Yosemite 235
Take 4 dudes with nothing but mushrooms in their stomachs and let them roam free in the mountains to see who they become. The rock rascals have been unleashed. Shirts and shoes get ripped off and yelling from the top of their lungs becomes so powerful you would think actual chimps were swinging through the trees. It was liberating and powerful all 4 knew the time in the valley was soon coming to an end and nothing was holding them back from being the mountain monkeys they were. The warm sun-kissed granite beneath the feet and the mist from the waterfall ahead look like it could only be carved by god itself. There was nothing like it. The sun would show itself momentarily before it hides behind the clouds and the rain would come showering down on them. They ran across the slab fields to take cover beneath their cave. Inside the cave, they laughed, screamed, and behaved like monkeys who have never seen the rain before. Hours went by and all 4 of them were on an individual quest but the journey was together. They knew this was a special day and that it marked a significant period for this summer. Grateful for the people and places that allow these beautiful, odd, and intense days to become possible.
As I get older I’ve wondered about the memories I’ve made over the years with people and in all sorts of different places. Do they remember me? Did I make some sort of an impact on them? Was it positive or negative? Sometimes we can become numb and we forget that everyone around us contains this vault of memories and experiences that shapes us. I thought about this sitting in the meadow as I watched the people hike by either with lovers, family, or solo. I was curious to know what drove everyone to be there and not simply because “we want to see Yosemite”.
Something much bigger pulls people to come out into nature and places like Yosemite. More than beauty. It’s an escape from something; for some it’s temporary, and for others, it becomes a way of life.
Are the memories you make something we have or something you’ve lost?