"NATURE RETREAT"

I woke up in the middle of the night a week ago Friday with a feeling of vertigo.  I ignored it, but the next day it hung in there with a headache attached.  Uh-oh.  Another migraine.  

I struggled through Saturday, then Sunday we left for a 4 day/3 night camping trip.  I felt icky.  I went anyway.  We'd already had to postpone it a couple of times for scheduling reasons.  Plus, I only go on one or two camper trips a season and this would be the  first for me.  (Fourth for Hub.)

It's well established that I don't love camping.  But I do love some natural settings and Mt. Rainier is one of them I love the most.  So I go there.  This time I decided to try something new.  I hung the moniker "Nature Retreat" on the trip, instead of "camping".  And I created an agenda of events that were not specifically tied to camping, but were tied to time in nature in some ways.  I decided this would make the whole trip more novel and creative.  I'm not sure I was entirely successful.  But it did have different elements and more intentionality.

Here is my Nature Retreat agenda.  We didn't stick to it religiously; some items were constant, some occasional, some didn't work at all.  But it helped set an intention and helped guide us in new ways.

Sunday:  Arrive, Read Nature Poem, Set Intention for Retreat, Snack/Explore, Create table centerpiece of natural objects, N/A drink, Finger Painting, Dinner, Fire, Sharing Gratitude

Monday: Qigong, Read Nature Poem, Set Intention for the Day, Senses Meditation, Hike (part in silence), Yoga stretch, N/A drink, Dinner, Fire, Sharing Gratitude

Tuesday: Qigong, Nature Poem, Set Intention for the Day, Senses Meditation, Choose animal/object name, Hike (keeping in mind the animal/object energy), Yoga stretch, N/A drink, Dinner, Sensory Exploration, Sharing Gratitude

Wednesday: Qigong, Lovingkindness Meditation, Depart

Lowlights for me:  

That damn headache that caused me to feel nauseated.  It lasted the entire week! I felt "off-balance" the whole time, like I was walking the deck of a ship that was rocking on swells.  I was grateful for my hiking poles which saved me from tipping over dozens of times.  I kept listing to the right like an errant grocery cart.  (Crossing a stream by balancing on half-submerged rocks and a log was particularly challenging.)  I want bonus points for being such a trooper.

The bear.  That morning we had drawn from a bowl of names of various animals to keep that animal's "energy" in mind as we hiked in silence for a bit. We also drew inanimate objects.  Hub drew "bear" and "stream".  I drew "eagle" and "log".  

He was a little disappointed in "bear", feeling he's never had much affinity or connection to hears.  But he decided to try to conjure up "bear energy" anyway. I know some people delight in the thrill of seeing wild animals in the forest.  I prefer foliage.  

About a mile from the end of our hike, Hub spied the black bear about 50 yards off the trail, hunting for berries.  He alerted me.  I caught a glimpse of it just as it raised its head to look directly at us.  We stood still, then slowly moved forward as it went back to its berry hunting.  I wanted to run.  I didn't.  But I recalled something about making noise so I started talking really loudly.  And walking with some determination away from it.  I was in a bit of a panic.  I realize I am more at risk for harm from gun violence in my own city on any given day, but all I could think of was the "Couple Mauled on Wonderland Trail" headline.  I was happy to get way past it and more happy to get out of the forest into the open and back to the campground.  I never saw my eagle, but Hub drawing bear energy to us was enough of a "thrill".  (Be careful what you ask for!)

Highlights for me:

Breathtaking views of the mountain.  Hikes that were moderate in difficulty and beautiful.  Hub being so incredibly kind, patient, and supportive of me and my impaired abilities due to dizziness and feeling crappy.  Hub taking care of all the cooking and logistics.  Our exploration of the senses:  I had packed a container of various "nature" items to "tickle" the senses.  I blindfolded Hub and ran various textures over his skin, offered him various things to smell, fed him various items to taste, to go with the sights and sounds we had already experienced earlier.  It was great fun and helped to create a mindfulness meditation on senses we so often take for granted.

At the end of our trip I was very ready to be home  I thought we'd pack and go.  But Hub suggested another hike, a snack at the river, a late lunch at a look-out perch to take in the mountain one last time.  (Read previous post for the difference in me -- "let's go home" and him -- "let's stay longer". )  In spite of my initial impatience I was glad we stayed.  The last hike was my favorite of the trip.  

We had reservations for one more camper outing this week, but it has been cancelled by the National Parks due to fire/smoke danger in the North Cascades.  I can't say that I am very disappointed.  I can call it a "Nature Retreat" all I want...it's still camping.  And once a year is enough for me.  Still, we live in a beautiful place where these "bucket list" destinations are within a couple hours' drive for us.  I am grateful for that.  I can easily go when I want to and Hub is happy to have me come along, even when I'm in less than stellar condition.

At least, that's the view from here...©