spiritual growth

“At-onement”

Posted on Leave a Comment
Photo credit: Allwallpaperfree.com

“we are so both and oneful
night cannot be so sky
sky cannot be so sunful
i am through you so I”

e.e. cummings (100 Selected Poems)

Some of e.e. cummings fans regard this untitled poem as his finest work. However, with nearly 3,000 poems published, it might be a fool’s errand to judge.

However, what may not be debatable is that in his final stanza he playfully illuminates perhaps the quintessential truth about the human experience. Humans are social animals and need each other to survive (if not thrive) physically, mentally and spiritually. 

Excrpt:  Biodesign Ou For A Walk, chap.20, “Sasha.”

“He went on to say, “Living is quite an intimate process. We are all breathing the same air and interact socially, which involves a great gift. We have the potential to appreciate or improve the value of each other.”

This process may be as simple as a smile, pat on the back, a hug, or as profound as sharing wedding vows or comforting a friend following the death of a loved one. Modifying Howard Gardner’s, Multiple Intelligences, these were the pathways we used to enhance self-discovery, connectiveness, validation and appreciation.

  1. Linguistic/body-language communication skills
  2. Logic/mathematical/scientific skills
  3. Visual/perception/artistic expression
  4. Music/rhythm
  5. Self-awareness through body movement
  6. Spirituality
  7. Socio-psychological awareness
  8. Nature/transcending experiences

All of these can be summed up in the simple Zen koan:

“No two people have ever met and departed unchanged.”

Every person we have ever met left an imprint on us that contributed (small or large) to the person who we are becoming. Because the Biodesign Class was an advanced biology class, all eight pathways were applied from a biological perspective. Although all pathways are essential, Nature-study (the wilderness ethic) became the primary focus with the other pathways contributing as a supportive network. The literary works of Muir, Emerson, Darwin, Thoreau, Eiseley, Agassiz, Dillard etal served as our guides. It was almost automatic that students climbing to the top of Half Dome or hiking to the bottom of Grand Canyon went through transcending experiences.

Photo credit: Bestsecretgetaways.com

The stunning photo of a rock climber striking a pose on a Grand Canyon pinnacle can be a good example. It would be impossible for this 81-year-old (grandfather of nine) to attempt to ascend the rock column. However, that fact does not preclude me from enriching my soul by vicariously celebrating the success of the climber. His image conjures up rich symbolism and a plethora of soulful emotions and aspirations. It is quite common for hikers reaching a mountain peak to raise their arms in a skyward exultation. Whether the raised arms symbolize opening their hearts to heaven or welcoming heaven into their hearts, the experiences are often life changing. 

I’ve dangled my feet 4800’ above Yosemite Valley on the edge of Half Dome for nearly 30 times. Each time was unique, thrilling—transformative.

Photo credit: Lowell Young

It is little wonder that Walt Whitman wrote:

“To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.” 

e.e. cummings would wholeheartedly agree and so do I.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

Love—Laughter—Playfulness Under Nevada Fall

Posted on Leave a Comment

“Heaven knows that John the Baptist was not more eager to get all his fellow sinners into the Jordan than I to baptize all of mine in the beauty of God’s mountains.” – John Muir

No other naturalist, before or after John Muir has reached his lofty status of being able to decipher and communicate the physical, mental and spiritual essences of Yosemite National Park. He could not have known English poet, W.H. Auden, but by writing, “Yosemite is a place to play and a place to pray,” he clearly understood Auden’s premise that “carnival” (the human world of Laughter and Play) is closely related to the world of Worship and Prayer.

Many of the most sacred moments in Biodesign occurred through laughter. Their laughter was of the highest order, showing no signs of being grubby, pornographic, cruel, or mean-spirited. They laughed easily and often, especially at the intimately embarrassing moments that occurred while traveling, hiking and camping together. Their laughter was contagious and healing.

Typically, on warm autumn days, the nearly 5,000 ft. descent from the top of Half Dome to the base camp in Yosemite Valley produced hot and sweaty hikers. A dip in the snow-melt pool beneath Nevada Fall usually offered refreshing relief.   On one of visits the guys were the first to jump in. The icy-cold water produced yelps and gasps. One of them asked his buddy; “Are you squinching?” Whether they had heard the term or not, all the guys immediately understood and burst into boisterous belly-laughter. The girls looked on with puzzled expressions. One of them finally asked, “What is “squinching?” This produced more laughter, and finally, one of the guys said, “You should ask Mr. Young.”

I remembered a conversation with a teacher-colleague of mine who spent a summer in France. When I asked about the highlight of her trip, she said, “I was standing in the Louvre, admiring Michelangelo’s statue of David, and I suddenly burst into rapturous laughter. It occurred to me that after God created Adam, he said, ‘Oops, I almost forgot! You will need two of these and one of these.’ The people around me must have thought I was a nut.” I shared her story and said she might be right.

The event provided a natural opportunity to describe, but not explain, one of nature’s most intriguing mysteries. Human embryonic male testicles originate in the same area that ovaries originate in females. During gestation they are programmed to migrate down and out of the lower abdomen. In cases where this does not happen, the organs will not function properly. Apparently, the normal body temperature of 98.6 degrees is too warm for sperm production. The problem was solved by moving them out of the body, allowing them to cool slightly. They can, however, become overly cold, and when this happens, males “squinch.” The scrotum shrinks and draws the testicles close to, or even up into, the lower abdomen. It was too much information for some of the girls, but most joined the guys in hilarious laughter.

Although the event was uproariously funny, at a deeper level it pointed to the quintessential mystery of how every human being began his/her journey on Planet Earth. Against unfathomable odds of time and space, each one of us began during an extraordinarily mysterious moment when one sperm (out of approximately 300 million) united with one egg (out of about 400) to emerge as a once-in-a-universe zygote. Lewis Thomas, MD, author of “Lives Of A Cell,” suggests that the biomolecular mysteries of forming a zygote are so vast and complex that they may remain forever beyond human comprehension; ergo, the miracle of life.

Just like the theoretical impossibility of any two snowflakes being alike, no two humans will ever be identical. Even so-called identical twins are not identical because they begin to affect each other’s behavior very early in their respective embryonic development (epigenesis). People who get to know identical twins often regard them as only slightly more alike than sisters or brothers.

Twenty years after the waterfall event, the world-famous Dahm triplets rocked the scientific world. They opted to have their ancestry analyzed to confirm their Nordic heritage. The results confirmed their theory but revealed a blockbuster clue. All three have British/Irish genes as well as French/German genes. That was not so surprising, but what was intriguing was that each had a different percentage of the minority genes.

It is doubtless that the original sperm and ovum that produced the triplets contained latent genetic information that dated back thousands of years. It is likely that the mitotic process that produced them involved replicating over 1 billion nucleotides, some of which were not transcribed identically. This means that the “identical triplets” are not perfectly identical. This closely relates to Charles Darwin’s discovery of genetic variation which is a key component of evolution.

During the evening, after the momentous event, the students were huddled together around the campfire sharing reflections of their day. One of the girls read from her journal, “I have never felt cleaner in my life!”

Little wonder Muir wanted all of his followers to be baptized in Yosemite’s waterfalls.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

 

Butterflies and Human Existence

Posted on Leave a Comment

Greetings valued friends,

We are experiencing an exciting upsurge of readers from around the world. We reckon that some have missed some of our favorite blogs ergo, we will revise and repost a few of them. Thanks for supporting Biodesign Out For A Walk. LY

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” Maya Angelou

Never before in human history has there been such a wealth of knowledge that has allowed man to contemplate the great panoply of mysteries and miracles including, the origin of The Universe—Life—Human Spirituality. Anthropologists suggest that the first faint stirrings of human spirituality began about 100,000 years ago. Perhaps this is why anthropologist Loren Eiseley wrote in The Immense Journey:

“The story of Eden is a greater allegory than man has ever guessed. For it was man walking memoryless through bars of sunlight and shade in the morning of the world, sat down and passed a wondering hand across his heavy forehead. Time and darkness, knowledge of good and evil have walked with him ever since.”

Eiseley is tacitly alluding to the origin of human values, consciousness and free will and not so tacitly suggesting that modern men (including scientists) still have very little understanding of their origin. He leaves us with two tantalizing mysteries.

When was the “light” turned on in human beings?
Who were the first humans with a soul?

Is it not logical to assume that, before the emergence of consciousness, our ancestors were totally controlled by instinctive behavior? The mere fact that millions of life forms have succeeded for approximately four billion years by instinctive behavior suggests that there was no need for consciousness or self-awareness. In other words, there was no need for modern man to evolve.

If people are unable to fully appreciate the changes every butterfly must go through, perhaps it is because they simply cannot fathom the billions of cellular/molecular modifications involved. They are not alone. Anthropologists are at a loss to explain the symbolic (and spiritual) importance of the Eden story and trained entomologists are basically clueless about the instinctive biochemical process of butterfly metamorphosis.

In simple terms, after the moth spins a cocoon or the butterfly secrets a chrysalis, the larvae dissolve themselves into a cellular/molecular “soup.” All of the larval structures are dismantled and molecule-by-molecule reassembled into a moth or butterfly. This means that even the larval brain dissolves and is reconfigured into a totally different creation with radically different functions including directing the miracle of flight.

As a biological process this may be extraordinary, but it does not threaten us. However, when metamorphosis is used as a metaphor for spiritual growth, it can become terrifying and reason enough to not welcome the changes necessary to achieve a higher awareness.

It should not surprise us to note that the words metamorphosis and metaphor are similar. Metamorphosis= ‘transform, change shape,’ and metaphor= transfer the meaning of a word into a figure of speech. When people feel internal “butterflies” it is highly likely that they are experiencing spiritual stirrings involving love or fear.

This is fascinating because human childbirth just may be the closest example of metamorphosis, whereby each infant leaves a “saline marine ecosystem” and becomes an air-breathing land mammal. From the infant’s perspective the ordeal of birth must be traumatic and may explain why many newborns scream in protest.

Little wonder it is called, “The Miracle of Life,” and why females all over the world (regardless of race, religion or ethnicity) often share an innate awareness of human spirituality that is associated with motherhood.

Intriguingly, R.W. Emerson (1803), Henry Thoreau (1817), and John Muir (1838) were born within 35 years of each other. They all became literary giants who championed the emergent spiritual philosophy of Human Transcendence. In an interesting paradox, transcendentalism proposes that in order to become fully human, people must “transcend” their physical and mental limitations in order to be “reborn;” metamorphosis!

Emerson, Thoreau and Muir all believed that people contemplating nature, especially wilderness areas, increase their odds of “born again” experiences.

Either that, or perhaps they can take a cue from Maya Angelou’s metaphorical butterflies and muster up the courage to become “spiritual soup” and embrace the changes that they must undergo to become more sensitive and enlightened beings.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Photo credit: Joseph Lacy, Natalija Mislevicha

The Book Whisperer

Posted on Leave a Comment

“A spiritual partnership is a partnership between equals for the purpose of spiritual growth. Spiritual partners use their delightful experiences together as well as their power struggles to learn about themselves and change themselves.” – Gary Zukav

Excerpt: Biodesign Out For A Walk, Forward by Linda Williamson.

I now realize that one of the great lessons of Biodesign was learning how a strong marriage works. Christie was, and is, the strength behind the scenes; the wind beneath Lowell Young’s wings.

Linda Williamson is one of my most-admired colleagues who taught at St. Helena High School. As a consummate world traveler, she was keenly aware of the myriad of logistical challenges of moving a group of 40 people from St. Helena to Grand Canyon and back six days later. As a chaperone on one trip to The Canyon, she watched Christie dispatch the tasks with skill and grace.

However, Christie’s role in the Biodesign Program, was metaphorically wider and deeper than Grand Canyon. She is a bibliophile and eventually provided 20-30 books that became the physical—mental—spiritual fabric of what evolved into Biodesign.

One of our Goddaughters is astutely aware of this and dubbed her “The Book Whisperer.” The designation is a soulful sobriquet and bares witness to the fact that Christie has been my personal “Book Whisperer” for nearly 55 years and affirms Linda Williamson’s observation:

Christie was, and is, the strength behind the scenes; the wind beneath Lowell Young’s wings.


The photo was taken 5 years ago at our 50th wedding anniversary. It was celebrated at San Francisco’s, The Golden Mirror Restaurant, the same restaurant I proposed to Christie 56 years ago.

Three years earlier (1961) the Wedding Song was written by Noel Paul Stookey (Peter Paul & Mary) as a gift to be sung at the wedding of his pal and singing partner Peter Yarrow. The song has become legendary and been sung at countless 1000s of weddings.

Although the song was likely inspired by the Gospel of St. Matthew, the magical blend of lyrics and melody can create transcending moments for all who celebrate the mystery and sanctity of marriage.
Christie recently joined Facebook and can be contacted at https://www.facebook.com/christie.young.50702

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

 

Lenten Meditations: God vs. Science

Posted on Leave a Comment

“It’s déjà vu all over again.” Yogi Berra

In 1946, anthropologist Loren Eiseley exposed the hypocrisy of scientists who dismissed the Biblical story of creation as mythical and unprovable and then proceeded to replace the poetic metaphor with The Big Bang Theory, which is equally mythical and unprovable.

Eiseley, who has been described as one of the great science/spirituality writers and along with many honors, was awarded the Pierre Lecomte du Noüy award to writers who described the overarching themes uniting science and religion.

When he wrote; “The story of Eden is a greater allegory than man has ever guessed,” he was aware that secular scientists were using their God-given gift of free will to devise theories and models that supposedly proved that God did not exist.

Like the eminent naturalist, Louis Agassiz, he was not convinced that Darwin had answers for any of the “big” questions in biology: The origin of the Universe; the origin of living things; the Precambrian explosion; the origin and rapid dispersal of the angiosperms, the rapid increase of the human neocortex; the origin of human “values—consciousness—free-will;” the origin of non-genetically transferred “gifts” of music—art and logical/mathematical genius.

70 years later, physicist Alan Lightman published, Searching the Stars on an Island in Maine. While the book may be a personal “tour de force” of his academic brilliance, as a self-described “humanist,” he confesses that science cannot prove or disprove the existence of God. To his credit, he questions his own credibility and that of other secular scientists who have eschewed Newton’s laws of conservation of matter/energy, the very laws that hold the universe together. Collectively they boldly proclaim that “The Big Bang Theory” is the Alpha and Omega solution to the Universe, without describing what the Universe was at T minus 1, or how a universe could exist before time was created. Lightman is not alone. There is a legend that on his deathbed, Einstein smiled and said, “But I still wonder how nothing can become something.”

Evidently Lightman was inspired by a transcending experience; “looking up at the stars off the coast of Maine.” He also shared a goose bump-inducing account by clergyman William James: “I stood alone with Him who made me, and all the beauty of the world and love, and sorrow, and even temptation. I did not seek Him, but felt the perfect union of my spirit with His…”(Varieties of Religious Experience).

Surely he knows that neither of those accounts can be explained by Darwinism and the great naturalists John Muir, R-W Emerson and Henry Thoreau described them as transcendental events that are essential components of being fully human—fully alive.

Lightman touches briefly on human ego, but in the debate of science vs religion the issue is of paramount importance. It is intriguing to wonder if he is familiar with the acronym “EGO” (edging God out) that is frequently used by people of faith. One of the extreme examples of “EGO” can be found in Stephen Hawking’s book, The Grand Design. Hawking has risen to a Greek-god-like status in academic circles and I suspect that his book has replaced the Holy Bible on the bookshelves of many secular scientists. He boasts that believing in God is obsolete because the universe is so complex that it made itself out of nothing. To many people of faith this represents the highest form of ego/narcissism by inferring that he is smarter than God.

When I share his theory with non-scientists their responses range from shock, disbelief, derision and even laughter. One of my “cowboy” friends scoffed and asked, “Do intelligent people really believe that “b s”?”

The cowboy prefers Albert Einstein’s more humble theology to the arrogance of secular scientists:

“The scientists’ religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.”

Lightman suggested that most cosmologists are atheists and I can envision a group of them on a starry night, shaking their fists upward and chanting, “There is no God!” and toasting each other with a glass of Napa Valley Cabernet.

It is intriguing that he does not entirely share Hawking’s unbelief, but seems to admire people of faith and the huge contributions they have made to civilization. In a hauntingly transparent passage he wrote:

“But nonbelievers have a great deal of difficulty. It may be that quantum physics can produce a universe from nothing, without cause, but such an accidental and unanalyzable origin for EVERYTHING seems deeply unsatisfying, at least to this pilgrim. [A person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons]. In the absence of God, we still want causes and reasons… I respect the notions of God and other divine beings. However, I insist on one thing. I insist that any statements made by such beings and their prophets about the material world, including statements recorded in the sacred books, must be subject to the experimental testing of science.”

One of his saddest confessions is; “I will admit that incoming stimuli are not forming patterns to my personal satisfaction.”

Again his lamentation contrasts sharply with Albert Einstein:

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead —his eyes are closed. The insight into the mystery of life, coupled though it be with fear, has also given rise to religion. To know what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms—this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.”

 Perhaps, instead of searching for God in the ivory towers of Babel, Lightman might consider embracing King David’s profoundly penitential Psalm 51 (Hebrew Bible). Or contemplate the wisdom of Albert Einstein, one of the great scientist/humanitarian/spiritual writers in human history.

In a splendid irony, Lightman may have become an unwitting advocate of Genesis 1:27; “So God created man in his own image.”

Comments welcome.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

John Muir: Flying Lessons off of Half Dome

Posted on Leave a Comment

“Come to the edge, he said.
We are afraid, they said.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came to the edge,
He pushed them and they flew.
Come to the edge, Life said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, Life said.
They came. It pushed them…
And they flew.” Christopher Logue

After nearly blinding one eye in an industrial accident, John Muir declared:

“I bade adieu to all my mechanical inventions, determined to devote the rest of my life to the study of the inventions of God.”

This was primarily accomplished in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. He launched himself on a self-imposed mission to probe the edges of his humanity and spirituality. Muir not only thrived at seeking transcendental experiences, he enjoyed urging others to seek their respective “edges”where he could give them a gentle push.

100 years before hang glider pilots began launching off of Glacier Point, Muir was urging anyone he could to climb any mountain peak and test his/her spirit wings. I know about this because 50 years ago he called me to the top of Half Dome and gave me a gentle push. My maiden flight was exhilarating and inspired me to lead 24 groups of high school biology students to the top of Half Dome to test their spirit wings. Typically, they were thrilled and like Muir, saw visions, marvels and wonders that defied human description.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

(Muir image: A-Z Quotes)

From John Muir To Social Injustice

Posted on Leave a Comment

In 1976, naturalist T. H. Watkins published, John Muir’s America. He must have felt that he knew Muir’s soul so well that he composed three imaginary conversations with the venerable old mountain man. The first dialogue began on the veranda of Muir’s home in Martinez, Ca. The two men discussed many ecological topics as they wandered up to Muir’s “scribble den.” After discussing some of his inventions, Muir rocked back in his chair and closed his eyes until Watkins innocently wandered into the controversial role that Thomas Huxley played in popularizing Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

“The old man exploded out of his silence, thrusted forward in his chair and slapped the flat of his palm on the desk top.”

‘Huxley—that bloodless coof! That fool! He and his kind took the work of Darwin and twisted it to fit their vision of the world. And damme, what a cold and heartless world they would have had it be. They called it survival of the fittest, but no matter what they might have called it, was a damnable theory, a dark and chilly reasoning that chance and competition accounted for all things. Oh it was a useful theory—that I canna deny. It justified all manner of cruelty just as my father’s piety excused all manner of cruelty to his children. Should a man be inspired to destroy his best friend in the marketplace, why, he could shrug it off as the natural consequence of living in the great soulless machine of the cosmos. But it was a damnable theory because it ignored the one real truth of the world, the truth that lives in every rock, flower, leaf, tree and animal—including man: it was all created by a loving God, and His love covers all the earth as the sky covers it, and fills it in every pore.’

Forty years later, Watkins’ words have become a fulfilled prophecy. On July 1, 2015, an undocumented immigrant discharged an illegally obtained handgun that resulted in the death of a young woman who was out for a walk in San Francisco. The trial was recently concluded with the jury rendering a verdict of not guilty.

Contrary to all the blather from media pundits, politicians and lawyers, the jury’s acquittal of the alleged criminal had less to do with ethnicity, immigration status or birth-origin, and more to do with socio-cultural, regressive de-evolution in an increasingly soulless society.

The positive proof of this emerged from the fact that in spite of the perpetrator admitting (KGO TV interview) that he pulled the trigger of the lethal weapon, the jury agreed with a scenario that the defense team presented as they “twisted it to fit their vision of the world.”

Tragically, events like these are going to become more common. In the name of “political correctness,” our public el-hi schools, colleges and universities are systematically sanitizing curricula, removing all references to spirituality. This will doubtlessly produce generations of morally bankrupt adults who are proponents of the Godless religion known as “situational ethics.”

Some of the fruits from this evil tree were recently borne for all to see in the San Francisco courthouse.

Of all the countless millions of words generated by this tragedy, two lines stand out. The day after the verdict was announced, the headline of a SF Chronicle editorial:

“Justice was not served.”

And one of the jurors anonymously commented; “I need to spend some time collecting my thoughts.”

Indeed, don’t we all?

In his classic book, Religions, Values and Peak Experiences, psychologist Abraham Maslow expressed concern for an increasingly spiritless US society. He suggested that the subject of “human spirituality” could be added to a suitably enlarged biology curriculum without breaching the wall that separates Church and State.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Tubbs Fire—Diablo Wind

Posted on Leave a Comment

An old English proverb suggests:

“It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good”

The recent fires throughout Napa and Sonoma Counties qualify as Ill Winds.

It is common practice for California Dept. of Forestry officials to name fires by their place of origin. Ergo, the fire that destroyed over 3,500 Santa Rosa homes and businesses began near Tubbs Lane in Calistoga. However, it quickly exploded into a firestorm driven by a 70 mph “Diablo Wind.” The name of the wind could not be more perfect: Devil’s Wind.

Devil Winds are atypical winds that result when high-pressure builds over the Nevada desert and causes air to move toward a low-pressure zone over the Pacific Ocean. As the wind rushes down the western Sierra Nevada slope, it is compressed and gets hotter, drier and faster. This condition is the opposite of prevailing westerly winds that typically blow moist, ocean-cooled air over hotter California climes. Diablo Winds typically occur in the summertime when the combination of higher heat, higher wind velocity and extremely low humidity create a potentially disastrous formula for wildfires in California. In SoCal they are known as the Santa Ana winds.

The Tubbs Firestorm destroyed a several-mile-wide swath, devouring forests, vineyards, homes and ranches on its 15-mile rampage to the north edge of the city of Santa Rosa. Reaching the northeast outskirts of the city, it mysteriously veered south in a fiery inferno that consumed over 2,500 homes. Many residents had to flee with only the clothes they were wearing.

The fire is still active and along with several other fires in Sonoma County, the number of homes, structures and businesses destroyed has exceeded 3,500. It has the potential of being the worst wildfire in California history.

Although Sonoma County lies west of Napa County, Napa Valley has been covered in a thick blanket of smoke since Sunday night. The smoke has been bothersome, but a trifling inconvenience compared to the total devastation that 1,000s of Sonoma residents and business owners are struggling to cope with.

This all changed Wednesday. We thought we were safe until a spot-fire erupted 8 miles west of us, near the junction of St. Helena and Calistoga roads. It was headed in our direction and posed a threat to our home and the town of St. Helena. I drove 4 miles to the top of Spring Mt. Rd. where a Napa Co. Sheriff deputy had blocked the road. He described the fire and said that it was rapidly approaching upslope. He went on to say that pilots were desperately trying to suppress it with fire-retardant, but if they failed he would have to close Spring Mt. Rd. He didn’t have to tell me that if the fire crested over the ridge, its downslope path led directly to our home and the heart of St. Helena.

I was confident that if this happened we could pack up prized possessions and evacuate to our daughter’s home in Tiburon. My wife was not convinced and so we packed up and fled, not knowing if we would ever see our beloved home again.

Although our Tiburon family welcomed us warmly, the night was long and sleep was interrupted with images of our house going up in flames. Finally, morning arrived and we were able to call our neighbor, who opted to wait for the mandatory evacuation order. It never came. Evidently, the amazing pilots were able to stop the blaze on the Sonoma side of Spring Mountain and possibly save our home and the town of St. Helena.

Upon returning home, walking through the house was a surreal experience. When we left, we had to concede the possibility that it would not survive the fire. But it did and we felt a bit like we were in a “Twilight Zone.”

The horrific event has created a schizophrenic dilemma. Of course we are grateful that our home was not destroyed, but heartsick over the misery and trauma that so many have been forced to deal with.

Existentialists might dismiss the cause of the horrific conflagration as simply a capricious whim of Mother Nature, however, I suspect that poets, sages and seekers are more likely to describe the massive destruction as the result of the Devil’s Wind:

“It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good”

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

SHERPA GUIDES AT YOSEMITE?

Posted on 1 Comment

outdooradventureclub.com
Photo credit: outdooradventureclub.com

After Biodesign students explored Yosemite, Grand Canyon and the Mendocino coast, it was not uncommon for them to vow publicly (or privately) to return to one of the areas when they became adults. I have no record of how many achieved that goal, but I do know of one ex-student who has climbed Half Dome 8 times.

Therefore, I was not surprised when an ex-Biodesigner mentioned that he was joining a group that was going to retrace the hike that his class took over 20 years earlier.

His class rode a bus from Yosemite Valley to Glacier Point and as the bus approached Washburn Point, Half Dome loomed into view. I have seen that view approximately 40 times and each time it has left me breathless. The student responses were predictably gasps, oohs and aahs, however, on one occasion a student blurted out, “He’s freaking crazy if he thinks I am going to sleep up there!”

An orientation discussion included the major landmarks; Muir’s description that glaciation was the primary force that created Yosemite Valley and the current theory that Half Dome did not have another half, but was an atypically formed “pluton.”

After allowing time to absorb the sublime beauty, the group headed south, 1.4 miles to Illilouette Fall. Turning left at the waterfall, they ascended the Panorama Trail to Panorama Ridge.

[I agree with many veteran Yosemite hikers who regard the Panorama Trail as the most dramatic, and thus inspirational, trail in the entire Park. The trail is mostly level and the easier walk provides the opportunity to better appreciate the stunning new perspectives that appear around every bend.]

After approximately 2 miles the trail descended steeply downhill and joined the John Muir Trail, which originates in Yosemite Valley. A short walk to the top of Nevada Fall provided a great place to remove backpacks, relax and eat lunch. After a leisurely lunch, the students donned their backpacks and trudged 1.8 miles to their first trail campsite in Little Yosemite Valley.

The next morning, after breakfast and a briefing of the day’s activities, backpacks were hoisted and they began the challenging, 4-mile-hike up 2700 ft. to the top of the 8800 ft. Half Dome.

[A very dramatic narrative of climbing Half Dome can be found in, “Biodesign Out For A Walk,” chapter 6, “Cindy.”]

After sleeping on Half Dome, the group made the 10-mile descent back to their basecamp at Yosemite Valley.

After the ex-student returned, I contacted him with a request to hear about his adventure. He gladly obliged and filled me with wonderful stories and images. His group left their backpacks at Little Yosemite Valley and they hiked up Half Dome in time for a gorgeous sunset.

“It was a hard hike,” he said, “I don’t k now how our whole class made it with backpacks on.”

However, when I casually asked him how they handled the trail meals, he looked a bit sheepish and said, “Our guides took care of all of that.” I was not aware of such services, but quickly connected the dots and blurted out, “I HATE YOU!” Of course he knew that I was kidding and we shared a hearty laugh.

He obviously had not forgotten that a major chore for the Biodesign trips to Yosemite was preparing trail meals for a group of 30. Rather than packing 15 small backpack stoves, we took three MSR Rapidfire stoves. Each one sounded like a small jet airplane, but could get six quarts of water boiling in about 10 mins. We carried 3, 6-qt. pots and each pot provided enough hot water for 10 hikers.

He continued, “Only some of us had some equipment and rather than spend a lot of money on equipment that we would probably never use again, we hired two guides. They supplied all the equipment, cooked all meals on the trail and filtered all the water we needed.”

When I shared this with Christie, not unkindly, she burst out laughing and said, “I didn’t know that Yosemite had “Sherpa Guides!” LOL

My curiosity was piqued and so I went on-line to research “Yosemite Sherpa Services” (just kidding) and found a plethora of options available. The guide service that I Googled charged $900/per person for a three-day backpack trip similar to the one we took. At first, I was a bit shocked, but quickly recovered and concluded that the price was reasonable for what most participants would call, “a-once-in-a-lifetime-experience.” The $300/per day for guide, food and equipment seemed like a bargain compared to the $450/per night for a room at the Ahwahnee Hotel. Furthermore, it pleased me that our 6-day Yosemite trip cost our students $50. (with confidential scholarships readily available.) When I apologized to parents about the cost, they frequently dismissed my concerns and said their kids cost them more than that when they were at home. ;o)

John Muir hiked mostly alone at Yosemite and was happy with a single wool blanket and pillowcase with some dried bread balls and some tea. However, I truly believe that he would both approve and marvel at the evolution of the latest backpacking equipment and trail techniques, including professional guides. After all, he himself guided many Yosemite visitors, including President Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt was so impressed with Muir’s wilderness that, after returning to Washington D.C., he ordered 230 million acres to be protected and formed the foundation for the US National Park Service and the US Forest Service.

Sherpas in Yosemite? Why not?

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

“I CONQUERED YOSEMITE’S HALF DOME!”

Posted on Leave a Comment

Half“Loren Eiseley is less concerned about man conquering nature than nature, in the form of God, conquering the human heart.” Time Magazine.

AFTER nearly 75 years, I have concluded that life is mostly (if not totally) a journey into mystery. E.g. how could I have possibly guessed that a simple, innocent question from a student would eventually guide me to climb Yosemite’s Half Dome over 30 times? Each visit was unique and not unlike meeting a long-lost friend with lots of catching up to do. Intriguingly, most of my trips were with students and seeing Half Dome through their eyes provided some of the most glorious moments of my life.

“I Conquered Half Dome” was the title of a Biodesigner’s post-Yosemite essay, and why not?  Tom described the “emotional blood,” sweat and near-blisters that were required for him to hike the 10 miles from Yosemite Stables to the top of Half Dome in one grueling day. The altitude gain was nearly 5,000 ft. and YNPS listed the trail as “extremely strenuous” (and that is without a backpack.) It is a safe bet that his 50-lb. backpack made the trek at least twice as difficult.

Tom meticulously recorded the events of the day including moments of inspiration, and frustration; stops for snacks, water and lunch. He also described the logistical demands of stopping to filter water and apply “Mole Skin” to hotspots before they became debilitating blisters. He noted the high level of camaraderie and playful banter that helped ease the fatigue induced by the steep switchbacks. He marveled at how everyone worked together with the stronger hikers quietly taking sleeping bags or tents from classmates who were struggling excessively.

This hike occurred in the early years of the Biodesign program when the trip was only four days. It involved a 4:00 AM departure and 5-hour drive to Yosemite Valley; one very demanding day to hike to the top of Half Dome to spend the night; one very long day to return to The Valley and the 5-hour return trip home. Due to the very demanding 4-day journey, it was quite reasonable for Tom to feel that he had indeed conquered Half Dome. However, the latter part of his essay took on a very different tone.

He wrote:

“I had never been so exhausted but I could not sleep due to the thousands of rapid-fire mental images of our long hike. Earlier in the evening, we huddled in a circle as you read John Muir’s story about his adventure with the ‘wee little dog Stickeen.’ Muir described their near-death experience in a storm on an Alaskan glacier. The ordeal lasted 18 hours and, although they were cold, wet and exhausted, they were happy to make it back to camp.

Muir wrote:

“We reached camp about ten o’clock, and found a big fire and a big supper. A party of Hoona Indians had visited Mr. Young, bringing a gift of porpoise meat and wild strawberries, and Hunter Joe had brought in a wild goat. But we lay down, too tired to eat much, and soon fell into a troubled sleep. The man who said, ‘The harder the toil, the sweeter the rest,’ never was profoundly tired.”

He continued:

“Before the trip we discussed the geology of Half Dome and I was now aware that I was trying to sleep on rock that was over 100 million years old and was there when dinosaurs roamed the earth and perhaps some bird-like forms flew over Yosemite Valley.

I finally gave up trying to sleep and grabbed my flashlight and down jacket. I moseyed out to the “Eye Brow” and carefully dangled my legs over the edge. Interestingly, due to the darkness, the 5,000-foot drop was not as scary as in the daylight. I remembered you saying that Native Americans and “mountain men” could tell time using the “handle” of “The Big Dipper.”  I was facing north and looked up to see the giant cosmic-hour-hand above me. And then, IT HAPPENED! A massive surge of adrenaline super-activated every nerve in my body. I was ecstatic, but it was not sublime. I was paradoxically exhilarated, but terrified and quickly began to suffer a panic attack. I could not move! I thought, ‘This is not a good place to be in the middle of the night.’ The panic seemed interminable, but either God or my “reptilian brain” took over and I noticed my hands and thighs slowly begin to inch my body back from the edge. When I stood, I was badly shaken and, with wobbly knees, returned to my sleeping bag.

If I live to be 100 years old, I will never feel the same degree of warmth, safety and comfort that my sleeping bag provided. And then the second major epiphany occurred! What a fool I was to think that I had “conquered” Half Dome! God, Mother Nature or karma allowed me to ascend Half Dome, however; there is still enough mystery and intrigue to last another 100 million years.”

At the youthful age of 17, Tom discovered that he was being conquered and not the conqueror, something more and more people will live and die without discovering.

I don’t think it is elitist for people who have climbed to the top of Half Dome to recalibrate their personal biography into “Pre-H-D” and “Post-H-D.” I don’t think it is possible to climb Half Dome and not have a life-changing experience, however, as John Muir noted about spiritual revelations, there are no earthly words to define them.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

www.facebook.com/biodesignoutforawalk
www.biodesignoutforawalk.com
www.linkedin.com/LowellYoung
www.goodreads.com/BiodesignOutForAWalk