Emma-O
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|  | My vacation 2005
« Thread Started on Aug 6, 2005, 11:42am » | |
I just spent 9 days in the wilderness, and it was the best thing I've done for myself in a long time. I went up North to Elliot Lake, a small town I used to live in. Back then I was a teenager and took for granted how beautiful the place is. Which is normal, because most teenagers are more interested in concerts, shopping and hanging out with friends than Nature. It was a bit strange coming back to the city because I literally spent all my waking hours in the woods or by the lake. And getting back on the computer felt a bit strange too, and I seriously considered never going online again. All the hours I spend online I could be hiking...I guess if I lived up there I would spend a lot less time online and more time out in the woods.
It was a bit of an adjustment coming back to the city, and having all the action and noise and commotion in my face again. Spending all that time in the woods filled me with so much inner peace and tranquility. I am trying to not let that feeling go...
I came back with a feeling of detachment from the city and all the people in it. A part of me is still in those woods, and it will always be there. I don't feel like I belong here in the city.
The weather wasn't too great for the first few days I was there, but towards the weekend it was hot and sunny. I went out no matter what the weather was like, except for one day when we had a major thunderstorm. The air up there is soooo clean. Here in the city I have to blow my nose every morning, up there I didn't. My lungs felt cleaner. I spend a lot of time outside here and I work outside, so I'm exposed to a lot of air pollution. I didn't realize how much it affected me until I was up there and breathing way easier.
I saw so many animals! I saw a black bear twice--both times eating from the dumpster behind the hotel I stayed at. The first time it was actually a mama bear and two cubs, but I was only able to see the mama. The second time it was a single adult bear. I got lots of cool film footage of it! It looked right at me but paid me no mind. The bears there are pretty accustomed to humans, and they don't really react when they see one. Though that doesn't mean that I would get close to a mama bear with cubs!
I saw big piles of bear poo on the trails once or twice...and saw deer or moose poo but no deer or moose. I saw lots of birds--crows, ravens, hawks, a Peregrine falcon, a bald eagle (I think that's what it was, it was hard to tell. All I saw was a black body and white head), Canada geese, ducks, cormorants, terns, gulls, loons, herons, goldfinches, grackles, cowbirds, sparrows, and more. I saw the herons in flight a few times. One time one flew right above my head, maybe 10 or 15 feet above me. It was cooool! Huge wingspan. Just gorgeous. A Peregrine falcon followed me from tree to tree on one of my hikes. I think I was in its territory and it was keeping an eye on me. It perched really low in the trees and screeched loudly. And as I walked it seemed to follow. I got some good video footage of it.
I also saw lots of beavers, a porcupine, a skunk, racoons, chipmunks, squirrels, a big jackrabbit, frogs, snakes, and many beautiful insects and butterflies. That place is just brimming with life! Everywhere you look there are hills, trees, huge rocks, cliffs, wildlife, insects, birds. All the lakes are so loaded with fish that they jump out of the water to catch insects at sundown. It looks like it's raining because of all the little splashes from the fish jumping.
In another area called the Sherriff Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, there was a small pond where a huge school of catfish live. I met a man and his small son there. They showed me the catfish. They were feeding them bread. When they'd throw the bread on the water, the catfish would go nuts going after the bread. They were like little piranhas...all you could hear was the sound of their lips smacking and mouths chomping at the bread. They would almost jump out of the water to get the bread...or climb all over each other. These catfish were probably 6 or 7 inches long. They were pretty big! And there were dozens of them in this small pond, all swimming around. It was wild!
My best hike was when I climbed up this huge rock that overlooks this lake called Horne Lake. Horne Lake is right next to my hotel, and I would go there every morning with my breakfast and coffee. There's a bench I liked to sit at, and right across the lake from me was the big rock. I would sit there and look at it and think about climbing up to the top...then one day I decided I was going to find a trail that goes up there, and I did. The trail went up the side of the rock (which is more like a big, big, hill), and boy, that was quite the workout climbing up there! And I'm in shape too. The trail was very steep and rocky. Lots of rocks. If you aren't careful and you fall, you are gonna be seriously hurt! Needless to say, I was VERY careful! I was by myself so I had to make sure not to fall or hurt myself. Boy was it beautiful up there. So quiet and peaceful and the smell was amazing, like pine and wild roses and sap and berries...so delicious. When I got to the top, the view was amazing! I couldn't believe how high up I was! The rock didn't look that big or high from my bench across the lake. It had to be at least 100 feet high, probably more, maybe 200 feet! I saw the world how the birds see it, and it was so amazing. I found a nice spot and ate my lunch up there.
I felt soooo good that day. Climbing that rock was easily the highlight of my trip. Not only was the hike amazing and the view gorgeous, but I proved to myself that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. And I did it myself. I had no idea where I was going, but I was determined to get there, and I did! It was very rewarding to get up there and look out onto the world.
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Emma-O
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| | Re: My vacation
« Reply #1 on Aug 6, 2005, 11:50am » | |
continued...
I unfortunately didn't see any Northern Lights. It could have been because I was in bed early every night, sometimes before midnight. But I was getting up at 7 every morning. I remember seeing the Northern Lights usually pretty late at night. One thing I did see though was a meteorite. I saw a few shooting stars, but they didn't compare to the meteorite!
I thought maybe it was a comet or something. All I saw was an orange streak like a flame shoot through the sky. Then it flared up and exploded! It looked like a firework going off! It was sooooooooooo coooool! And no, I didn't make a wish because I was too amazed at what I just saw. I was pretty lucky to see that because they aren't as common as shooting stars.
It was so beautiful up there...OMG, I can go on and on. All I did on my hikes through the woods was sing and chant my mantras and meditate. I really believe all that chanting I did drew the animals and beauty to me. I don't think I would have seen as much if I didn't chant. I chanted to many animals and insects, and hopefully liberated their souls. Chanting sacred mantras to animals and insects is supposed to liberate their souls so they can enter an advanced stage of evolution in their next life.
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Emma-O
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| | Re: My vacation
« Reply #2 on Aug 6, 2005, 11:51am » | |
I took a lot of pictures and film footage so I'll put up on the site whatever I can. I can at least put up pictures, but I'd like to get some of my video footage up too. Well, I know I have a lot more to say about my trip so I'll post more when I remember things to talk about!
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Emma-O
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Posts: 2,826
| | Re: My vacation
« Reply #3 on Aug 9, 2005, 12:37pm » | |
I forgot to also mention that the people there were really nice too! I met a lot of people through my friend. And strangers on the street or on the trails were very nice and friendly too. Elliot Lake has a lot of old people, and they are always out on the trails. They always said hi to me when they saw me. The people there always say hi first. I rarely had to say hi first. And the drivers there actually stop and let you cross the street...I was so not used to that! It took some getting used to. Especially when the cars had the right of way and they would STILL stop and let me cross. Now that freaked me out! I just loved how everything moved at a slower pace up there. I just felt so much more at peace overall, and healthier in all aspects.
It was also cool to see a lot of young kids dressing up punk or goth, cause when I was a teenager there and I dressed like that, ohhhhhh boy did I get picked on! People wanted to beat me up because of the way I dressed! Apparently it is now "ok" to dress that way there. That's good because kids need to express themselves. I'm sure they still get told "Hey, it's not Hallowe'en!" like I did, but it doesn't seem to be as bad.
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