On Wednesday night, I set my alarm for 5am. I had planned on spending Thursday hiking. Everything I read about the hikes I wanted to do said that there was very limited parking and that you need to catch the shuttle, and it’s best to catch the 7am shuttle before it gets crowded, etc. etc. etc. When the alarm went off at 5, I didn’t want to get up. I tossed and turned for another hour. By 6am, I was debating if I even wanted to hike. I didn’t feel like dealing with a shuttle or lots of people or figuring it out. By 7am, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to do the hikes I had planned and that maybe I’d give myself an easy day that included a short walk near my Airbnb and driving into town for the afternoon. This continues to be my struggle: planning vs. doing what I feel in the moment vs. what I “should” do and see given the limited amount of time I have.
I made some coffee. I made some oatmeal. I sat at a table with my computer by a window with a view of the mountains. I had spent part of the previous night mapping out my next few days. I’ll be camping in Joshua Tree, and then visiting San Diego and LA, after which, I’ll start heading up the coast. To my dismay, the Pacific Coast Highway is closed at Big Sur. I’ll need to turn inland somewhere around San Luis Obispo. The fact that I’ll hit California today when I get to Joshua Tree made me realize that this thing is winding down. I’ll be on the road for another week… but then it gets real. I spent part of the morning (at the table with the mountain view) making those future plans. I instructed the storage company to ship my stuff to Oakland. It’ll be there on the 15th. I changed my LinkedIn profile to say San Francisco Bay Area. I looked at apartments and saved a few.
Maybe that was what I needed to do: make some progress on logistics. I mapped out how long it would take to walk to the hikes as opposed to the shuttle, and by 9 am, I was out the door. I had a water bottle, a granola bar, my phone, and a general idea of where I was going.
I first stopped at the Buddhist Stupa, where I spent close to an hour taking it all in. They hang bird feeders from trees surrounding many of the benches. I saw and heard birds that I’m not used to seeing and hearing. It was extremely peaceful to sit, listen, breathe, and practice meditating.
When I left, I started on my hike in earnest. As I walked, I jotted down ideas and thoughts on my phone, but mostly I just looked at the mountains and colors. The sun was warm on my face – there was very little shade. I took a few side excursions including hiking one summit. Only towards the end of my hike (about six hours later) did I start to get that sense of, “ok, I’m ready to sit down, I’m sore, I’m done.”
I have few more days of hiking ahead of me. I’ll buy some provisions near Joshua Tree (beer, snacks, and some things to cook on my camp stove). I’ll re-group in San Diego.
The inscription on the bench reads: “loving kindness is my religion.
