Exploring the Loop

I’ve been walking the trails off Gravel Pit Road — series 400 logging roads in Jackson Demonstration State Forest — for about eight years.
Recently, via a local trails map, I discovered a path I had hiked many times made a loop.
I wasn’t sure how long it would take to walk the entire loop, so I set out to hike the west side for forty minutes one way.
When I reached that time limit, I saw an old wooden plank painted red and broken into pieces. I thought it made a good marker to alert me when I’d be coming from the other direction.
The next time I went on the trail, I began hiking from the east side of the loop.
I prayed not to step on any banana slugs because they were plentiful and in multiple sizes from tiny to large.
After forty minutes passed, I wondered: Should I keep going? Did I veer off on a side trail? Am I even close to the midpoint?
I began photographing landmarks I didn’t recognize and taking note of how many minutes I had been hiking.
After an hour I thought: Maybe I should turn back. I don’t recognize anything. Yet I feel like I’m close.
That’s when I saw some pieces of red wood. Not the exact pieces on the other half of the loop, but certainly from the same plank of wood. How far away could I be? Truth be told, I was very close.
In many areas of life I tend to believe I’m lost right before I’m “found.” But God always knows where I’m going, even if it is in a grand loop.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Sustenance

There was a redwood grove on the Redwoods Monastery property, but to reach it, I had to walk along a narrow, curvy shoulderless road that seemed remote and car free. Yet once during my daily walk a pickup whizzed past at breakneck speed, startling me.
I chuckled when I came upon mile marker 0.00 because it seemed apt — I felt I was in the middle of nowhere. However, I was actually straddling two counties: Mendocino and Humboldt.
I passed a roadside altar that was being slowly overtaken by moss. Along with dead leaves and conifer needles, religious medals were scattered about the mosaic interior. I wasn’t sure if the tiny grotto was erected as a memorial or as an aid to contemplation because it appeared to be a dangerous spot.
When I reached the dilapidated gate, I noted how forests conspire to reclaim their wildness.
After entering the grove, I almost immediately came upon a burnt out tree, tenaciously alive.
I walked inside, felt embraced by the massive trunk’s inner charcoal walls, marveled at its perseverance.
The grove felt holy,
silent,
ethereal.
The sacred grove was in the shape of a “C,” nearly surrounded by the serpentine Mattole River, which provides year-round sustenance.
I felt sustained too, by everything The Divine was offering me via nature and my senses. I felt solace.
The redwood grove fostered growth of all kinds, inside me as well.
I whispered a prayer of thanksgiving as I left, wondering if by doing so, I had broken the silence, or kept it.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Refreshed by Waterfall Artistry

I enter from above the waterfall at Russian Gulch State Park, passing a small deep basin of water, deceptively still, before it rushes down a rock face.
Rough steps wind down a serpentine trail to a simple wooden bridge.
Alone on the structure I gaze at beads of water suspended in air as they drop down to a shallow pool.
Magnificent redwoods and firs have fallen to create thick tightropes on which to walk if you have that type of daring blood coursing through your veins. My blood is only partially daring; or is it foolhardy?
Some logs are definitely off limits.
But I am adventurous enough to explore underneath them where someone has dropped a line of Andy Goldsworthy-style orange peels. The out-of-place color plays off dark leaf shadows and a checkerboard current.
My artist’s eye notices lime green reflections dancing above splinters of wood resting on the sandy silt.
The bridge’s shadows have the feeling of a monochromatic abstract painting. Art is everywhere.
On rare hot days I’m willing to unlace my hiking boots, wade into the coolness and be sprayed by the falling water.
But today is brisk and I’ve finished wandering. Time to head back, refreshed and ready to continue the day.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Vocation: Wonder

When I first moved to Mendocino County, I couldn’t find a job. But I had a vocation: wonder.
I set out each day in search of the miraculous.
And every day I found something; usually many things.
Common banana slugs in curious shapes.
I took the time to watch them eat, to observe their stalk eyes protruding further towards mine as they no longer perceived me as a threat. I noted the ochre-and-black striped ribbons edging their bodies and how their “tails” accumulated forest detritus.
When I walked along creeks I took in the reflections they offered and realized how impressionistic they were.
Sometimes the water was so clear and the reflections so intense, it was difficult to distinguish up from down and I felt off kilter in a good way.
Impressionism could become abstraction, which thrilled me. Creation; art; creation.
Common ferns became secretive, magical—splendid in their architecture.
A bug was more than a bug: it was an invitation into another world where everything was exquisitely designed and flawlessly carried out its function.
Decay seemed inevitable, yet beautiful.
It laid the foundation for unexpected growth in brilliant hues of crimson
and gold.
Now I have a job. But it doesn’t keep me from my vocation: wonder.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.