Hiking with Friends
Joshua Tree National Park may be my favorite national park. Perhaps it is the desert landscape. Perhaps it is the sheer beauty. Perhaps it is the company I keep on these special visits. I am guessing it some combination of all three. Whatever it is, when I leave this place I do so rejuvenated and full. I drive away with photographs I will cherish for a lifetime, miles of new beauty explored, and memories that I will hold dearly.
Meditating on This
On this visit in the middle of January, I am meditating deeply on the experience. Around me, is a group of friends who have made the last year in Los Angeles special. Soon, thanks to a dream of hiking a long-distance trail, I will part ways. They will go about their lives and I will be forced to do the same. Experiences such as this will be harder to come by naturally. As we hike, laugh, and talk, I am not ready for this chapter in my life to end. I am not ready to say goodbye.
The Designed Park
A master gardener and architect could not have designed Joshua Tree National Park with better precision. As you drive through and pull over to explore each stop along the way, you are bound to draw a similar conclusion to mine. Everything seems to be exactly where it should be. The hands of time placed each stone, every cactus, every single tree, and every plant exactly where it should be. Not only that, but it was done in a way to maximize the beauty and the environment.
Full of People
On this particular visit, we took advantage of the national parks being open with free admission in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Thanks to wonderful California winter weather, we are not alone. At first, this annoyed me. Then, I realized the hypocrisy. I have long advocated for people spending more time outdoors in an effort to more deeply connect with themselves and those around them. Everywhere I look, this is happening. Fathers hiking with children, mothers explaining rock formations, and families of all shapes and sizes admiring the beauty of this place. For all of them, I hope this unleashes a deep love for nature that will not be easily quenched.
I Will Miss These People
As we left the park and finished dinner in Palm Springs, I found myself privately filled with emotion. Never in my life have I made an easier group of friends. Never have the laughs come easier. Never have I had to work so effortlessly to find a family away from mine. With two months to go before the PCT, I know I am not going to get many more opportunities to share with these friends of mine. This destroys me in a way I did not expect.
Be good to each other,
Nathan
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