wrong. Oops, this was Cub Lake.
It’s a small pretty lake at 8600 feet. It has water plants floating near its edges all around its circumference. At this time in the year, the plants have turned a golden color.
I wish I could have enjoyed it better, but I had climbed 3 extra miles, gained 1080 foot in elevation, and lost a couple of hours of hiking time. Timing would have been OK, but I had a Longmont Symphony rehearsal that night. Looking at the pictures I took of Cub Lake the next day, I found the lake to be simply beautiful. My mistake was worth the extra miles. To Cub Lake I could add the waterfall and row of moss covered rocks; it was worth the effort.
I left the guys at Cub Lake and got back down to The Pool. I discovered how I screwed up on which trail to take. Oh well. This one got past me.
I started up the right trail which was again very steep. Since I had read a book on Colorado waterfalls, I knew there was a falls kind of hidden on the north of the path. Since a lot of leaves had fallen, it was easier to find it. The books’ authors named it the Overlooked Falls and I could see why. If you didn’t know it was there and made the effort to see it, you couldn’t find it. It’s a 20 foot hoursetail surrounded by cascades.
En route to Fern Lake is Fern Falls. There was a young couple there so I tried to be scarce. The falls are 60 foot high and full of washed down boulders and trees. It looks kind of rough compared to others I’ve seen. It looks like the little brother or cousin of Ousel or Alberta Falls. In fact, the book said the type of rock under the water is the same for all three falls. I wish the author had noted what kind. I think it’s granite.
I continued up (and it was up) the trail to Fern Lake. I lost my pace and got winded. Eventually, I found my stride and plugged along to the lake.
Fern Lake is at 9530 foot in elevation and still below timberline. So the locale isn’t as stark as other high lakes I’ve been to. The Little Matterhorn and Notchtop Mountain rise above the lake to the southwest.
The lake was OK but my true objective was to find Marguerite Falls. The problem was I had to bushwack down Fern Creek. I’m not a particularly bushwacking kind of guy. I prefer trails even if they are steep and going in the wrong direction. I had a general idea where to go so I followed a game trail for a bit then pushed my way through underbrush and fallen trees till I heard the falls, maybe a third of a mile off the beaten path.
And it was so worth it. The falls lie in a stretch of cascades about 50 yards long or so. It was a tad bit difficult to find the two parts of the falls. Yet cascades are a form of waterfall imho—water falling over a downward pitch of rocks or other natural obstruction. On the other hand, a waterfall may be a form of cascade. Maybe that’s a better angle. Anyway, the falls were a beautiful patch of water – in form and sound - nestled in a private nook.
I sat down and relaxed by the lower falls. I had some trail mix (don’t get the “tropical” kind unless you like dried bananas) and water. [I now have a hydration bladder for my daypack. I still like the gallon jug better, but the bladder takes up less space which I’ll need for winter climbing gear like clothes and snowshoes.]
The trip back to the car was uneventful—took some pictures and said howdy to a few people. I didn’t hurt myself or get mobbed over my Chick-fil-A t-shirt like last week [see Sky Pond and Fall].
Overall, this was a nice hike even going up to Cub Lake twice. And seeing four waterfalls—who could ask for more?
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sky Pond and Fall (9-29-10)
It was a fun and interesting hike up to Sky Pond in RMNP. Got to see three waterfalls along the way. Just too cool.
Started out before 7 AM as usual. Still dark, but as the sun came up and lit up the trees around me--what a sight.
I stopped to take a picture of the color mixed with rocky outcrops and fell over backwards from a crouch onto my butt. Wouldn’t you know it--I smashed a hole into my gallon jug of water. I dumped all the water out leaving the ice. I wrapped the broken bottle in a poncho and checked it from time to time, dumping out the water caught in the plastic. I put the hand towel I carry on the bottom of my pack. I just wrung it out whenever I stopped, so my stuff stayed pretty dry.
Passed by Alberta Falls as I went up the path. Third time this year and it still captivates me. Big 25 footer.
Since I started out so early in the morn and on a weekday, I figured I would be alone on the trail for most of the AM. Nope. I met a backpacker on his way out of the forest. “Been too long in the wilderness. Time to go home,” he said to me. I wish I had that problem.
Timberline Falls beckoned to me across the valley. I made my way over to it stopping a few times to check on the broken jug.
En route one passes by The Loch, one of RMNP prettiest lakes. The reflection of the surrounding mountains upon its waters make for really beautiful photos. And the tranquility of its setting adds to its appeal. I’m glad I got to visit it before anyone else was there.
In order to get to the falls, one needs to climb a moderate cliff. The only problem is, is that the path goes up a small stream. Not a lot of water flow, but enough to make the rocks slick and in need of close attention.
Timberline Falls is well worth all the effort. In fact, it is my favorite falls so far. It may not be the biggest, but it has the most charm. It’s about 80 foot tall and ends in the most interesting feature I’ve seen so far. The area below it is mostly damp rocks. You can walk all the way to the very bottom. I sat on a damp rock and tilted my face up into the spray. Awesome. Of course it is the season for low water levels, but so what. It was really cool. And as the sunlight hit it at 10 AM, the water glowed; the top of the falls was wreathed in a halo. Simply enchanting.
I could have stayed there all day, but I wanted to get to the top of the falls and over to Sky Pond before noon. So I dragged myself over to another round of cliff/stream bed climbing. At the top of this was a meadow and Glass Lake. I hiked around the lake to get to Sky Pond.
The path ended in a jumble of boulders. Here I lost the trail. I wandered around trying to pick it up. I found something that looked like it--it was marked with rock cairns. No go. Went to the north not the west. Luckily I brought the guidebook along. Soon I had a general idea were to look.
You know when you are watching a sci-fi movie and the marine guys are clearing an area. They look front to back side to side. But frustratingly not up. And where does the creature jump them from--up above. I still find myself yelling at the dudes and dudettes to look up for goodness sake!
The cairn to mark the way onward to Sky Pond was up on a tall boulder. Duh.
From here it was pretty smooth going. Someone had even put in a row of square rocks in the marshy areas. Pretty elaborate for a trail above timberline.
I even got to pass by a 15 foot unnamed waterfall. Bonus waterfall for me.
Sky Pond is a beautiful high alpine tarn at 11000 feet. It sits at the base of Taylor and Powell Peaks. It is fed by water from Taylor Glacier; a hike to for next summer.
The Sharkstooth is a technical 5.4 rock climbing spire to the north of Sky Pond. There were a couple of people climbing it that day. I could hear them talking from over a half mile away. I want to do some alpine mountaineering in the future. But the rope work is intimidating to me. After hearing one guy yell “Rock”, “Sorry,” and “Are you alright?” I’m not so sure about alpine climbing.
As my ETD closed in, I had to get down the trail. Couldn’t say the 200 foot of stream bed/cliff climbs was overly easy going down (up was easier), but they were kind of fun in a way.
The scenery going down was spectacular. Going up for me is more looking at my feet and briefly upward to gauge my progress. Although I do stop often enough to take pictures. Going down is a delight. The colors and sounds blend together to make it often seem like a dream.
Funny thing: I was wearing my “I Love Chick-Fil-A” t-shirt on this climb. I had six people come up to me on the way down and say they loved it also. One was a guy from Houston celebrating his anniversary.
I stopped to talk with a man that has come to RMNP the last week of September for the last 30 years. He rides his Harley from out East. Pretty interesting conversation.
A mile from the TH a tree root decided to reach out and touch someone--me. What a header I took. Landed on my chin, left hand and knee, and right shoulder. My face got off without injury, just a little scrap on my chin. Wrenched my neck pretty good. I hope the plate and screws in my neck are ok. They should be--they’re made of titanium. Left knee was shredded. Sprained my shoulder, and somehow punctured my hand. [Gross part.] Hit the palm just right so it bleed like an open spicket. Also forced out stuff that looked like very tiny grapes. At first I thought it was scraped skin. So I tore at it. And more and more come out of the wound. Now I believe it was fat deposits. Tore off most of it and pressed the rest back into the wound. Wrapped my hand in the soaked hand towel. After getting myself together I stumbled down to my car.
A ranger passed me going up, looked me over and asked if I was ok. I said I thought so. She kept going on up the trail. Out checking up on her territory--probably Glacier Gorge. It’s a lot of area for one ranger to cover.
I was stopped again by a couple that liked Chick-fil-A. Great fast food imho. Took their picture and talked a bit. They were from Loveland.
Finally, got to my car and cleaned up what I could. Another ranger kept looking over to me across the parking lot, never saying a word. I think he was ticked off at me. Maybe because I wasn’t leaving the parking area fast enough. He had to send other people away to the other shuttle lot all the while looking over at me. It wasn’t like my leg was bleeding all over. Just not a people person.
And to top it all off, I has the misfortune to use the outhouse with a broken lock on the handle. Never occurred to me use the dead bolt. A college girl walked in on me and backed out in shock. Or whatever. The ranger said loud enough for me to hear that the upper lock should be used as she entered the john next to me. By this time the ranger was starting to register on my jerk scale. Not even a hello from Mr. Icebox.
Then again, maybe liability issues keep the rangers from helping people who are hurt if they are ambulatory. Who knows.
Overall, it was a great hike. I lucked out that I didn’t get hurt worse or at the beginning of the morning. My injuries did make playing my cello in the Longmont Symphony concert the next weekend a little tough. But it went off pretty good. A nice coda to a really wonderful hike. I’ll do this one again (without the drama at the end). ;-)
Started out before 7 AM as usual. Still dark, but as the sun came up and lit up the trees around me--what a sight.
I stopped to take a picture of the color mixed with rocky outcrops and fell over backwards from a crouch onto my butt. Wouldn’t you know it--I smashed a hole into my gallon jug of water. I dumped all the water out leaving the ice. I wrapped the broken bottle in a poncho and checked it from time to time, dumping out the water caught in the plastic. I put the hand towel I carry on the bottom of my pack. I just wrung it out whenever I stopped, so my stuff stayed pretty dry.
Passed by Alberta Falls as I went up the path. Third time this year and it still captivates me. Big 25 footer.
Since I started out so early in the morn and on a weekday, I figured I would be alone on the trail for most of the AM. Nope. I met a backpacker on his way out of the forest. “Been too long in the wilderness. Time to go home,” he said to me. I wish I had that problem.
Timberline Falls beckoned to me across the valley. I made my way over to it stopping a few times to check on the broken jug.
En route one passes by The Loch, one of RMNP prettiest lakes. The reflection of the surrounding mountains upon its waters make for really beautiful photos. And the tranquility of its setting adds to its appeal. I’m glad I got to visit it before anyone else was there.
In order to get to the falls, one needs to climb a moderate cliff. The only problem is, is that the path goes up a small stream. Not a lot of water flow, but enough to make the rocks slick and in need of close attention.
Timberline Falls is well worth all the effort. In fact, it is my favorite falls so far. It may not be the biggest, but it has the most charm. It’s about 80 foot tall and ends in the most interesting feature I’ve seen so far. The area below it is mostly damp rocks. You can walk all the way to the very bottom. I sat on a damp rock and tilted my face up into the spray. Awesome. Of course it is the season for low water levels, but so what. It was really cool. And as the sunlight hit it at 10 AM, the water glowed; the top of the falls was wreathed in a halo. Simply enchanting.
I could have stayed there all day, but I wanted to get to the top of the falls and over to Sky Pond before noon. So I dragged myself over to another round of cliff/stream bed climbing. At the top of this was a meadow and Glass Lake. I hiked around the lake to get to Sky Pond.
The path ended in a jumble of boulders. Here I lost the trail. I wandered around trying to pick it up. I found something that looked like it--it was marked with rock cairns. No go. Went to the north not the west. Luckily I brought the guidebook along. Soon I had a general idea were to look.
You know when you are watching a sci-fi movie and the marine guys are clearing an area. They look front to back side to side. But frustratingly not up. And where does the creature jump them from--up above. I still find myself yelling at the dudes and dudettes to look up for goodness sake!
The cairn to mark the way onward to Sky Pond was up on a tall boulder. Duh.
From here it was pretty smooth going. Someone had even put in a row of square rocks in the marshy areas. Pretty elaborate for a trail above timberline.
I even got to pass by a 15 foot unnamed waterfall. Bonus waterfall for me.
Sky Pond is a beautiful high alpine tarn at 11000 feet. It sits at the base of Taylor and Powell Peaks. It is fed by water from Taylor Glacier; a hike to for next summer.
The Sharkstooth is a technical 5.4 rock climbing spire to the north of Sky Pond. There were a couple of people climbing it that day. I could hear them talking from over a half mile away. I want to do some alpine mountaineering in the future. But the rope work is intimidating to me. After hearing one guy yell “Rock”, “Sorry,” and “Are you alright?” I’m not so sure about alpine climbing.
As my ETD closed in, I had to get down the trail. Couldn’t say the 200 foot of stream bed/cliff climbs was overly easy going down (up was easier), but they were kind of fun in a way.
The scenery going down was spectacular. Going up for me is more looking at my feet and briefly upward to gauge my progress. Although I do stop often enough to take pictures. Going down is a delight. The colors and sounds blend together to make it often seem like a dream.
Funny thing: I was wearing my “I Love Chick-Fil-A” t-shirt on this climb. I had six people come up to me on the way down and say they loved it also. One was a guy from Houston celebrating his anniversary.
I stopped to talk with a man that has come to RMNP the last week of September for the last 30 years. He rides his Harley from out East. Pretty interesting conversation.
A mile from the TH a tree root decided to reach out and touch someone--me. What a header I took. Landed on my chin, left hand and knee, and right shoulder. My face got off without injury, just a little scrap on my chin. Wrenched my neck pretty good. I hope the plate and screws in my neck are ok. They should be--they’re made of titanium. Left knee was shredded. Sprained my shoulder, and somehow punctured my hand. [Gross part.] Hit the palm just right so it bleed like an open spicket. Also forced out stuff that looked like very tiny grapes. At first I thought it was scraped skin. So I tore at it. And more and more come out of the wound. Now I believe it was fat deposits. Tore off most of it and pressed the rest back into the wound. Wrapped my hand in the soaked hand towel. After getting myself together I stumbled down to my car.
A ranger passed me going up, looked me over and asked if I was ok. I said I thought so. She kept going on up the trail. Out checking up on her territory--probably Glacier Gorge. It’s a lot of area for one ranger to cover.
I was stopped again by a couple that liked Chick-fil-A. Great fast food imho. Took their picture and talked a bit. They were from Loveland.
Finally, got to my car and cleaned up what I could. Another ranger kept looking over to me across the parking lot, never saying a word. I think he was ticked off at me. Maybe because I wasn’t leaving the parking area fast enough. He had to send other people away to the other shuttle lot all the while looking over at me. It wasn’t like my leg was bleeding all over. Just not a people person.
And to top it all off, I has the misfortune to use the outhouse with a broken lock on the handle. Never occurred to me use the dead bolt. A college girl walked in on me and backed out in shock. Or whatever. The ranger said loud enough for me to hear that the upper lock should be used as she entered the john next to me. By this time the ranger was starting to register on my jerk scale. Not even a hello from Mr. Icebox.
Then again, maybe liability issues keep the rangers from helping people who are hurt if they are ambulatory. Who knows.
Overall, it was a great hike. I lucked out that I didn’t get hurt worse or at the beginning of the morning. My injuries did make playing my cello in the Longmont Symphony concert the next weekend a little tough. But it went off pretty good. A nice coda to a really wonderful hike. I’ll do this one again (without the drama at the end). ;-)
Saturday, October 09, 2010
LSO Concert Fiestas Patrias 0ct 9 2010
http://longmontsymphony.org
Tonight we are playing a concert of Mexican music. Special guest is the singer Dinorah. Should be fun.
Silvestre Revueltas (Mexico) Sensemaya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZO2VkKKR7o
Silvestre Revueltas Janitzio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf8sn8E0El8
Arturo Marquez (Mexiso) Danzon No 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vwZAkfLKK8
Aaron Copland (U.S.) El Salon Mexico http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69uVFYh1lkE
(music by other orchestras)
Tonight we are playing a concert of Mexican music. Special guest is the singer Dinorah. Should be fun.
Silvestre Revueltas (Mexico) Sensemaya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZO2VkKKR7o
Silvestre Revueltas Janitzio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf8sn8E0El8
Arturo Marquez (Mexiso) Danzon No 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vwZAkfLKK8
Aaron Copland (U.S.) El Salon Mexico http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69uVFYh1lkE
(music by other orchestras)
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Pawnee Pass September 26, 2010
I bagged my first pass and the Continental Divide by foot on September 26, 2010. I’ve driven over both but wanted to hike over them. It was a time of adventure, rescue, and perilous encounters with dangerous wildlife.
It was a ten-mile hike round trip to the top of Pawnee Pass at 12541 feet with an elevation gain of 2419 feet. Patti didn’t feel too well so I went solo. I know, you really shouldn’t do that climbing a mountain. But it was such a great opportunity with the weather being so nice. And the path was heavily traveled, so if I got into trouble, someone would be around eventually.
You get to the trail head by entering the Brainard Lake Recreational Area. A few miles north of Ward, the rec area is on the west side of Peak-to-Peak Highway (SH 72). I arrived at the parking lot before 7:00 AM. There were two other cars already there. So someone was up the path I was going to trod. I was not alone.
I started out walking a little fast so I slowed down a bit. That’s when I heard it. Something was in the bushes next to the path following me. I turned around peering into the gloom and saw nothing. So I figured it was my imagination. I began walking again and the noise in the brush was shadowing me. I gripped my trekking pole ready to do combat like a gladiator of old.
And then I saw my nemesis; the predator at my side. It was a three-striped ground squirrel measuring some eight inches long. He might have been ten inches. I don’t know. He was a beast. Stalking me for half a mile. Or maybe not. Maybe it was a group of ninja rodents tag teaming or running a relay after me. Maybe for their size it was more of a marathon. Anyway, once they were found out they left me alone. Or so it seemed.
The little buggers just went into stealth mode. The ground squirrels showed up again when I took a break at two miles. I was still below timberline and being followed. I can’t say they were the same group, but their hungry little eyes looked familiar. Anyway, I must have been pretty bad pickings because I never saw them after that.
I made it above timberline before I felt less and less energetic. But I kept slogging along taking breaks as I needed them, seriously wondering if I bit off more than I could chew.
Then a backpacker came down the trail in pretty bad shape. He and a friend had been camping on the eastern side of the Divide. He had fallen and blew out his right thigh on the way back to the trail head. He could barely walk. His friend was offering support, but the trail was so narrow and steep that there was only so much the friend could do. They just couldn’t walk side by side. So I gave him my trekking pole to at least give him some support down the slope. I heard that he got down OK and to the hospital. He was lucky to be camping with someone.
Eventually I made it to the pass. One of the three people who passed me was there taking a break. He gave me pointers on what to see and how to get on the peak. And of all things, he was from Lafayette--fours mile from where I live. What a small world.
There is no official trail to the top of Pawnee Peak. But others have made a faint path to mark the way. So up I went to the top, or so I thought. It was a false summit. And to make matters worse I had little energy to keep going.
Now, I could keep at it and make it to the top of the peak and have no reserves of strength to make it down. Or I could get back to the pass while I still had the steam to do it. What to do? I really wanted to get to the top; I’d planned on it. Just one more stupid slope and a walk along the top of a ridge and I’d be there.
Just then the wind started to blow pretty hard. I had previous experience with the wind up in these parts. Less than three weeks previous I was literally blown off my feet at Blue Lake located near the base of Pawnee Peak.
On top of this, I had read a book the night before about 14er disasters. The book included a chapter about solo hikers getting in trouble.
So what was it to be—reality or the dream? I did the smart thing and got myself off the side of the mountain; slipping and sliding, wishing I was at the bottom already.
Once I descended, I stumbled over to the east side of the divide to look down at Pawnee Lake and the 23 switchbacks one traversed to get there. Pretty amazing view.
My energy gave out as I sat back down at the official Pawnee Pass sign. While eating trail mix and relaxing, I had to try hard not to nod off. A nap really sounded nice even though it was like a party the way people were showing up.
I finally began to feel human again, so I set off back to the car. It was much easier going downhill and a much better time. Go figure.
I had gone a quarter mile and I met Rich, another cello player from the Longmont Symphony Orchestra. Of all the places to meet. He and his friend were off to climb Pawnee Peak, cross a saddle, and then climb Mount Tor. They had decided to do this that morning on a whim. What?! Seemed pretty crazy to me. I wish I could have done it. Oh well. It was still unreal bumping into him. One more of those “what a small world” moments on this hike.
A little ways on I watched a couple trail runners and their dogs go past me up to the pass with their tongues hanging out--their dogs of course.
And then the most amazing thing happened. A small flock of ptarmigan were next to the trail eating. I had hoped to see some of these birds, not having seen any for 20+ years, but never dreamed of seeing six right next to me and just doing their own thing unconcerned about my presence. Wow. I stood there taking pictures till the batteries in the camera gave up the ghost--wouldn’t you know it. I had more but couldn’t get to them.
A guy came down the trail and I pointed out these wonderful birds. They still had their transitional brown and white feathers on. Soon they would loose the rest of their brown feathers making all their feathers white in time for winter. He looked at me like I was mad and picked up this pace as he hurried past me down the path. You know, when the opportunity arises, you just have to stop and check out the birds.
I was pretty uplifted. What a blessing. The next two miles went by pretty quick. I reveled in the beauty on the way down that I missed on the way up.
My next stop was a captivating shady spot beside a very melodious stream. My Facebook friends know of my love (obsession) with how running water looks and sounds, especially waterfalls. So this was a great spot to take a drink, eat trail mix, and take a lot of pictures. It was a nice break.
I finally made myself leave and go back down the path. Then, a deer jumped out into a clearing beside me. The light was streaming down onto the yellow grasses and aspen as they waved in a faint breeze. She was wrapped in a halo as she looked at me and slowly walked off. Magical doesn’t do justice to the moment.
My time up and down the trail was a little over eight hours. I was not very elated or anything besides being tired. Eventually it dawned on me what I had accomplished. Pretty good for a middle aged hiking guy. I made it. I beat the pass with time to spare to get to my grandma’s house for chicken wings. What a day!
It was a ten-mile hike round trip to the top of Pawnee Pass at 12541 feet with an elevation gain of 2419 feet. Patti didn’t feel too well so I went solo. I know, you really shouldn’t do that climbing a mountain. But it was such a great opportunity with the weather being so nice. And the path was heavily traveled, so if I got into trouble, someone would be around eventually.
You get to the trail head by entering the Brainard Lake Recreational Area. A few miles north of Ward, the rec area is on the west side of Peak-to-Peak Highway (SH 72). I arrived at the parking lot before 7:00 AM. There were two other cars already there. So someone was up the path I was going to trod. I was not alone.
I started out walking a little fast so I slowed down a bit. That’s when I heard it. Something was in the bushes next to the path following me. I turned around peering into the gloom and saw nothing. So I figured it was my imagination. I began walking again and the noise in the brush was shadowing me. I gripped my trekking pole ready to do combat like a gladiator of old.
And then I saw my nemesis; the predator at my side. It was a three-striped ground squirrel measuring some eight inches long. He might have been ten inches. I don’t know. He was a beast. Stalking me for half a mile. Or maybe not. Maybe it was a group of ninja rodents tag teaming or running a relay after me. Maybe for their size it was more of a marathon. Anyway, once they were found out they left me alone. Or so it seemed.
The little buggers just went into stealth mode. The ground squirrels showed up again when I took a break at two miles. I was still below timberline and being followed. I can’t say they were the same group, but their hungry little eyes looked familiar. Anyway, I must have been pretty bad pickings because I never saw them after that.
I made it above timberline before I felt less and less energetic. But I kept slogging along taking breaks as I needed them, seriously wondering if I bit off more than I could chew.
Then a backpacker came down the trail in pretty bad shape. He and a friend had been camping on the eastern side of the Divide. He had fallen and blew out his right thigh on the way back to the trail head. He could barely walk. His friend was offering support, but the trail was so narrow and steep that there was only so much the friend could do. They just couldn’t walk side by side. So I gave him my trekking pole to at least give him some support down the slope. I heard that he got down OK and to the hospital. He was lucky to be camping with someone.
Eventually I made it to the pass. One of the three people who passed me was there taking a break. He gave me pointers on what to see and how to get on the peak. And of all things, he was from Lafayette--fours mile from where I live. What a small world.
There is no official trail to the top of Pawnee Peak. But others have made a faint path to mark the way. So up I went to the top, or so I thought. It was a false summit. And to make matters worse I had little energy to keep going.
Now, I could keep at it and make it to the top of the peak and have no reserves of strength to make it down. Or I could get back to the pass while I still had the steam to do it. What to do? I really wanted to get to the top; I’d planned on it. Just one more stupid slope and a walk along the top of a ridge and I’d be there.
Just then the wind started to blow pretty hard. I had previous experience with the wind up in these parts. Less than three weeks previous I was literally blown off my feet at Blue Lake located near the base of Pawnee Peak.
On top of this, I had read a book the night before about 14er disasters. The book included a chapter about solo hikers getting in trouble.
So what was it to be—reality or the dream? I did the smart thing and got myself off the side of the mountain; slipping and sliding, wishing I was at the bottom already.
Once I descended, I stumbled over to the east side of the divide to look down at Pawnee Lake and the 23 switchbacks one traversed to get there. Pretty amazing view.
My energy gave out as I sat back down at the official Pawnee Pass sign. While eating trail mix and relaxing, I had to try hard not to nod off. A nap really sounded nice even though it was like a party the way people were showing up.
I finally began to feel human again, so I set off back to the car. It was much easier going downhill and a much better time. Go figure.
I had gone a quarter mile and I met Rich, another cello player from the Longmont Symphony Orchestra. Of all the places to meet. He and his friend were off to climb Pawnee Peak, cross a saddle, and then climb Mount Tor. They had decided to do this that morning on a whim. What?! Seemed pretty crazy to me. I wish I could have done it. Oh well. It was still unreal bumping into him. One more of those “what a small world” moments on this hike.
A little ways on I watched a couple trail runners and their dogs go past me up to the pass with their tongues hanging out--their dogs of course.
And then the most amazing thing happened. A small flock of ptarmigan were next to the trail eating. I had hoped to see some of these birds, not having seen any for 20+ years, but never dreamed of seeing six right next to me and just doing their own thing unconcerned about my presence. Wow. I stood there taking pictures till the batteries in the camera gave up the ghost--wouldn’t you know it. I had more but couldn’t get to them.
A guy came down the trail and I pointed out these wonderful birds. They still had their transitional brown and white feathers on. Soon they would loose the rest of their brown feathers making all their feathers white in time for winter. He looked at me like I was mad and picked up this pace as he hurried past me down the path. You know, when the opportunity arises, you just have to stop and check out the birds.
I was pretty uplifted. What a blessing. The next two miles went by pretty quick. I reveled in the beauty on the way down that I missed on the way up.
My next stop was a captivating shady spot beside a very melodious stream. My Facebook friends know of my love (obsession) with how running water looks and sounds, especially waterfalls. So this was a great spot to take a drink, eat trail mix, and take a lot of pictures. It was a nice break.
I finally made myself leave and go back down the path. Then, a deer jumped out into a clearing beside me. The light was streaming down onto the yellow grasses and aspen as they waved in a faint breeze. She was wrapped in a halo as she looked at me and slowly walked off. Magical doesn’t do justice to the moment.
My time up and down the trail was a little over eight hours. I was not very elated or anything besides being tired. Eventually it dawned on me what I had accomplished. Pretty good for a middle aged hiking guy. I made it. I beat the pass with time to spare to get to my grandma’s house for chicken wings. What a day!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Quotes by Desmond Tutu
-“A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons.”
-“Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are.“
-“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
-“I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.”
-“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.”
-“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
-“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
-“We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.”
-“Without forgiveness, there's no future.”
-“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.”
-“I don't preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, ‘Now is that political or social?’ He said, ‘I feed you.’ Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.”
-“So I never doubted that ultimately we were going to be free, because ultimately, I knew there was no way in which a lie could prevail over the truth, darkness over light, death over life.”
-“We received death threats, yes, but you see, when you are in a struggle, there are going to have to be casualties, and why should you be exempt?”
-“But the other, more exhilarating than anything that I have ever experienced -- and something I hadn't expected -- to discover that we have an extraordinary capacity for good.”
-“Human beings are fundamentally good. The aberration, in fact, is the evil one, for God created us ultimately for God, for goodness, for laughter, for joy, for compassion, for caring.”
-“History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder, so when you read that, for example, David Livingstone discovered the Victoria Falls, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was nobody around the Falls until Livingstone arrived on the scene."
-"Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant"
-"I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum."
-"For goodness sake, will they hear, will white people hear what we are trying to say? Please, all we are asking you to do is recognise that we are humans too."
-"I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of human rights"
-"We who advocate peace are becoming an irrelevance when we speak peace. The government speaks rubber bullets, live bullets, tear gas, police dogs, detention, and death"
-"At home in South Africa I have sometimes said in big meetings where you have black and white together: 'Raise your hands!' Then I have said: 'Move your hands,' and I've said 'Look at your hands - different colors representing different people. You are the Rainbow People of God.'"
-"It was relatively easy, we now realize, to categorize countries and nations. You knew who your enemies were and whom you could count on as collaborators and friends. And even more importantly, you had ready-made scapegoats to take the blame when things were going wrong."
-"There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew."
-"Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and your digestion."
-"Without forgiveness there can be no future for a relationship between individuals or within and between nations."
-"South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world."
-“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
-“Stability and peace in our land will not come from the barrel of a gun, because peace without justice is an impossibility.”
-“We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose. We cannot afford to use methods of which we will be ashamed when we look back, when we say, '...we shouldn't have done that.' We must remember, my friends, that we have been given a wonderful cause. The cause of freedom! And you and I must be those who will walk with heads held high. We will say, 'We used methods that can stand the harsh scrutiny of history.”
All quotes by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
-“Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are.“
-“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
-“I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.”
-“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.”
-“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
-“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
-“We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.”
-“Without forgiveness, there's no future.”
-“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.”
-“I don't preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, ‘Now is that political or social?’ He said, ‘I feed you.’ Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.”
-“So I never doubted that ultimately we were going to be free, because ultimately, I knew there was no way in which a lie could prevail over the truth, darkness over light, death over life.”
-“We received death threats, yes, but you see, when you are in a struggle, there are going to have to be casualties, and why should you be exempt?”
-“But the other, more exhilarating than anything that I have ever experienced -- and something I hadn't expected -- to discover that we have an extraordinary capacity for good.”
-“Human beings are fundamentally good. The aberration, in fact, is the evil one, for God created us ultimately for God, for goodness, for laughter, for joy, for compassion, for caring.”
-“History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder, so when you read that, for example, David Livingstone discovered the Victoria Falls, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was nobody around the Falls until Livingstone arrived on the scene."
-"Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant"
-"I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum."
-"For goodness sake, will they hear, will white people hear what we are trying to say? Please, all we are asking you to do is recognise that we are humans too."
-"I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of human rights"
-"We who advocate peace are becoming an irrelevance when we speak peace. The government speaks rubber bullets, live bullets, tear gas, police dogs, detention, and death"
-"At home in South Africa I have sometimes said in big meetings where you have black and white together: 'Raise your hands!' Then I have said: 'Move your hands,' and I've said 'Look at your hands - different colors representing different people. You are the Rainbow People of God.'"
-"It was relatively easy, we now realize, to categorize countries and nations. You knew who your enemies were and whom you could count on as collaborators and friends. And even more importantly, you had ready-made scapegoats to take the blame when things were going wrong."
-"There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew."
-"Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and your digestion."
-"Without forgiveness there can be no future for a relationship between individuals or within and between nations."
-"South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world."
-“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
-“Stability and peace in our land will not come from the barrel of a gun, because peace without justice is an impossibility.”
-“We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose. We cannot afford to use methods of which we will be ashamed when we look back, when we say, '...we shouldn't have done that.' We must remember, my friends, that we have been given a wonderful cause. The cause of freedom! And you and I must be those who will walk with heads held high. We will say, 'We used methods that can stand the harsh scrutiny of history.”
All quotes by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing it's best night and day to make you everyone else, means to fight the hardest battle that any human being can fight, and to never stop fighting."
-- e.e. cummings
"Prejudgments become prejudices only if they are not reversible when exposed to new knowledge."
-- Gordon W. Allport
"I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample underfoot."
-- Horace Greeley
"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self."
-- Aldous Huxley
"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."
-- Joe Ancis
"Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win."
-- Jonathan Kozol
"Wanting to be someone you're not is a waste of the person you are."
-- Kurt Cobain
In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”
-- Mahatma Gandhi
“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.”
-- Martin Fraquhar Tupper
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
-- The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence.”
-- Seneca
"Silence remains, inescapably, a form of speech."
-- Susan Sontag
"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
---Winston Churchill
"Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer."
-- the Dalai Lama
-- e.e. cummings
"Prejudgments become prejudices only if they are not reversible when exposed to new knowledge."
-- Gordon W. Allport
"I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample underfoot."
-- Horace Greeley
"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self."
-- Aldous Huxley
"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."
-- Joe Ancis
"Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win."
-- Jonathan Kozol
"Wanting to be someone you're not is a waste of the person you are."
-- Kurt Cobain
In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”
-- Mahatma Gandhi
“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.”
-- Martin Fraquhar Tupper
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
-- The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence.”
-- Seneca
"Silence remains, inescapably, a form of speech."
-- Susan Sontag
"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
---Winston Churchill
"Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer."
-- the Dalai Lama
Monday, January 25, 2010
No More Elephants in India's Zoos
The Central Zoo Authority in India has declared that all 140 elephants in zoos and circuses are to be placed in sanctuaries, tiger reserves, or national parks. This makes India the first county in the world to claim that zoos cannot meet the needs of elephants.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Elephants-to-be-banished-from-all-zoos/articleshow/5221159.cms
I’m not sure what to think of this. I believe that releasing an elephant in a zoo back into the wild is probably a death sentence. The elephant either does not know or has lost the skill to live in the wild. Some form of continued support in the way of food and veterinarian care will always need to be given to captive animals released from captivity if one is to guarantee their lives.
The elephants will be under the supervision of mahouts, but will that be enough. Time will tell.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Elephants-to-be-banished-from-all-zoos/articleshow/5221159.cms
I’m not sure what to think of this. I believe that releasing an elephant in a zoo back into the wild is probably a death sentence. The elephant either does not know or has lost the skill to live in the wild. Some form of continued support in the way of food and veterinarian care will always need to be given to captive animals released from captivity if one is to guarantee their lives.
The elephants will be under the supervision of mahouts, but will that be enough. Time will tell.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
“Let nothing and nobody make you be that which you do not wish to be.”
“Remember it is from the adverse moments that we learn the most, and that the good moments are to be lived to the full; by developing this vision, have no doubt that all the rest – everything that worries you without any reason – are only concepts of the moment, a mere story that will pass in time.”
“To every action there is a reaction; every seed has its fruit; every effort has its benefits. The results are not always seen immediately, and this makes us doubt, but in our inner self we know this is so. Remembering this truth constantly makes us more attentive to everything we do, say or even think.”
--Sakya Tashi Ling Buddhist Monks “My Spirit Flies to You” (album liner notes) http://www.thebuddhistmonks.net
“Remember it is from the adverse moments that we learn the most, and that the good moments are to be lived to the full; by developing this vision, have no doubt that all the rest – everything that worries you without any reason – are only concepts of the moment, a mere story that will pass in time.”
“To every action there is a reaction; every seed has its fruit; every effort has its benefits. The results are not always seen immediately, and this makes us doubt, but in our inner self we know this is so. Remembering this truth constantly makes us more attentive to everything we do, say or even think.”
--Sakya Tashi Ling Buddhist Monks “My Spirit Flies to You” (album liner notes) http://www.thebuddhistmonks.net
Friday, January 15, 2010
Quotes from African and African-American LGBT folks and heterosexual allies
“We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”
- Barack Hussein Obama, January 20, 2009
"Cowardice asks, is it safe? Expediency asks, is it politic? Vanity asks, is it popular? But conscience asks, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him, it is right."
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits."
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremist for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?"
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail - 1963
"We have a lot more work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say ‘common struggle’ because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination."
~ Coretta Scott King
"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people, and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people. Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence, that spreads all too easily to victimize the next minority group. Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Georgia, and St. Augustine, Florida, and many other campaigns of the civil rights movement. Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions."
- Coretta Scott King, in 1999 at the 25th Anniversary luncheon for the Lambda Legal Defense Fund
"Homophobia is hate, and hate has no place in the beloved community."
~ Martin Luther King III, in August 2003 at the 40th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington
"Some say let's choose another route and give Gay folks some legal rights but call it something other than marriage. We have been down that road before in this country. Separate is not equal. The rights to liberty and happiness belong to each of us and on the same terms, without regard to either skin color or sexual orientation."
- U.S. Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia, who was a close associate of Martin Luther King
"Something is happening to the very soul of America. It's more than same-sex marriage. It's more than whether you're gay or straight, black or white. It's about where we are going as a nation. I say this from my heart and gut, as someone who was beaten and arrested on the freedom rides. We've got some real fights ahead of us. But America is ready. So stand up tall and straight. Hold your head high. And do the work. Because we're not gonna go away."
- U.S. Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia
"When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him."
- Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1964 March on Washington at which Dr. King made his “I Have a Dream” speech, in the book Strategies for Freedom, p. 42
"People...do not believe there can be tears between men. They think we are only playing at a game and that we do it to shock them."
- author and activist, James Baldwin, who was African-American and gay
"People should not be discriminated against in the exercise of their civil rights, and the right to marry who you want to marry is one of those rights ... Interracial marriage was regarded with much the same hysteria years ago as gay marriage is today."
- U.S. Ambassador Carol Mosely Braun, who, as far as we know, is heterosexual
"It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."
- inventor, scientist and educator, George Washington Carver, who was African-American and gay
"Good parents are good parents - regardless of their sexual orientation. It's clear that the sexual orientation of parents has nothing to do with the sexual orientation of their children."
- Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders, who, as far as we know, is heterosexual
"A family doesn't have to be a man, woman and children. A family can be two men or two women and children. A family can be nearly anything you want it to be as long as it is full of genuine love, respect and care."
- Clarence J. Fluker, who is a staff person at National Youth Advocacy Coalition, Next Generation Editor for Arise magazine, and sits on the Board of Directors for DC Black Lesbian & Gay Pride, the largest annual Black pride festival in the world.
"Silence kills the soul, it diminishes its possibility to rise and fly and explore. Silence withers what makes you human. The soul shrinks, until it's nothing."
- documentary filmmaker, Marlon Riggs, who was an African-American man and who died from complications of AIDS in 1994
"I think that gay rights is a human rights issue like the rights of anyone else. I have said throughout my career, less known this campaign, that unless people are prepared to say that gay and lesbian people are not human -- and I don't know anyone in their right mind that would say that -- then why are they not afforded the same rights as any other human being?"
- former U.S. presidential candidate, Rev. Al Sharpton
"To discriminate against our sisters and brothers who are lesbian or gay on grounds of their sexual orientation for me is as totally unacceptable and unjust as Apartheid ever was."
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu, from a sermon delivered February 2004. Read the text of the sermon at http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/12039.htm
"We have inflicted on gay and lesbian people the tremendous pain of having to live a lie or to face brutal rejection if they dared to reveal their true selves. But oppression cuts both ways. Behind our ‘safe’ barriers of self-righteousness, we deprive ourselves of the rich giftedness that lesbian and gay people have to contribute ..."
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”
- Barack Hussein Obama, January 20, 2009
"Cowardice asks, is it safe? Expediency asks, is it politic? Vanity asks, is it popular? But conscience asks, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him, it is right."
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits."
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremist for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?"
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail - 1963
"We have a lot more work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say ‘common struggle’ because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination."
~ Coretta Scott King
"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people, and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people. Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence, that spreads all too easily to victimize the next minority group. Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Georgia, and St. Augustine, Florida, and many other campaigns of the civil rights movement. Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions."
- Coretta Scott King, in 1999 at the 25th Anniversary luncheon for the Lambda Legal Defense Fund
"Homophobia is hate, and hate has no place in the beloved community."
~ Martin Luther King III, in August 2003 at the 40th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington
"Some say let's choose another route and give Gay folks some legal rights but call it something other than marriage. We have been down that road before in this country. Separate is not equal. The rights to liberty and happiness belong to each of us and on the same terms, without regard to either skin color or sexual orientation."
- U.S. Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia, who was a close associate of Martin Luther King
"Something is happening to the very soul of America. It's more than same-sex marriage. It's more than whether you're gay or straight, black or white. It's about where we are going as a nation. I say this from my heart and gut, as someone who was beaten and arrested on the freedom rides. We've got some real fights ahead of us. But America is ready. So stand up tall and straight. Hold your head high. And do the work. Because we're not gonna go away."
- U.S. Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia
"When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him."
- Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1964 March on Washington at which Dr. King made his “I Have a Dream” speech, in the book Strategies for Freedom, p. 42
"People...do not believe there can be tears between men. They think we are only playing at a game and that we do it to shock them."
- author and activist, James Baldwin, who was African-American and gay
"People should not be discriminated against in the exercise of their civil rights, and the right to marry who you want to marry is one of those rights ... Interracial marriage was regarded with much the same hysteria years ago as gay marriage is today."
- U.S. Ambassador Carol Mosely Braun, who, as far as we know, is heterosexual
"It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."
- inventor, scientist and educator, George Washington Carver, who was African-American and gay
"Good parents are good parents - regardless of their sexual orientation. It's clear that the sexual orientation of parents has nothing to do with the sexual orientation of their children."
- Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders, who, as far as we know, is heterosexual
"A family doesn't have to be a man, woman and children. A family can be two men or two women and children. A family can be nearly anything you want it to be as long as it is full of genuine love, respect and care."
- Clarence J. Fluker, who is a staff person at National Youth Advocacy Coalition, Next Generation Editor for Arise magazine, and sits on the Board of Directors for DC Black Lesbian & Gay Pride, the largest annual Black pride festival in the world.
"Silence kills the soul, it diminishes its possibility to rise and fly and explore. Silence withers what makes you human. The soul shrinks, until it's nothing."
- documentary filmmaker, Marlon Riggs, who was an African-American man and who died from complications of AIDS in 1994
"I think that gay rights is a human rights issue like the rights of anyone else. I have said throughout my career, less known this campaign, that unless people are prepared to say that gay and lesbian people are not human -- and I don't know anyone in their right mind that would say that -- then why are they not afforded the same rights as any other human being?"
- former U.S. presidential candidate, Rev. Al Sharpton
"To discriminate against our sisters and brothers who are lesbian or gay on grounds of their sexual orientation for me is as totally unacceptable and unjust as Apartheid ever was."
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu, from a sermon delivered February 2004. Read the text of the sermon at http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/12039.htm
"We have inflicted on gay and lesbian people the tremendous pain of having to live a lie or to face brutal rejection if they dared to reveal their true selves. But oppression cuts both ways. Behind our ‘safe’ barriers of self-righteousness, we deprive ourselves of the rich giftedness that lesbian and gay people have to contribute ..."
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Thursday, January 14, 2010
"For death, or life, or toil,
To thee myself I join;
I take thy hand in mine,
With thee I would grow old."
-- From an ancient Chinese male-male wedding ceremony
"Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality."
-- James Baldwin
"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within."
-- James Baldwin
"Penguins accept same-sex commitments. Why do some people have so much trouble with the idea?"
-- Canadians for Equal Marriage, headline
"Love is the big booming beat which covers up the noise of hate."
-- comedian and activist, Margaret Cho, weblog, 01-15-04. Cho is Korean-American. She's married to a man but generally, in interviews, avoids labeling her sexual orientation.
"Where there is great love, there are always miracles."
-- Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Willa Cather, believed by many historians to have been lesbian and who, at the very least, transgressed gender in various ways (http://www.essortment.com/all/whowaswillaca_rlui.htm)
"Anyone who thinks that love needs to be cured has not experienced enough of it in their own lives."
-- Joan Garry, then Executive Director of GLAAD, the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
"Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new."
-- novelist, poet, essayist, translator and children's author, Ursula K Le Guin who writes from a feminist perspective, often with gender-bending or non-heterosexual characters and who's been married to a man, Charles Le Guin, since 1953
"One Year Of Love Is Better Than A Lifetime Alone."
-- Freddie Mercury, born Farok Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946, openly gay lead singer of the band Queen, who passed away in 1991 from complications of AIDS
"For me [marrying] is about finding that person you call home. Realizing that you're traveling with someone that at times may be behind you, beside you or in front of you. We can be completely fine with that without having to prove anything."
-- Denise Newman, discussing her upcoming wedding to Vallerie Wagner in an interview with journalist MacArthur H. Flourney in Arise magazine
"The only abnormality is the incapacity to love."
-- author, Anais Nin, who was bisexual
"It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know. We all know people who are so much afraid of pain that they shut themselves up like clams in a shell and, giving out nothing, receive nothing and therefore shrink until life is a mere living death."
-- human rights advocate and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Eleanor Roosevelt
"Oh! I want to put my arms around you, I ache to hold you close. Your ring is a great comfort. I look at it and think she does love me or I wouldn't be wearing it!"
-- Eleanor Roosevelt, in a letter to Lorena Hickok, March 7, 1933
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
-- William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act i. Sc. 1. (Some historians believe that Shakespeare wrote love sonnets about men as well as women)
"The most successful marriages, gay or straight, even if they begin in romantic love, often become friendships. It's the ones that become the friendships that last.”
-- Andrew Sullivan
"It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as the 'Love that dare not speak its name,' and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it."
-- Oscar Wilde, at his trial
"Who, being loved, is poor?"
-- Oscar Wilde
"There is no good reason for denying these [same-sex] couples the rules, the responsibilities, and the respect of marriage. Allowing these families to be stronger is not going to take anything away from anybody else."
-- Evan Wolfson
To thee myself I join;
I take thy hand in mine,
With thee I would grow old."
-- From an ancient Chinese male-male wedding ceremony
"Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality."
-- James Baldwin
"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within."
-- James Baldwin
"Penguins accept same-sex commitments. Why do some people have so much trouble with the idea?"
-- Canadians for Equal Marriage, headline
"Love is the big booming beat which covers up the noise of hate."
-- comedian and activist, Margaret Cho, weblog, 01-15-04. Cho is Korean-American. She's married to a man but generally, in interviews, avoids labeling her sexual orientation.
"Where there is great love, there are always miracles."
-- Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Willa Cather, believed by many historians to have been lesbian and who, at the very least, transgressed gender in various ways (http://www.essortment.com/all/whowaswillaca_rlui.htm)
"Anyone who thinks that love needs to be cured has not experienced enough of it in their own lives."
-- Joan Garry, then Executive Director of GLAAD, the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
"Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new."
-- novelist, poet, essayist, translator and children's author, Ursula K Le Guin who writes from a feminist perspective, often with gender-bending or non-heterosexual characters and who's been married to a man, Charles Le Guin, since 1953
"One Year Of Love Is Better Than A Lifetime Alone."
-- Freddie Mercury, born Farok Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946, openly gay lead singer of the band Queen, who passed away in 1991 from complications of AIDS
"For me [marrying] is about finding that person you call home. Realizing that you're traveling with someone that at times may be behind you, beside you or in front of you. We can be completely fine with that without having to prove anything."
-- Denise Newman, discussing her upcoming wedding to Vallerie Wagner in an interview with journalist MacArthur H. Flourney in Arise magazine
"The only abnormality is the incapacity to love."
-- author, Anais Nin, who was bisexual
"It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know. We all know people who are so much afraid of pain that they shut themselves up like clams in a shell and, giving out nothing, receive nothing and therefore shrink until life is a mere living death."
-- human rights advocate and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Eleanor Roosevelt
"Oh! I want to put my arms around you, I ache to hold you close. Your ring is a great comfort. I look at it and think she does love me or I wouldn't be wearing it!"
-- Eleanor Roosevelt, in a letter to Lorena Hickok, March 7, 1933
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
-- William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act i. Sc. 1. (Some historians believe that Shakespeare wrote love sonnets about men as well as women)
"The most successful marriages, gay or straight, even if they begin in romantic love, often become friendships. It's the ones that become the friendships that last.”
-- Andrew Sullivan
"It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as the 'Love that dare not speak its name,' and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it."
-- Oscar Wilde, at his trial
"Who, being loved, is poor?"
-- Oscar Wilde
"There is no good reason for denying these [same-sex] couples the rules, the responsibilities, and the respect of marriage. Allowing these families to be stronger is not going to take anything away from anybody else."
-- Evan Wolfson
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