The Road Less Traveled

I went hiking recently. I'm generally not much of one for hiking, mind you, but when a friend of mine invited me to come along with some friends of his on a Monday morning, I accepted. Nine AM came far earlier than I would have liked it to that day, but somehow, I managed to drag my sleepy self out of bed and into the shower. Twenty minutes later, I was in the car with my fellow adventurers heading to our destination; a remote location in the mountains of Tuolumne County called "God's Bath". We pulled over and stood at the edge of the bridge that looked over the trail we would be taking. The journey began with an approximately thirty foot drop that was so steep it required the use of a rope the local park rangers had secured to the base of a tree. I wondered what exactly I had signed up for as I took the rope in hand and proceeded to repel down the face of this small mountain. Once one the ground, things were less strenuous. A little challenging at times as most of it consisted of hopping from one rock to another along the river bank, but far more enjoyable than the type of monotonous uphill climb along a dirt path one usually associates with hiking. A mere twenty-five minutes later we reached our haven.

It didn't take me long to understand how the place had earned its name. It seemed to have its own energy; a serenity one could not help but be overtaken by as soon as they stepped onto the smooth granite surface overlooking the natural swimming hole that had been carved out over however many thousands of years by the small waterfall coming through the crevice in the rock wall. The sun had not yet made its way over the top of the cliff that shadowed our little oasis and the narrow valley seemed to intensify the breeze that blew upstream. A small rainbow was visible in the refreshing mist that rose up from the water and the clouds drifted lazily overhead against a cerulean sky. It was the perfect backdrop against which one could lie back on the rock, take a deep breath and let their every care fall away into the water below.

For the first time in a very long time, my mind seemed to slow down a bit. As I gazed upward I let the thoughts float through my head as gently and freely as the languid skyscape above. Many of the affairs that cause me constant anxiety were present in my stream of consciousness but somehow they seemed less menacing in this place. I had attained the unattainable; a moment of peace. All of the circumstances in my life remained exactly the same as I had left them at the base of the mountain, but here, I was free from the mastery they held over me. There were no interruptions from my Blackberry, no obsessions with checking my e-mail, my Facebook, my checking account balance. In their place was pure, unadulterated tranquility. I let it envelope me as I dozed off in the early afternoon sunshine that had finally made its brilliant entrance into our little corner of the sky.

I came back down the mountain feeling relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated: three qualifiers I rarely happen upon in my stress-filled existence. It was so wonderful to have a small reprieve from the exhausting task of agonizing over every minute detail of my life over which I have no control. God's Bath has cast its intoxicating spell over me and needless to say, I plan to return to my own little piece of Eden as soon as I get the opportunity.