Wandering

I finally took the time to re-brush the trail down to my tree. It is an old cottonwood that grows in typical Juneau tree fashion, twisted and mossy. The first year here at Sheep Creek I would look from camp down over the valley and that tree caught my interest. I cut a trail down off the backside of camp through the hellebore, alder, and devil's club by hand and was pleasantly surprised to find it to be hollow. Up in the first saddle was the perfect moss covered perch. I thought, "What a perfect place to write or read a book, or just lay and stare at the mountain and daydream." I made a few attempts to climb up the knots but finally I gave up and went back to camp. I wasn't deterred though, I built myself a rope ladder and gathered some other people from camp to help me get it up on the tree. Every year I go back to the tree, I just have to clear the trail again, and that ladder is still there. This tree is so big and old that there is some currant bushes, jewel weed, devil's club, and a young spruce tree growing on the various saddles. The one branch is curved perfectly so one can recline, and still be cushioned with moss, including a soft head rest.

I hung out full, Alice in Wonderland Cheshire Cat style for a little while today after tours, but didn't bring any books or journals, and didn't feel much like daydreaming so I climbed back down and wandered off through the brush to scout a good route to cut out to the chocolate lily meadow. When I got to the meadow I realized I had never been to the far end of the meadow before so I went to check it out. I found a bear trail that took me to a series of fern clearings. Each of the ferns unraveled almost to full height, just with just a one inch spiral head bobbing in the wind. The bear trail went into a salmon berry thicket so I found another, and another, all with the same ending. Perhaps the bears are too scouting good routes to late summer snacking areas. I decided to go check out a stand of knotted spruce because I knew the traveling would be easier, and eventually looped back to the meadow and out onto Sheep Creek Trail.

I thought about how I would miss this place if I ever decided to spend a summer somewhere else. It would be hard to match the magic of our canyon here, but there are those that say you make your own magic no matter where you are.