I used to be really into the ukulele.  For a time at church we had a youth-led "ukestra".  Many adults played as well.  I always found it to be a solid instrument for people who want to sing.  It is uncomplicated.  It does its job with little fuss.  While learning to master an instrument takes a lifetime, it doesn't take long to get a genuine musical sound out the uke. Of course, for some reason many people see this as a weakness.  The great Pete Seeger, a paragon of DIY music, lumped it in with the autoharp as "the easiest to get started on and the hardest to continue with past kindergarten".  I suspect in both cases his year at Harvard was showing a bit.  The fact is, people do play these--and other--apparently "simple" instruments their whole lives while continuing to gain satisfaction from them. 

In another way, though, he is not wrong.  It takes a lot of work to push past their initial limitations. That said, it is worth it.  I also have found it to be a sustainable exercise, at least in part because of how good it sounds playing simple things.  After getting frustrated trying to do some complicated maneuver on the uke, one can settle into some three-chord folk songs.  Then we hear the ukulele say "you're not that bad, you sound lovely now..."

It is also worth remembering the importance and the history of the ukulele.  A similar and smaller instrument--called variously a Cavaquinho or "machete"--was brought to Hawaii by Portuguese sailors who settled there.  the body was adapted to maximize the resonance of the native woods of the islands. The construction methods were also refined.  Perhaps most important, "reentrant" tuning--in this case placing the second highest string where normally the lowest string would be--became the dominant style. This gave the instrument its intriguing brightness and "pop," not unlike the 5-string banjo. Over time it was adapted by the Hawaiian people to become their national--even royal--instrument.  It still has a place of honor on the islands and the most gifted players live there. 

​Like the banjo, it was born out of adversity and oppression and became something beautiful.

I play the ukulele, mandolin, tenor banjo, and guitar.  Each has its own strengths and function. I know I will never be all that good at any of them.  That said, I find myself drawn to different ones at different times.  For me--and I don't really know why--Advent and Christmas are prime ukulele seasons.

Maybe it is the power of memory.  The charm of the instrument--its very appearance is charismatic--makes it a good bet for hospitals, nursing homes, and worship.  It is, as I have mentioned, good for both children and adults who are just learning.  As such it forms part of the soundtrack of numerous public and private carol-sings.  It is portable and easy to bring along to events.  It is relatively durable (at least the cheaper ones) and can be played outside without too much fuss and bother. 

​Also, it doesn't push itself on anyone which--when we are thinking about the stress of this season--is really nice.  When I play the banjo and the mandolin I have to be careful not to overwhelm all the "silent nights" and minor chords.  The uke rests right where you want it.  It points the way for the singers without racing on ahead.

During the late moments of the plague last year we opted for a Christmas Eve ukulele carol sing out in front of the church.  We aren't doing that again this year.  However, it will remain one of my favorite memories of the season ever.  So many people came and so many songs were sung.  My biggest regret was overburdening it with readings and such.  If I ever get another crack at it we will do much more singing. 

​I say "if" but in a way we actually are doing it again, on the top of a local hill for the winter solstice.  It will be fun...I hope.

It may be an odd thing for a bunch of New Englanders--accustomed to the frigid-though-globally-warming climate of our winter home--to reach to the warm climes of Hawaii for Christmas inspiration.  Still, that is how it is.  Somehow it works.  That is the miracle of the holiday.  It is also the miracle of music.  Some things just speak to you, right?

Anyway, I hope you have a good Advent and I hope you play music.  If you are unsure, maybe a uke would help.  In the past I wrote a "buyers guide".  This link gets you to an update of even older posts that can be accessed from it.  The ukulele is a great way to get into music at any age.  Get Caroling!

HIKED ON NOVEMBER 14, 2022

Yesterday was "Thanksgiving Sunday" which is the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  It was lovely and peaceful and--at least for me--quite moving.  Today, however, I am on screech.  Thursday is actual Thanksgiving, then Sunday is the beginning of Advent.  There is so much to do.  All I see is a long string of tasks stretched out until December 26.  This is not unusual for any of us, particularly for clergy, so I am putting my head down and getting on with it.

That said, I did hike Mount Jackson and Mount Webster a week ago in a freak snow situation.  The weather--which was unseasonably warm--had turned on a dime.  Al got sick. I had a reservation in New Hampshire. All this added up to a very beautiful, very cold, very slippery hike!

There are plenty of things that I would do differently.  I would have perhaps not gone.  I would have done better research (I was planning on a different I hike with Al).  However, I did go.  I do not love snow but I have done quite a few winter hikes at this point.  I knew it would be gorgeous at the top and that the trails themselves would have a lot to offer.  The only thing that gave me any pause was that I was by myself.  With that in mind, I double checked my pack, put on my microspikes, and went on up.

It turned out that--while I passed two people heading down Webster--I was the only one hiking Jackson on this particular day.  It is a popular mountain.  It is rare to have it to oneself. The sound of the high wind in the trees and the rush of water under (and over) the ice created the background music to my solo climb as I negotiated some deadfalls and, of course, the icy stream crossings.  I was careful and took lots of breaks, too.

Finally I reached the tree line.  What followed was a brief period of complete chaos!  I was pushed around by the wind.  I later learned that the wind chill put the temperature at -2 degrees Fahrenheit.   My hat almost blew off.  I got turned around and--most exciting--I fell and slid on the ice while trying to avoid the worst spot.  It was chaotic but--thanks to the speed of falling and the need to figure out what to do so as not to freeze to death--I kept moving.  In fairly short order I found my way to the peak and then started down toward Webster.

Those few moments of free-fall, though, became my reflection for Sunday.  Every once in a while I have the experience of a sermon, prayer, or reflection coming to me in its whole form.  This was one of those times.  Collecting myself before trying to stand, the first few ideas came to my head.  We humans are always grateful for the peace--in this case an extremely dramatic and windy peace--after a fall.  Time stopped while I sat there on the edge of the earth.  All I experienced was the smallness of me and the vastness and danger of what was around me.

By the time I got to Webster my reflection was pretty much formed.  I am sharing it here, both because it tells the story and because it shows how a sabbath walk can have influence way beyond the moment...

I did question the reading, though.  "Praise Song" by Lucille Clifton is a poem about a child's impression of an elder's suicide attempt.  Still, it was the poem that came to me when I was recovering from my spill.  Something about being welcomed without judgement, like a child welcomes--or like God does--stuck with me.  I leave up to individual theologies as to whether I had to use it.  However I did. 

There are a lot of different ways to fall, after all. Each time we are saved we crave the welcome and assurance.  We are grateful for how we made it through the crisis or the climb.  We give thanks and praise the acts of kindness and love--from ourselves and others--that we experienced in the darkness.

In a way there isn't much to say, except that the ridge between peaks was spectacular.  So, too, was the view--from a much more secure perch--off Mount Webster.  On the way down I passed a few more people sensibly just doing the smaller mountain.  None of them were by themselves.

I also witnessed a beautiful waterfall on the way down.  Snow really does its job on the landscape, making it feel other-worldly. This is our world, though.  That is another thing to be grateful for.

Winter hiking, itself, is beautiful.  Solo hiking is special and dramatic.  That said, I will keep my solo winter hikes to the 52 With an View list and look for companions on the big mountains going forward.

I always expected that hikes and posts would drop off once work started up again, but I guess I didn't realize how precipitously.  I promised myself to do a "big hike" every week or so and post regularly on various topics.  Instead life caught up.  Ministry is an emotional business sometimes.  The various arenas of parish life require commitment in multiple ways.  Essentially, there are things that must be done to aid a changing church and changing lives of church members.  I haven't been able to get away for extended periods of time. 

Man...I would love to though...

That said, I have been able to take a few smaller walks and hikes. The most challenging one involved a treadmill and an elliptical at the YMCA.  The most meaningful one for me was Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park, just outside of downtown Freeport in Maine.  This is one of those places I went often as a young person.  It was relatively close to where I grew up.  We would have picnics here regularly. Later, when I went to a private high school, the park was on my way home. Back then I would sometimes go running here to stay in shape for the worst cross-country team in the state. 

​Then, when I, my siblings, and our significant others worked in the "outlet heck" of Freeport, we would sometimes take our picnic breaks here.  Family members who worked at a sandwich shop would bring the food.  Then we would drive home...to the same house, because we lived with our parents.  In that group a number of our "first dates" happened here. Oh yes, there was camping involved, too...

The path, itself, is not all that difficult.  It winds from the picnic area along the coastline.  There isn't a beach (thank God) so it is a hiker's park, mostly. The range of the tides is pretty extreme, so the view constantly changes.  Also, there are many spots where one can turn back to the parking lot if necessary.  It can be a pretty convenient feature if schedules or abilities differ. During this most recent trip on an unseasonably warm day, my niece had to head home after a while to get ready for school, so she just turned off and we continued on.

There isn't much to say about the walk we took.  It wasn't very technical.  I nabbed a geocache.  We spent time with family, like we always have here.  Then we went back the way we came.  However, it does bring up a subject that I have been reminded of frequently in this project.  That, my friends, would be accessibility. 

Many of the hikes I list on Sabbath Walks can be challenging for some people.  I forget that.  Probably that is because the hikes are also challenging for me and I do not think of myself as much of an athlete.  As a slow hiker, there are plenty of people to remind me on every trip large or small that it is harder for me than it is for them.  That is how people roll; one-upping each other with abandon.  

It turns out that there is a degree of difficulty in what I do--even on Mount Cube or Hedgehog--that is worth recognizing.  It might be that for some people the challenge makes those hikes less relaxing than they should be for a sabbath walk. 

​The big accidental secret is that I take a lot of shorter or easier walks. It's not just Wolfe's Neck!  I just didn't know anyone would be interested. With that in mind--and to reveal where I go when I am not climbing a mountain--here are some of my other favorite easy (or easier) hikes, some of which I have done more times than I can count...

OK...one further note.  No walk is really "easy."  There is always a challenge.  The trick is knowing what you are up for and what you think you can manage on any given day.  When I injured my back all the hikes on this "easy" list were off the table for a while.  For some people they may always be just manageable or not manageable.  Know thyself, thy interests, and thy ability.  If these seem a bit too easy, I recommend my Easyish Hikes list.

Also...again...know you are hiking your own hike. Sometimes someone else thinks you are a loser for accomplishing something they think is beneath them.  I have been on the receiving end of hiker toxicity more than once, myself. That is on them.  You don't need their insecurities to harsh your vibe.

Ridge Hill Reservation, Needham, MA
I credit this trail with much of the progress I made rehabbing my back.  However, my relationship with it starts way before my injury. When I need to think and then get right back to work, this is where I go.  The trails here can sustain a hike of anywhere between 1/4 mile to 3 miles.  It is dog-friendly and--unlike some parks not on this list--the dog walkers keep their furry friends relatively under control. 

There are no epic views here. However, there is a lovely boardwalk through a wetland. Most importantly: do not miss the area across Charles River Street from the parking areas!  It is oft-forgotten so there are fewer people.  Also, it takes you down to the Charles River, which is always pretty.

Oliverian Brook Trail, WMNF, NH
​I hiked this one in the rain, but I have to say that the river was very pretty and--in an area of relatively tough climbs--it was a good cool-down.  I sat by the brook for a while.  On a pretty day I could see spending even more time there quite happily.  If you are stuck in the White Mountain National Forest and don't want one of the many riskier hikes available, just tell your friends you are doing this and will meet up with them after.

Note that this is an out-and-back.  The same trail leads to some relatively easy--but more challenging than this list--ledges.  Also, if you make the wrong turn you could end up on the butt-kicking slopes of Mount Passaconaway.  Turn around when you are ready.  You really call the shots.

By the way, it gets a mention on my Mount Hedgehog post.  Hedgehog, itself, is "easyish" and these trails could make a nice two-day combo.

Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, Natick, MA 
In the Covid era this extremely popular sanctuary required a reservation.  It may still.  Also, if you are not a member the Audubon Society, it will cost a you a tiny bit.  That said, I love this place!  I have hiked/snowshoed here in all kinds of weather.  There are trails that make cute 1/4 mile loops and longer arrangements as well. 

​This also borders the Charles River.  I have passed the farthest flung trails from time to time in my canoe.  If you like turtles do check out the various observation areas in the wetlands near the parking area. Finally, be warned, since the plague this place has been packed on the weekends.

Cochituate Rail Trail, Natick/Framingham, MA
One warning about this one...it is paved.  ​This is a multi-use trail that is probably best on a bike but walkers can enjoy it too.  It serves as a pedestrian/bike path for commuters.  You can hit the mall.  It leads to the back gate of Cochituate State Park.  I made a loop of it from my house--which came to around 9 miles--in order to train up for the Great Glen Way road walk portions.  Worked great. 

​Be warned ​that the hard surface can do a number on your feet if you go the whole way.

Mount Agamenticus, York, ME
This is the "hardest" of these easy hikes and it is the only one that has its own entry on this blog.  I will refer you there for details.  Still, it was very accessible and there were plenty of trails that skirt the mountain, itself if that feels like too much.

Long Pond Loop (Tully Lake Reservation) Athol, MA
This loop is also on the challenging end of easy.  There is an optional tiny mountain to consider.  That said, it is one of my absolute favorites of all time.  It follows Long Pond just north of the much-busier Tully Lake. There are views both over the pond and up on the tiny mountain.  It is also the longest on this list at about 7 miles.  Unlike the rail trail, you cannot really bail out, which is a consideration.  That said. it is very doable if you give yourself enough time.

Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal, ME
I have mentioned this one before as well.  I spent a huge amount of time here growing up.  One of my brothers worked as a summer ranger here as well.  This tiny "mountain" has a great view of the towns and villages where I grew up.  Trust me, though, you will like it even if you are from away. Also, yes, my high school cross-country team ran here from time-to-time as well. 

​As with Wolfe's Neck and Broadmoor, there is a fee to get in.  The shortest trail to the top is about .4 miles.  However, I usually take the perimeter trail that makes the whole experience closer to 3 miles.

That is all for now!  It was nice getting to think about these special places.  I have already been to Ridge Hill once this week. Maybe I will head over again soon...

Well...it happened.  I am back at work after 5 weeks of a sabbatical filled with hiking, writing, and reading.  I have to say that I enjoyed it. I also learned a great deal about interacting with the natural world which, of course, was the point.  I find it is good to have goals even in an ostensibly less-structured time.  I like being able to look back and see what I did.  Among other things, I hiked 35 of New Hampshire's 48 4,000 footers and 18 of New Hampshire's "52 With a View" mountains.  I have written about many of them here. Not bad.

This is my third sabbatical.  After every sabbatical at least one person will use the term "rested and refreshed" to describe my  state upon returning.  I don't get the "rested" part.  I never really rested. I worked--and played--pretty hard actually and now I am tired around the edges.  However, in one sense--perhaps that of restarting a computer, for example--I could be refreshed.  Sabbatical is a reboot.  It involves getting rid of old programming and updating systems.  I am not done yet.  There is more sabbatical to come.  Still, I am in the reboot process and that is...interesting.

I had a number of goals  for myself at this point in that process.  One of them was simply an act of definition.  I wanted to answer the question of what a "Sabbath Walk" actually is.  I named this weblog after the concept, which did not originate with me. What sort of "walk" helps us to connect to the Great Whatever?  How do we find ways to act in the world that will expand our horizons?  In an earlier post I talked about what the implications might be for the institutional church.  Here, I want to lift up some aspects of what I learned.

Now for this project my sabbath walks have been actual walks.  That is what works for me.  Of course they could really comprise any number of activities.  Some people's sabbath walk is more of a sit or a read.  There are people who explore through music or math or science.  I kept it simple by making this metaphor for life somewhat literal.  There are, of course, other ways to connection.  Here I am talking about hiking, but there may be something in it for you even if that is not your bag.

I learned pretty quickly that not every hike fit into the category of sabbath. Some of them were too challenging.  Some were too easy.  There were distractions along the way.  Like Goldilocks I found that there was an element of "just rightness" that I needed to get into a prayerful or meditative mood. I have hinted at this realization in a number of other posts.  Just as in formal worship--where through the elements of the ritual we attempt to elevate our minds and hearts--there are conditions that help or hinder the spiritual exercise of walking in the woods.

Of course there are infinite variations to these conditions.  However, for the sake of simplicity I have begun to use four broad categories that need to be present in relatively equal measure for a true sabbath walk.  If they are not there the adventure can still be worthwhile, of course.  It is just that the conditions make the spiritual connection--the meditative aspect--harder to find.  There was much to say about ,my climb up Mount Washington and Mount Monroe, for example, but either my own state or the state of the hike itself (or both) made meaningful reflection difficult

Anyway, here they are.  All four of these aspects are recognizable to most hikers as being par for the course.  Which is to say that they are part of any climb or walk. When we are mindful of them, we have a better time.  In fact, these are often the specific reasons we went for a walk in the first place!

1) Physical Challenge and Discipline: 
It is hard to miss this one.  I mark my own discipline of sabbath walking from right after my back surgery. There was rehab involved. I had to get out and get moving!  Hiking was more interesting than going to the gym, where I injured myself in the first place. It was also something I was familiar with from a lifetime of getting outdoors.  Most people--hikers and non-hikers alike--recognize that there is a physical challenge involved when we intentionally take a long walk.  Even strolling around the neighborhood indicates that we are somehow  pushing ourselves.  The challenge is part of why we do it.  We are "getting in shape" but we are also getting to know our bodies, their likes and dislikes.  Knowing ourselves and the vessel that carries us is essential to a well-grounded life.

Now, this can often be the primary motivation for some hikers.  It is a legitimate door into a sabbath discipline.  Getting stronger and feeling better physically is important in and of itself.  So too is the pride and joy of achieving a difficult goal.  When I climbed Mount Adams and Mount Madison a couple weeks ago, I was chuffed to have done so.  The trip was very much about dealing with the 5,000-plus feet of total elevation gain and staying hydrated. We were coping with the discomfort and the risk around wet trails and the slippery rocks. My brother waited at the end for us and became worried something bad had happened! We were just slow. We all high-fived each other in the parking lot at the end. That said, the physical challenges out-weighed some of the other aspects so it was hard for me to make it a "sabbath."

What I can say, though, is that one's physical presence brought about by addressing a physical challenge with intention and discipline is essential to the walk.  It's just that too much physical challenge makes it hard to concentrate on other things. We must push ourselves and engage our bodies. Yet it can be--and should be--at the level of the walker.  That is part of our practice of self-awareness, after all.  It also needs to balance​ with a few other things.

2) Mental Challenge and Discipline:
Now, it may be easy to conflate this with the physical challenge.  Many athletes, for example, talk about getting the right mindset for their respective competitions.  I am a big basketball fan and--if this were a different kind of blog--I would tell you about the many times in the NBA and WNBA where a less-talented team beat a more talented one because their heads were in the right place. 

We see this in a good walk, as well.  Lets say we are climbing a physically challenging mountain and we need to find the courage and fortitude to keep going.  In that moment we must push through the pain or despair to the other side.  It matters that we  do this.  However, it also matters how we do this.  For some it is a case of baring down, finding hidden reserves of power, and soldiering through.  Others--and I would put myself in this category--do better through a discipline of openness.  When I hike I try to cast my eyes and my heart outward into the landscape and toward other hikers, using the power of the world around me to drive me forward.

It wasn't always this way.  I remember hiking Mount Moosilauke early on in this project.  In retrospect I probably shouldn't have.  I was still in pretty bad shape both physically and mentally.  I used the "dig deep, push through" method and it got me to the top of the mountain.  About halfway down, however, those reserves ran out.  I "crashed" emotionally and had trouble getting myself back to the car while in full hot mess mode.  This was the state of things on many hikes for a while.  However, I started turning the corner while climbing the Tripyramids and by the time I hit the Osceolas--where I actually took a major fall--I at least had the sense of what I needed to do going forward. All that stuff in my posts about noticing the colors, the views, the little plants, and the people began as part of that exercise of openness.  It was a very practical adaptation to help me survive.  

​The world/creation/the universe etc has more energy than we have on our own.  It is good to find ways to use it.

3) Receptivity to the Moment:
This one logically follows from the previous ones, doesn't it?  It is in some way about aesthetics.  Most folks who go for walks have a view in mind.  That is why we climb mountains or circle lakes.  It is why we try for the most "natural" places in our lives.  We are trying to be called up and out from the concerns that tie us down and reduce our humanity.  An experience that points to the vastness around us helps with that.

Human constructs often demand more from us than we are able to healthily give.  There are societal and economic demands on us.  In order to maintain our selfhood in this environment, we naturally pull ourselves inward.  We stay in our lane as much as possible. We also travel as fast as that lane allows. 

Maybe we manage to live in the moment while we are drinking our first cup of coffee in the morning.  After that, though, for most of us life is a series of next moments.  There are things we are expected to--or want to--achieve so we going about doing those things.

This is what draws us to our sanctuaries.  We are not products of our constructed world.  We are products of the world before we built those things.  You might want to go back and read the two previous sentences again. The solid foundation of a house of worship, or the quiet of an art museum, or the chaos of a concert, or the  primal energy of the trail, are all sanctuaries for our souls where we can be present in the space we are occupying at that very moment.  Our challenge is to find those places where we are receptive.  There are many, many directions in which to go to seek them.

If you have read my posts here then you know that I have developed a practice of receptiveness while hiking.  Particularly when I am alone, I make a point of sitting, feeling the rock beneath me, listening to the wind and the animals in the bushes.  If there is a view I try to enjoy that, too.  It isn't entirely necessary though.  This practice has helped to save many a hike that I would otherwise deem a bust. Most recently it helped me through a soggy hike up Mount Israel.

​The sabbath walk needs time to make connections to the right now, and sometimes it isn't that easy.

4) Contributing Creativity
Worship is a dialogue.  Yes, in many formal settings it may not feel that way. Folks who get their information about worship life third-hand may not be aware that in pretty much every tradition there are ways that everyone participates and adds to the moment.  In my church there are hymns and responsive readings.  There are announcements that are sometimes longer than the sermon.  There is coffee and conversation afterward that frequently lasts longer than worship, itself.  A sabbath walk requires these elements as well. Our conversation--broadly conceived--creates a new thing and adds to the whole of creation.

Creativity can be intimidating.  People think of painting, writing, and preaching, for example.  However, it doesn't have to be that way.  Do you sing along to the radio in the car?  That is part of a dialogue. You are changing the original document--the song--and making it your own at least for that place and time.  I sing hymns on the trail these days, particularly when things are getting rough. I picked this practice back up from my distant past on a solo hike up Tecumseh and have continued to do so when the spirit moves.

​I also take pictures and, yes, I write. That is extra, though. As this project has gone on I have found it harder to post something new for each walk but I still form sentences in my heart as I go along, even though you may never read them. I also usually manage an Instagram post. Pictures don't feel as repetitive to me.

A sabbath walk doesn't just involve being in the moment and witnessing what is before us.  It involves making that moment more meaningful and beautiful. This doesn't always happen.  There is so much going on as we walk that we may be too distracted.  There may be too much going on before and after our walk. We may not be in the right space to make something new. 

However sabbath is about practice and we do get better at being creative over time.  We get better at talking back to--and building--creation. We need to forgive ourselves when things don't go right.  There will always be another sabbath-day.

So--once again--not all walks are reflective.  That is fine and good.  Sometimes we need to get something else out of an experience.  That said, I do believe that there is a place for worshipful walking when we can.  These four aspects in some sort of balance are--for me at least--what makes the difference between a good hike and a sabbath walk.  If you are curious which ones made it for me, I have an "Actual Sabbath Walks" section which will give you a sense of what I am talking about.  They can be a challenging as Mount Katahdin or as easy as Mount Norwottuck.  On my list, for whatever reason, things aligned in such a way as to create an attitude of worship and of connection to something greater than myself. 

I hope your walks--or your "walks"--are also satisfying.  If you feel like sharing, please do!  Communities--congregations in whatever form--make everything more meaningful.

It is a beautiful fall day but I am at home. I took my usual walk--just to get my steps in--and have my coffee before me.  When I sat down I thought I was going to write up another hike.  However, right now I am looking toward what is to come.  There will be time, I assume, to look back on some of my more recent climbs. My heart is not in those reflections, though. I return to work on Monday and thoughts of that eventuality have invaded my brain space.

When we planned out the sabbatical year we thought it would make sense to break it up into three parts.  My project of experiencing the Divine through nature and creativity will benefit from a cycle through the seasons.  The church, too, will benefit from have me in the saddle for the peak holiday times.  Those holidays start at my church on my first Sunday back.  October 30 is "Halloween Eve" and we will observe it with a concert and then our annual Jack-O-Lantern competition.  There will be a service in the morning, too.  I have no idea what I will talk about.  I am looking past that moment for now. Instead I am musing on the many ways this rapidly approaching period of celebration aids us in our quest for spiritual connection. 

​There is plenty written about the domestication of Christmas, for example.  It is a holiday steeped in its pagan roots that has consistently warred against its more "acceptable" Victorian trappings.  Anyone who has had to plan carols for the traditional, hushed, Christmas Eve service with the candles knows this tension well.  So many of the songs are meant to be sung loudly and drunkenly in streets, bars, and living rooms.  A worship leader can lose the also-desired thread of that mute Holy Family with their cozy animals and non-smelly barn pretty easily. 

Of course domestication--of holidays, of nature, and of other things--is frequently a goal of the powerful.  Why won't everybody stay in their lane? The "Holiday Season" is made up of moments with an abundance of meaning well beyond the limits official arbiters place on them.  Halloween is about fear, Thanksgiving is about gratitude.  These are vast subjects we struggle to understand. Then the sprawling mass of winter festivals arrive making noise, breaking out in silence, and bringing  light into the darkness.  In each case there is a story or a set of rituals but...really...they take a back seat to more primal understandings.  This season resists control because it touches the deep places of our hearts and souls.  These are places many of us don't reach any other time of the year except...maybe...during the battery of spring holidays..

The meaning of specific holy days overlap as our "folk" elements outstrip the official ones.  I know of many people who will have three Thanksgivings.   There is the official one that happens on a Thursday.  Then there is another one on the weekend for people who couldn't make the official one.  Then there is "Friendsgiving" whenever it can be fit in.  In my profession the parties really get going between Boxing Day (December 26) and Epiphany (January 6) when the secular world exhausts itself.  Then, with our many gigs over, we can sing the loud carols to each other.

I am looking forward to this time; both the approach when I will be busy and the retreat when I will celebrate.  There will be plenty of walks in there, too.  Some will involve getting away on my sabbath to put on heavy gear and hike.  That, however, won't be all. In fact for we humans have the tradition of taking walks together post-feast. This is usually a casual thing when we stroll around the neighborhood to get some air and a change of dynamic. 

​Occasionally, though, the walk is intentionally religious. For a few years church members would meet around midnight on the Winter Solstice to walk a labyrinth.  That was deemed a bit hard core. Now we climb Pegan Hill and sing. It is good--in a time when the circle the sun makes is so noticeably different--to recognize the natural world.  It is good to see each other in it.

​Nature invades in other ways as well.  Spooky gourds kick us off.  Then there are the general fall decorations that stick around as Thanksgiving retains a touch of the harvest festival about it.  Then we are bringing pine trees into the living room and putting wreaths on the door ensuring some life in the stark dead-time of early winter. We violate our own norms to do this. Even though it is now culturally acceptable, there is still some trapping of transgression in our act.  It is as inconvenient as it is pretty to bring the forest indoors.  After all, we think of the wild as being "out there" and compare it against our own--hopefully but not really fully--ordered existence in our human spaces.

Anyway, that is where my mind is today.  I am heading back to work and the big question is how or when we can integrate this unruly nature spirit into our expectations for the next few months.  The urge is to tamp it down, to follow the set passages--to stay in those lanes--to survive this time. So much is distressing and uncontrollable.  Still, we can see the Holy in action, appearing under its own power and on its own time.

​ What can we do to celebrate it?  What can we do to live into the Divine Chaos?  I don't know the answers to these questions.  I hope it will be fun to find them.

Hiked On October 12, 2022

Many years ago my mother-in-law came across a Walter Launt Palmer painting in a thrift shop in New Jersey.  That painting eventually got  her an appearance on the Antiques Roadshow. Back then this name was new to me.  Palmer worked mostly in New Hampshire in the White Mountains and his work was heavily influenced by the Hudson River school that began about a generation earlier.  Since that time I have seen his work in many American museums.  I remember, too, an exhibit of "New Hampshire school" painting at Fruitlands where the emphasis was on the use of light, how it falls, and how it changes a scene.  Light and color are both evident in his work.  Somehow his paintings seem both over-the-top and true-to-life at the same time.  He creates spaces the viewer can recognize and inhabit, while also understanding that the perfection of these works makes them somewhat other-worldly.

It turns out Palmer is a big deal.  Looking at his paintings--easily available for viewing online--you can experience some of the dynamism of the natural world.  They draw us in. They compel us with their familiarity.  We inhabit the scene because it is magical, too.

​The appearance of our lived landscapes alters with the season and the time of day. We experience this in all its glory when we leave our homes to journey farther into the wild.  However, we are familiar with it from our own more mundane lives as well.  Looking at the trees outside my window I can see them cycle through the seasons; from brown, to green, to yellow and red, then back to brown.  When it rains they look different from when they are in the sun or the snow.  We are used to this phenomenon. Still, for most people it remains fascinating.

The Universalist and Unitarian minister, Thomas Starr King also saw this aspect of light and color.  He is most associated these days with California, where he ministered and where a seminary is named in his honor.  However, Starr King was a New Yorker and a New Englander before that.  In fact, he wrote a book in the 19th Century style about what he called the "White Hills."  Now one of those "hills" is named after him and resides on the 52 With-a-View List.  The quote at the top of this post refers to something that many people who visit regularly have observed.  The light changes constantly.  So, too, does the color...and not just in the fall. 

​The mountains "are never two days the same." This is why we go out into the natural world more than once a year. When we return to the same place at a different time, we are reminded that this thing called life is dynamic and ever-moving.  We are all these things as well.

I climbed up Hedgehog on my own about 30 seconds after peak foliage.  The weekend before--when we did the Carter Loop in the snow--was the busiest the Whites had ever been...or, at least, had been since the previous Indigenous People's Day weekend.  Our drive home after that hike was a bit of a nightmare, actually. As I mentioned in my previous post, most peaks were crawling with people.

This past week it was still crowded.  However--just as with the Carters--one can find hikes where the more casual tourist doesn't go.  They are looking for either the easy view or the famous mountain. I don't really blame them and have done so occasionally myself. Driving down the Kancamagus Highway on my way to the trailhead for Hedgehog, I saw overflow parking--cars along the road--at all the major trails and viewpoints.  Random pedestrians popped out into my path to get a better angle on pictures of the Saco River and God knows what else.  It was a bit chaotic even for the tail end of foliage season.

Since I was in New Hampshire for a few days this time, I had planned at least a couple of more obscure hikes. This was the first of them. Pulling in the trailhead parking there was only one other car. The little mountain was pretty much neglected in favor of the more famous ones. That, of course, was my gain. 

After a quick conference with the couple in the car next to me, we chose different routes. My new acquaintances had a steeper climb straight to the peak. I decided to go counter-clockwise. I wanted to start with a clear view from a series of ledges over the Oliverian Brook valley toward Chocorua, Paugus, and then--most strikingly--to Passaconaway only two miles away.  Passaconaway is a massive mountain I would rather look at than climb a second time. I knew that the direction I was going would put it front-and-center as I walked along.

The early ledges were pretty much all that I expected them to be.  Colorful hardwoods crawled up the slopes from their lower vantage point, attempting, maybe, to pull the dark, massive, pines back down toward them. I had to concentrate a bit on the early ledges that ended abruptly in a steep drop toward the valley floor, but that was not too much of a challenge.  Also, having to focus on the ground gave me the opportunity to look at some of the reddish alpine communities growing in the cracks and crevices near my feet.

​Eventually those ledges ended, followed by a dip and then a steep climb toward the top.  Somewhere before that final climb, I encountered the couple from the parking lot who told me that we no longer had the place to ourselves.  Still, I only saw a few more groups over the course of the day. Some encounters were welcome.  Resting at the peak, in fact, I had a conversation with a young person from Germany.  She had rented a van and was spending a month or so hiking on the east coast.  We got maps out, identified some peaks, and compared notes on our respective future and past hikes. 

She was also concerned about some older folks she had passed on her way up.  They were moving quite slow to her mind. As a somewhat older person myself who is known to hike slowly, I told her I would check on them.  They were fine. They had chosen to move steadily toward the seat we had recently vacated, careful to monitor their progress and their condition.  This wasn't their first rodeo. They knew what they wanted from the climb.  One can accomplish a great deal with an awareness of one's own strengths and limitations. The people I worry about are more confident--or overconfident--ignorant, and ill-prepared.

After the peak I started down. With a little gas left in my metaphorical tank, I decided to take the diversion out to Allen's Ledge.  Here, again, I could look over the Oliverian Brook valley.  These ledges were off the main trail. There was no one else around.  I spent about 40 minutes admiring the silence and the colorful display.  It was easy to imagine being up there in other seasons. Probably winter, in particular, would be delightful on the ledges here. Maybe I will go see it then.

The change of seasons that we witness in this way--just by looking out our windows every month or week of the year--can reflect our own personal seasons. Spring and fall have their easy, spectacular demonstrations of life and death.  However, we also live through the pulsating heat and drought of summer.  We survive the freezing cold of our winters.  It is important to understand that there is beauty in times of desperate survival as well. Otherwise we will not get through the journey as well, will we?

The next day--after a climb of Mount Israel that will be the subject of another post--I hiked along the Oliverian Brook.  I was curious what the space between the mountains looked like from below the ledges.  While I was there, the ferocious rain stripped many of the trees clean. The leaves gathered in muddy puddles along the trail, becoming soil in real time.  Peak foliage is over for another year, but this new landscape had its own beauty to observe.

I sat under the roots of an old tree along the brook and watched the current, the rain, and this year's bright color turn to the browns and grays that the snow will later outline like a Palmer painting. The cycle of life continues. Creation never ceases. We are blessed to participate and witness.

Hiked on October 9, 2022

Snow changes everything.  Obviously there are actual physical changes.  Climbing in the snow--even a little bit--can alter one's approach. The rocks get slippery, for instance.  Footing gets weird.  If it snows early in the season there can be personal thermostat challenges, with layers going on and off in rapid succession.  However, there are also aesthetic and spiritual changes.  The white flakes create sharp outlines where previously there were none.  The fall of snow, itself, helps us remember previous snows for better or for worse.  The sound is altered, too. Even a little snow has the ability to muffle the incidental noises of the forest.  Also, many creatures--human and otherwise--become silent, hiding away until the squall passes on.

An early October snowfall starting somewhere above 3,000 feet changed this hike across South Carter, Middle Carter, and oft-forgotten Mount Lethe.  We had climbed Carter Dome a couple weeks before. Two weeks--and the snow--made all the difference.  When we were on the Carter-Moriah Trail (also part of the AT) in September the place was a seething mass of humanity.  Thru-hikers were hustling along their way in hopes of making it to Baxter State Park before it closed for the season.  Day hikers were everywhere.  On the top of Carter Dome--as I mentioned before--a group had decided to have a picnic and blast their tunes for the rest of us to hear. On this trip it was all silence.  It is too late for all that rushing about and too cold for picnics.  From now until May there is a seriousness to this endeavor that  doesn't empty the big mountains of people so much as put more space between them.

To get to the Carter-Moriah trail--the one that takes us over the peaks--we opted for a steep climb up 19 Mile Brook Trail.  The pitch became steeper as went along.  When we approached Carter Dome we were on the other side of the ridge. We stopped at Carter Notch and climbed to the peak from there.  In this case--on the "front" side--the trail split, with 19-Mile Brook heading toward the hut. The other path--called the Carter Dome Trail though we departed it before the Dome--veers left and heads up toward South Carter. The plans of the few people we saw seemed to involve the hut.  Once we turned we had the trail even more to ourselves.

Shortly after this was when the snow started.  I am not fond of winter or winter hiking.  Snow, however, I like if  it is ridiculously early in the season.  It reminds me of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Also, it doesn't get deep enough to be a problem--other than the slickness--for our footing.  We had the micro spikes in our bag just in case, but we didn't need them.  I stayed in a T-shirt for quite a while, waiting for the snow to pick up.  I heat up quickly and was mindful of what the drop in temperature could do if I soaked through too many outer layers. 

​It was a strange feeling with the colored leaves still on the trees, but it wasn't an unpleasant one.  The wind had died down, which helped a great deal as well. All the weather activity gave us something to think about as we moved higher and higher.

In a  previous post I made reference to a phenomenon that occurs sometimes on mountain hikes where the trail begins to feel safe and secure, like a comfortable room in a house or a welcoming hallway connecting two points. At least that is how I experience it sometimes.  This hike had a great deal of this sort of action, particularly after the climb up.  When we emerged onto the relatively broad intersection of our trail with Carter-Moriah, the room effect was very much in force.  Again, two weeks earlier this spot would have been insane with hikers.  Now Al and I were alone in the quiet with the snow gently settling around us.

We may not have been in a true winter wonderland, but it was a wonderland nonetheless.  That feeling stuck with us for the long walk along the ridge.  We had selected this loop to get away from the crowds.  Now on the main trail, we did see a few people enjoying the strangeness of the day. That said, the population was very manageable.

We weren't sure it would be that way. The weekend of Indigenous People's Day is one of the busiest in the Whites.  The foliage is usually full throttle.  You cannot find a place to stay. Many of the best-known trails and mountains are packed with muggles looking for a fabulous view.  We were under the impression that there wasn't much in the view department on the Carters.  This was  why we picked it.  We wanted to hike.  The snow had made the forest even more beautiful so we didn't mind terribly anyway.

Funny thing, though.  We were wrong about the views.  After a long, long, time in the forest the snow started to abate. Through the trees and on various outlooks we were all able to cast our eyes on the fall landscape from our wintry perches. The juxtaposition of our landscape with the one far below was the sort of thing we hope for after putting in so much effort.  It felt like a gift.

At this point the temperatures had dropped substantially.  Bundled up in our winter jackets we took a moment for snacks and water before heading just below the peak of Mount Lethe.  Then we turned on the North Carter Trail toward the Imp Trail for our descent.

The rest of the hike was less interesting.  We had a few more brilliant views before dropping under the canopy of trees.  We had been talking about heading over the Imp Face--one of the 52 WAV mountains--but we were really done.  I was especially finished.  I had decided to wear my "backup" hiking boots that I used on the Great Glen Way.  This was a mistake.  I was trying to save money by nursing along my favorite pair, saving them for other hikes. I paid for my cheapness with pain.  I don't think I can do that much longer.  It is worth it to use the right gear for the right job. The best boots one can get are the best boots to have, it turns out. Limping down to the bottom of the North Carter/Imp trails I welcomed the short road walk back to our car to complete the loop.

Sometimes there is no great theme to a walk.  On days like this it is best not to look too hard for meaning.  Instead we favor the day we have been given with our attention.  The snow, the pretty trail, the surprise views, and even the sore feet contributed to the experience.  We were open to the wonder and were rewarded for it.

Hiked On October 4, 2022 (via Cross Rivendell Trail)

​It is the first hike of October and the foliage situation is improving.  Right now--at least on Mount Cube--it is all about orange and yellow with a few touches of red. When it isn't raining, the temperature is just about perfect. I am going to have to switch out from my summer pack to my regular pack this week.  The number of layers I use in a day out is increasing. There is a gentle smell in the air of wetness and rot. It is a beautiful time for a sabbath walk. 

Also, there are fewer people out on the trails.  Vacation is over and the peak season of outdoor activity is behind us now.  In fact, it turns out that if you hike this mountain early in the morning on a Tuesday in October, you can have the place to yourself.  I have never been so alone on a mountain.  There were no cars at the trailhead. I saw nobody at the intersections with other trails.  That was fine by me. 

Still, it felt a bit strange.  When I hike by myself I am rarely alone.  There are people around even if I don't see them or talk to them.  On the days with rain and fog at the top--most recently Katahdin and Black (Benton)--there are still some hardy types.  On Black it was just a couple people.  On Katahdin there were plenty.  I chose the mountain and the day with isolation in mind.  In fact, I considered the Webster-Jackson loop--which would have been populated even on a weekday--and rejected the idea.  Cube guaranteed silent-time with nature.  I just didn't realize how much silent-time...

For people who hike a great deal, seeking isolation is frequently part (or all) of the goal.  It isn't all fun outings.  We want to be anonymous for our own reasons.  The trauma of the plague, at least, has given many folks the drive to get away.  Each individual, though, has a motivation unique to them. They can be dark reasons or not, but they are still present in our hearts somewhere, possibly not yet fully realized. 

The mountains don't care who you are, after all.  They can be good spots to work things out. There is positive power in sitting with only the vastness for company. Many times, no one will even bother you.

I seem to be drawn to isolation myself, lately. There are times in one's life when a person wants to change things even if they are pretty social during everyday life.  During this sabbatical season the fall in the air has prompted a desire to fade from view a bit. Anonymity is appealing. When someone is unknown, they can change how they dress, look, and act if that is what is desired. Time away helps with that. 

​Time in a relatively undisturbed ecosystem--which is constantly emerging and reinventing itself--helps, too. For a moment we can slip into creation's rhythms and see ourselves as non-static beings. We are able to escape Society's wish to cast us permanently in our current outward role. In the wild we do not have to play the part of good or bad, strong or weak, foolish or wise that has been our assignment through the passing of years. We are  observed, judged, and graded in life.  These pressures strive to mold us. Sometimes they do so in inauthentic ways.

Many of the people I meet out in the forest are seeking out the liminal space in offers.  On the trail we are reminded that all is in flux; that there is death, life, and possibility in every new step. We do not have to be who we have become.  We do not need to carry those burdens.

​That said, I didn't meet any of those adventurous changing people on Mount Cube. I was that alone.

Now practically speaking, on this particular walk, there were disadvantages to this isolation.  First, I hadn't counted on being so tired at the beginning.  My knees remembered the Katahdin hike differently from how my mind remembered it. It wasn't all about the beauty of the day or the companionship of the AT hikers. It was mostly pain, apparently. This creakiness came in part from having so few distractions.  It takes a while to ease out of drive-mode into walk-mode.  I could have used a person or two to facilitate the transition.  Also, it isn't always great to be alone with your thoughts.  One can have trouble settling down and putting aside whatever negative emotions have built up just from being alive and around people.

The advantages, though, outweighed the burdens.  The day was postcard-worthy.  There was a mild breeze by mountain standards and the views were back.  I encountered a couple view points on the way up; places where the rock ledges had overwhelmed any attempt the trees made to expand there.  Then--as often happens--there was a scramble over exposed rock to the first of two peaks. 

​The Cube's south peak is on the 52 With-A-View list. A wide valley can be seen with Smarts Mountain--only 4 miles away--dominating the landscape.  The site of at least two plane crashes, it, too is on my list.

After spending some time there I progressed along a few hundred yards of the AT, which passed just below the peak, itself. This led to a side trail that brought me, eventually, to the north peak. The course here was relatively flat and narrow.  The trees pressed close in in a way that made this part of the journey feel like exploring a room or a hallway. I don't know how else to describe the phenomenon.  It happens occasionally  close to the top of a mountain or along a ridge where the contours of the terrain and the tight network of plants break the wind. In those places it feels like all you would need is a roof to live there forever.

The north peak had its own views.  Moosilauke, Black (Benton), and Blueberry mountain were easy to identify.  The first was noticeable for its size and the others for their ledges.  Again, a valley stretched out between them and me.  In this case the trees had given it an orange tint that was mesmerizing.  I sat at the viewpoint for a while and then started back.

​One of the problems with hiking alone is that there is only one brain to rely on when you get turned around. For this reason I took a bearing from the trailhead to make sure I could stumble down to the logging road where I left my car if need be.  In this case it was more about retracing my steps along broad ledges that resist signs of foot traffic. 

​Eventually I made back to the entrance of the tight corridor of trees and returned to South Peak.  There I sat for a while.  If you read my Watatic post you know I am trying to do more of that.  My companion in this instance was a smallish tree situated near the same sort of 19th and early 20th century graffiti that graces many popular mountains in Massachusetts; old names of visitors carved deeply into ledge rock. At this point it was easy to remember that aloneness is not the same as loneliness, that we aren't really alone anyway, and that our thoughts--or non-thoughts--can be good companions.

I pointed my feet toward the car.  Trails always look a little different heading in the other direction.  I noticed small paths to secret campsites along with some glimpses through the trees that I had previously missed.  The challenge of the end of the hike is that--in the returning--all the pressures of life return as well.  It starts with figuring out a route home and then cascades from there.  Mindfulness can keep these worries at bay for a while, but not forever.

About a fifth of a mile from the trailhead I encountered two women heading up. I said hello and kept on moving.  It was like a shift change. It was their turn to have Mount Cube to themselves.

My own relationship with Baxter Park is a long one.  When I was young my father served as a member and then chair of the Baxter Park Authority which functions as a sort of governing board for the park and overseer of its unique mission.  Along with the activist Park Director Buzz Caverly, they pushed back human encroachment in an attempt to restore PP Baxter's vision.  I got to spend a lot of time there, mostly in the northern section of the park away from Katahdin.  My mom--a dedicated hiker herself who is trekking through the Dingle in Ireland as I write this--liked it better on that end. There were fewer people on the trails. 

I have climbed Katahdin, though, a number of times.  The last time was many years ago. I was in my twenties and my little brothers, Matt and Dan, set off on what they hoped would be a southbound walk to Georgia on the Appalachian Trail.

Which brings us--finally--to this climb.  Once again it had to do with the AT.  Astute readers of Sabbath Walks will remember that back in March I accompanied my eldest son to Georgia for his attempt at thru-hiking.  Well...he made it. 

​This trip was the last few miles of that epic journey of over 2,100 miles from Springer Mountain to Katahdin.  His uncles are still picking away at the trail themselves.  Dan and I had the chance to walk the last few miles with him and his "tramily" so we took it.  

I don't usually post church stuff here, but this service is about my sabbatical project and includes some background to why.  The sermon starts at 40:44.  I tried to peg this there but failed.  There is some good stuff before that, however, so feel free to skip around!