When I’m in the mountains and behold something beautiful -- a venerable, moss-covered silver snag, perhaps, cloaked in the first snowfall of the season; or a wintery high country valley, as picturesque as any Christmas card -- I wish I could report that eloquence fills my brain and poetry tumbles from my lips. I wish I could report that, I really do.
The reality, however, is that I usually exclaim something like: “Oh, Wow!” or “Oh My!” or even “Holy Shit!” Even if I am alone, I speak these words out loud, and if a friend is with me, he/she usually just nods.
I’ve decided that it’s not that my friends and I are not smart enough or verbal enough to say something worthy when we view nature’s incredible artistry... it is that there are times when words -- any words -- are pretty much unnecessary.
Friends and I were recently tromping through fresh, powder snow, hiking a route six miles in length, toward a pass at six thousand feet. We walked below the tree you see in the photograph above. I looked up, realized that the tree was something special, and pointed skyward, so that my friends too would see. We all quietly pulled out cameras and took pictures.
Today I post photographs, my way of sharing a bit of the hike with you.
As far as a verbal representation of the day, I’m afraid I can’t get beyond “Oh Wow!”
