The sun starts to fall lower in the sky; your legs are tired, your feet are sore.
Finally you reach your campsite: a beautiful, open expanse of meadow dotted with a handful of tent-sites, overlooking a crystal blue alpine lake backed by craggy peaks. The sun is close to falling behind the mountaintops and you anticipate an incredible alpenglow display across the other side of the vista. You sigh as you set your pack down, enjoying the moment of respite that is especially sweet in those first few seconds of not carrying extra weight.
It’s time to pull out and tear into the bear canister, taking in immediate calories, bringing out the special snacks that you didn’t have easy access to during the day. It’s time to set up the tent, wash the dirt off the face, fill up with water, put together your simple kitchen, change into camp shoes and semi-clean nighttime baselayers. It’s time to nurture, stretch, and revel in the moment.
Maybe a few words with your campmates, maybe not. Depends on the energy of the evening. Last night there was a sangha (spiritual discussion) that really resonated; tonight is free time with an optional short restorative yoga sequence. Decide if you want to cook mac-n-cheese or rice noodles with miso and dehydrated veggies. Decide if you want to sit by the edge of the lake in the dying light with an extra layer or read the stars or a short passage from your book from the comfort of your sleeping bag.
Allow yourself to settle inward. The busyness of the day-to-day is far away. You’ve been out too long to worry about if you left the oven on, or paid the electric bill. That challenging conversation you need to have is processing on its own in the very back of your mind. The uncomfortable situation at work feels so incredibly distant and minuscule right now. Those deeper things that have been weighing on your heart, that you set an intention at the beginning of your trip to gain more clarity about, move through the body with each step as you ascend over mountains and into valleys… you feel as though in just these last couple of days you have arrived at a greater sense of visceral understanding of them.
You rest deeply. The ground is hard but you feel increasingly comfortable in your sleep setup, plus the body is so deeply tired after the energy you have expended all day that it descends easily into slumber. Dreams are crystal clear. In the morning you wake up with the sun. It’s a bit cold outside, but the golden light of daybreak teases you out of the tent for hot morning beverages.
Everyone gathers to practice yoga. The practice begins gently and you ease into your body. All of the parts of you that ache from the night on the ground and from the challenge of hiking with a backpack are soothed, stretched, opened up, reawakened. From your head to your toes the whole body begins to light up and feel ready for the day ahead. Words and poetry from ancient and modern teachings are brought into savasana at the end of your practice, and today, they seem to land just right.
You feel more alive than you have in months.. maybe years. You feel stronger, clearer and inspired; you feel completely in the present moment, attuned to your deepest self.
I won’t promise that you will find a particular answer you are looking for if you join a wilderness pilgrimage with me, but will not be surprised if you arrive on the other side having an experience that in some way touches you to your core, immerses you in nature, and has you re-emerging with greater clarity, sense of connection, vision, peace in your heart, and excitement for life.