Chrysalis and Coming off the mountain.

I've said it before: experience is gained in the follow through.

Friday morning I left with my class for our three-day backpacking excursion into the woods above lake Isabella. It was three days of uninterupted blissful escapism. We hiked in about 3 1/2 miles to a sandy beach along the river. We ate good food (I made greek pizzas on an open fire), hung out and let our hair down. Saturday we went on a day hike up to an abandoned mine shaft and learned how to orienteer with a map and compass and the terrain. Saturday afternoon we climbed a giant hill, then climbed a giant rock where we could see the whole valley. After we played a bunch of games including finger fencing that turned into "gladiator wrestling" (I accidentally flipped Kelly, a guy who's a bit bigger than me). That night we sat around the fire getting to know each other and being silly til 2 in the morning. We gave each other pirate names, John was "pokes fire with stick" Erin was "floating Gazelle" I was "pirate camper." After everyone went to bed Aeisha, John and I stalked Erin commando-style to her tent in the dark and did the hokey surpised her with the hokey pokey. She fell apart laughing.

Sunday morning I was the first one up (again), and I made fire from scratch! I felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway "I! HAVE MADE FIRE!" We left that morning, hiked out quickly (everyone was so pumped up from the weekend that a few of us practically ran...actually Erin did). We left the trailhead and met up in Kernville for pizza and beer and proceeded to toast anything and everything we could.

The whole weekend was amazing--the only bathing I did was sunbathing and that was completely expected. But it was the drive home that made me realize the significance of espcaping to my mountain top. For three days I was able to leave my problems behind, I didn't have to think about work, school, or really anyone except for the awesome people in front of me; but eventually I had to come back. I had to drive back down from the mountains into the valley where my problems laid waiting for me.

A chrysalis is the process a catipillar goes through to transform into a butterfly. It is a time of seclusion and deep personal growth. I think from time to time, it is important for everyone to undergo their own chrysalis--a time of maintenence, and a time of personal growth. Remembering to take care of the self must be one of the hardest lessons there is to learn, it continues to be one of the most difficult lessons I face. But this camping trip has reminded me of something--beating my head against the wall is useless. Occasionally life requires a retreat in order to regroup before facing our problems again. Occasionally, it is necessary to head up to a mountain so that we can come back down to the valley, revitalized and with new-found momentum.