There's one remarkable way to beat the hot summer weather, and that's wading through ice-cold mountain river water.
Even a slight breeze is enough to cool you down completely, if you're alongside a sizeable enough river.
The joy of discovery can also do much to dispell pre-occupation with the heat. This particular mountain trail is enlivened by the occasional relics left behind from the region's logging legacy.
I'm not sure what it says about human nature, but I can't help noticing how people can be so much more civil to each other when they meet on these trails. We smile to strangers and even say hello as we cross paths, when we do it up there in the woods. Were we to meet the same strangers on a city street, however, these sincere smiles would probably be grounds for suspicion.
The farther we get from civilization, the more civilized we seem to become. (As long as there's a clear way back to civilization..!)
5 comments:
Air conditioning also works in beating the heat. And so does a nice, tall cold one.
But the vistas are lovely.
Wow, nice view. We've got an abandoned rock quarry not too far from the the neighborhood, and a lot of people walk through there, and there's a kind of pit which has filled up with water, so you can go swimming in there. It's pretty cool, but your walking area gives it more than a run for its money.
And you're right. People do tend to be a bit more...talkative sometimes, when they're just out for a walk. I wonder if it is because they have already designated time towards relaxing and taking a walk, and so there's not as much stress or time pressure driving them to avoid human contact?
Charles Henry, it's heartbreaking how beautiful these photos are.
The more so because I live near a "creek" that looks a lot like your top photo. I put "creek" in quotes because this particular one is a favorite of kayakers who come from far and wide. Apparently, it's in the same classification, whitewater-wise, as the Colorado River.
But this creek is poisonous, and will be into the unforeseeable future, due to acid mine drainage from a local coal mine. I didn't know it at first, when I moved here, and went down to sit on a rock and cool my feet. After I stepped out, my legs were yellow up to my knees. It was horrifying.
Ugh. Sorry to be such a downer. It's only because I'm a worshipper at nature's shrine that I say these things.
Thanks for patience :)
Oh, and Walker -- I visited your blog -- you seem like a very nice young man, and I wish more up-and-coming Canadians (indeed all nationalities!) had your curious instincts :)
Well thank you!
I'll still probably complain about the weather at some point though...
I heard on the radio that some young man just got washed away in that "creek" and is still missing.
When I was young, it was not unusual to hear each summer of some kid dying after diving into the pools above the suspension bridge.
Cooling off is a dangerous business!
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