Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is serious business for those who decide to backpack the 2650 miles from Mexico to Canada in one season. Think of it as hiking a 26-mile-marathon each day while carrying your food, water and camping gear on your back over mountains, across deserts, through snow, and every imaginable kind of weather. As such, it is not an exercise in wilderness appreciation; it’s an exercise in human endurance. It is one of the toughest, most grueling physical challenges in the world. People involved in can be forgiven if they don’t have time to stop and smell the flowers.
This isn’t to say they don’t have an appreciation for the incredibly beautiful country they are hiking through. It’s impossible not to. But this appreciation is limited. When Peggy and I were backpacking through the Three Sisters Wilderness of Oregon as part of my 750 mile trip, we met Big Red, a giant of a man who summarized it well. “I’ll camp on a beautiful lake,” he said, “and I’ll think, ‘Wow! I would love to spend a few days here.’ But I can’t. I have to get up the next morning in the dark and be on the trail by dawn. Otherwise I’ll never finish.”
I felt the pressure myself, even though I was moving along at around 15 miles a day. At 75, my shorter days were the equivalent of the longer days being hiked by the 20-40 year olds. I was glad I had my camera along and was committed to recording my journey with digital photos. It forced me to stop and smell the flowers— and to admire the beauty of my surroundings. Plus it was one hell of an excuse for a break even though I rarely allowed myself more than a minute or so to capture a subject and had mastered taking my camera out and putting it away while walking. (Okay, some subjects required 15-30 minutes!)
The flowers along the trail were gorgeous. I shared some of these when I blogged about the journey. I’ll be sharing more over the next few weeks as I use my photo-essay Wednesdays to feature pictures from the PCT. Enjoy.
FRIDAY’S POST: My final rock art post for now featuring petroglyphs from Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, Petrified Forest National Park and northern Nevada.
Wandering through Time and Place 
What beauties!
They made long days on the trail easier, Cindy.
A gorgeous flower round up – I especially liked those Lilies!
They are magnificent, MB. And their location didn’t hurt either. 🙂 Thanks. –Curt
The wild hollyhock looks remarkably like our wine cup: especially the interior. And it really is interesting to see how different (and yet similar) the paintbrushes are to ours. I liked seeing those. We have a native white azalea that I wanted to see this spring. From what I understand, it’s still acceptable for individuals to go out into nature, as long as they stay away from other people, so I’m going to try and make a foray into East Texas as soon as the weather allows. I think we’re headed for rain and thunderstorms all this weekend.
Nature may be our best escape from the coronavirus, Linda! Peggy and I drove up to Crater Lake yesterday. There were a few people there, but it was easy to keep our distance. We are thinking of traveling to more remote areas in our small RV and camping out. It is our home away from home, after all. There are many paintbrushes, but they all seem colorful— as they should with their name! –Curt
Delicious!
Almost edible. 🙂 Some of them actually are. –Curt
Amazing all those beauties are out there, wild and free, planted God knows how. (and that you’re able to ID them all.)
Those flowers kept me hiking down the trail with a smile on my face, Dave. And, of course, stopping to photograph them provided a welcome break. My years of wandering in the wilderness has provided me with IDs for most of them. For those it doesn’t, I have several flower guides. 🙂 –Curt
I’m so glad you took the time to pause. 🙂
Thanks, Arati Appreciated. There will be more.
A little shot of nature’s beauty! Just what we need in these strange times.
Alison
I promise more, Alison. 🙂 Pretty flowers I have lots of. –Curt
Me too 🙂
I always enjoy seeing what you saw on your 750-mile trek, and these are no exception – perhaps even more appreciated right now when I can’t get out on a real trail myself!
I feel the same way, Lexi. The photos help me relive the experience and enjoy the beauty. I never tire of looking at them. –Curt
Now very often people do not pay attention to what surrounds them because because of the great rush and attempts to earn money, we ceased to notice the beauty of today.