Ireland Lake

On this cold and rainy Friday evening at my new place in San Francisco, I find myself missing this backpacking trip I took one weekend with a dear friend of mine who is now halfway across the country en route to New Orleans.

Tommy had this great idea to hike to Ireland Lake from Twolumne, through Lyell Canyon. We backpacked 10 miles and reached the lake before sunset. Upon arriving, we refilled our Nalgenes with ice cold water from the lake. It was the purest water I've ever tasted, free from chlorine or chemicals. Tommy cooked Ramen and tea afterward, and we both walked out into the boulder field nearby, reflecting in silence at the magnificent sunset.

"Vibrant pinks, deep blues, and purples stretched across the sky, staining the mountains in color. Night visibly invaded the last light of day. It was somber, so beautiful it could make you cry. It just all feels so vast, and I'm so small. I feel an unspeakable void within me- maybe the potential for my life, what I could do, who I could be, who I will love. I don't think I've felt so connected with God this whole summer." (September 8, 2011)

Mountaintop experience- literally. It wasn't that everything felt perfect and came together at that moment, in fact, I had been going through a few things and felt mixed up with life. I was tired from the hike, uncomfortably cold and not used to the lower temperature at the higher elevation (which Tommy found funny because he's from Michigan). But as uncertain as things were in my life at that time, I felt a great sense of purpose and love and connection to the universe all at once. It had something to do with God and the span of time, but was too magnanimous to wrap my mind around. It was very deep and spiritual.

I have such a capacity for love, and I'm burning with life. I'm thankful for this chance I've been given. I won't use it idly.