Oh! Heaven!

Of Mud And Mountain Views

Somedays, the misery of the trail offers no relief. No grand views. No revelations. Some days, misery is just misery.

Today, though, was not one of those days.

The day was wet and awful, true. I sat in my car for an hour waiting for the raging downpour to pass. The trail was an absolute swamp with water and mud pouring over my boots for most of the way up.

The slabs were slippery as ice. And the bugs!

But near the summit of Pillsbury Mountain, I heard a grouse and then saw her (him?) shoot across the trail - a performative distraction perhaps, meaning that her nest was nearby. And then there were the orange newts, so so many of them.

And that summit! High above the trees I sat in the tower alone, and clouds came rolling rolling rolling like a thick paint brush swirling above the little valley. Oh! Heaven!

I wouldn’t have this without the rain and mud. This WAS because that was. So I’ll accept the suffering as payment for this gift.

The valley and the wind and the abstract clouds, two hours of mud for ten minutes of this. That’s a good deal.