The Twisted Forest

Today I drove up to the Brian Head ski area to hike the Twisted Forest Trail.  To get there, I drove from the main road, through the ski lift area, and west to the trail head.  The trail itself is short, about .9 of a mile, and with an elevation gain of 291’.  That does not sound like much, but there are some very steep sections.  The trail starts at about 9750’, and one must be very careful hiking, as there are a lot of loose rocks and gravelly areas on the trail. 

This trail is named for the many bristlecone pine trees that are there.  Most of them are partially dead, and they are all twisted into fantastical shapes.  It is really quite eerie.  The soil here is limestone, and I would imagine that the growing conditions in the past were more favorable to them.  Otherwise, they would not have grown to the size that they are now.  If you remember from a previous post, these are the oldest living organisms on the planet, and can live to be 4500 years old or more. 

The trail ends up on a high point overlooking the forest below, and the drop off is straight down.  In the information about the trail, people are warned about this, and especially warned to keep an eye on the children that may be hiking with their families so that they do not fall over the edge.  Here are some photos.  

The trail ends up on the top of the hill below.

Here is the drop off at the top.

Cedar Breaks can be seen in the distance.

The view as I started back towards the trail head.

Because I was scrambling up the steep parts of the trail on the way up, I didn't take many photos of the trail.  I did take more photos on the way back to the trail head.  You can see from these, the in several places, the trail appears to end in mid air.  The steep parts are just beyond these places.

Some of the twisted trees.

Something magical happened while I was at the top of the ridge.  I heard a commotion of chirping birds off to my left.  Shortly after that, I saw a peregrine falcon take off and fly high.  It then occurred to me that the commotion was caused by the falcon’s fledglings begging for food.  How often does one get to experience something like that?  This was a message I could not ignore. 

I was going to take delivery of a skull made of epidote as soon as I got home.  It was carved in Peru, which is what attracted me to it in the first place.  The first thing I do when I get a new skull is to sit with it and get its name.  The name for falcon in Quechua is huaman.  There is also a sacred mountain in Peru called Huaman Lipa.  It is considered to be the protector mountain for shamans.  So there you have it.  The name for my new skull would be Huaman Lipa.  This is a good example of how it pays to pay attention to the signs and signals that come our way every day, as this is how our Greater Self guides us. 

Shortly after I got home, the mail carrier knocked on my door with my package.  I have to say that this new skull  carries a very high vibration, and loves his new name! 

Sunday Ceremony

As I have previously mentioned, I joined a Sunday Meditation group here in Cedar City.  We lost our indoor space in March because of the Covid 19 issues, and were meeting outside until it got too hot.  I then suggested that we meet at my house, and we have been meeting here for several weeks now.  Since it has been very hot here, we decided to do yesterday’s meditation outdoors up in the mountains where it is much cooler. 

I suggested that we go up to the top of Brian Head Mountain, which is about 40 minutes away and is at 11,300’ in elevation.  There is a stone shelter at the top that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s.  It made a perfect place to do ceremony

From my previous contact with the mountain, I knew that there is a very powerful vortex at the top, in addition to Brian Head being what Peruvian shamans would consider an Apu.  That is, a mountain that is embodied by a spirit.  Not all mountains are imbued with consciousness in this way. 

So off we went in 2 cars.  I brought all of the supplies for the ceremony, another person brought sage bundles for everyone, and a third brought sandwiches, chips and a cake.  It was a party in the making!  Since this is a somewhat popular destination because of the elevation and the 360° views, we knew that we wouldn’t have the place all to ourselves, but once we got there and occupied the shelter, no one bothered us. 

The ceremony was as follows.  I passed out white flowers to everyone as offerings to the mountain.  Then, after we all grounded and expanded our core essence, I called on the spirit of Brian Head Apu to be with us.  In Peruvian traditions, the local Apu is the guide and guardian for all who live in its vicinity, so I asked on behalf of everyone participating that we accept the spirit of this mountain as our guide and guardian, and that this mountain accept us in turn. 

At this point, as I rattled to keep all of us in an altered state of consciousness, the vortex at the top of the mountain began to show itself in the center of the group.  To me, it looked like a white tornado, and to another person there, it looked like a brilliant white flame coming up from the ground.  Our group energetic vessel then merged with this vortex, and I asked everyone there to let go of any heavy energy that they were carrying into the vortex as a cleansing exercise.  Interesting that all the while we were there, there were people coming and going, but no one bothered us. 

After the cleansing, I instructed everyone to leave the shelter and find a place where they could do their own personal communion and merging with the spirit of the Apu.  After they left their flowers as an offering and a thank you, they could pick up a stone to take home to use as an ongoing connection to their guardian mountain.  It was pretty windy up there, and I suspect that we were also being cleansed by the spirit of the wind, wayra. 

After everyone came back from their personal part of the ceremony, we had snacks.  This kind of activity can make you hungry for sure, and food can help get you get back into your body.   Because of the wind, it was a challenge to keep the food and everything else from blowing away. 

  

When I was living in Colorado, I was connected to the spirit of Hesperus Peak as my local Apu.  When one moves out of an area, the local Apu must be released before a new one is connected to.  I did that at the end of last September, leaving a thank you medicine bundle at the foot of the mountain. When I drove over to Cedar City a few weeks later, the first thing I did was to drive up to the top of  Brian Head Mountain the day before I started house hunting.  At that time, I left a medicine bundle at the top.  I have to say that those 2 weeks when I did not have the protection and guardianship of a mountain felt kind of empty to me. 

Today, I woke up really early to take a walk around the neighborhood before it got too hot outside.  Even as I write this, I am still feeling the heightened energy of the day before.  It does feel like I am still in an altered state of consciousness.  The spirit of the Apu is now residing firmly in my heart.  Everyone had a positive experience.  I don’t think that any of them had experienced any kind of ceremony like that, and I am looking forward to creating more sacred events. 

Some Fun

Today is the 4^th of July, Independence Day here in the US.  Traditionally, there are parades, picnics and fireworks happening.  Because of the corona virus, it is my understanding that many areas of the country have canceled their festivities.  Not here in Cedar City, as the parade and fireworks are still on the schedule.  Since I am still new here, I decided to check out the parade in the center of town this morning.  To my surprise, I encountered lots of people lining the streets, no social distancing and only a few people wearing masks.  It was so nice to attend a community event that was loads of fun.  Here are some photos.

The theme was “The Spirit of ‘76”.  This horse was reluctant to proceed down the street, and a police woman had to get him going.

Here we have a reenactment of the British Redcoats attacking the colonists.

Cute kids with flags.

Rodeo queen.

Wouldn't you like to have this job?  Someone has to clean up the horse poop! 

Iron County Queen.

Funky vehicles. 

Here's one with my name on it.  Ha!

We finished up with the fire trucks with sirens blaring. 

It had been so many years since I attended a 4th of July parade, and I was truly touched.  In spite of all of the challenges that we are facing right now, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.  We will pull through our current difficulties and come out the other side different and hopefully much improved.  Keep the faith! 

The Energy of Lava

I just love the energy of lava.  For me, connecting with this energy is the best way to merge with the hot and transformational energy of the core of the Earth Mother.  I remember a spiritual gathering that I went to on the Big Island of Hawaii in the mid 90’s.  If any of you have been there, you know that this island is almost totally covered with black lava fields, and also has active volcanoes.  During some of the energetic clearing exercises, I visualized jumping right into the volcano so that all of the energetic toxins that I had in my energy field would get combusted.  Each time I did that, I was tingling all over for several hours afterwards.  In the shamanic traditions, we can send our houcha, or heavy energy, into the center of the earth to be eaten up by the Mother.  That is her service to all of us. 

Last week, I had the opportunity to hike in 2 different lava fields.  Just east of Cedar City is the Markagunt Plateau, which is a huge volcanic area on the western edge of the Colorado Plateau.  Here, there are cinder cones and fairly new lava fields.  My hike a week ago took me to Navajo Lake, which is at about 9000 feet in elevation.  The eastern edge of the lake is blocked off by a lava field, and the only way for the water to drain out is to soak into the ground and come out at a spring, and then Cascade Falls, which I wrote about in a previous post.  To get onto the trail that goes around the lake from the parking lot, one must walk through this lava, which was deposited about 10,000 years ago, so it is fairly new. 

I walked slowly here, in addition to laying my hands on some of the stones, so as to soak up the energy. 

My suggestion is that if you can visit a lava field or get your hands on some basalt, that you touch or hold that stone and commune with it. Connect with the heart of the Mother. Feel that warm embrace and be comforted.

A few days after that, I drove up to the top of Brian Head mountain, at an elevation of 11,300 feet.  This is the highest point in Iron County.  Here, there is a different kind of volcanic formation called tuff.  It was deposited as ash from volcanic eruptions about 60 miles to the west, and is at least 30 million years old.  It is a pinkish tan in color, and fairly grainy.  It does not hold the same kind of fiery energy as the other lava, but is tremendously grounding nevertheless.  This was only my second trip up to the top since moving to Utah, as the snow had just recently melted on the road. 

 This lovely stone building at the top was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps around 1935.  

 You can see the orange rock formations of Cedar Breaks National Monument in the distance.

How amazing it is to be able to stand on rocks that are millions of years old, and also enjoy a 360 degree view from the top of the mountain.