My Heart Belongs to Whitewater

I woke up this morning crampy and cranky, but my beloved reminded me I had plans to meet up with my lover, the Whitewater Preserve.

Matterdome looms above the park, its rainwater capture pockets dark with last week's precipitation dump.

I filled up my hydration daypack, grabbed a sandwich for lunch, and hit the road. The parking lot was packed, so I parked downstream and hiked the two mile, canyon view trail into the Preserve.

Looking back towards Mt. San Jacinto

My camera phone was firmly in its pocket for most of this overture up the switchbacks, then back down. I have had meditation and daily posting on my mind lately, and as my legs warmed up, my abs tried to open my midback above my whining sacrum.

Surmonting physical issues offered itself as a topic.
Reflections as to why my sacrum is tweaked raised its clawed hand.

I contemplated a lot. It is hard to even recollect all the thoughts that were thought.

Stories of origin. Birth trauma. What else, subconscious? With what else will you serve my monkey mind and piston getaway stix?

Oh, by connecting my daddy issues with current career questions? Wow, the desert is way nicer to me than I am!

And that's saying something!

#SteeMeditate is a hashtag I coined as my body acclimated back into prime hiking vibe, and my brain tried to keep up. I have already pitched Steem Om! as a sort of high-five to enlightenment interested Steemians. It hasn't exactly gone viral.

Chamise takes over at a certain elevation, carpeting the bluff in a deep evergreen.

I ponder a lot, that turns out to be who I am.

I am.

What a concept. I am always working on self improvement, and balancing the absolute narcissism of being an artist-- with the sublimation of wife and motherhood--consistently fries my brain. The theme I had preselected for this walkabout was "Humbled".

WTF is flat here?

Why then did my hiking trip inspire such expansive glee and utter smiling joy? If happiness is stupid, sign me up.

Here is a post for this post:

A trail marker where the Preserve trail hits the PCT.

I had experienced solitary free peeing already, my gratitute for the interval of privacy before when soon, other Preserve visitors started glomming on to my Mindful Awareness solipsism. There was even a cairn garden at the peak, overrun by a family with a really cute dog. Who reared up and pawed me with his adorable doggy front paws! Oh my. Here I am, solo, feeling guilty for being dogless, yet uncharacteristically cheerful and motivated.

On a Vision Quest to create Meditation Content, getting pawed at a cairne peak by a canine.

No pics, so it only happened in my brain. Here instead is a pic of the next awesome vista I witnessed once outstriding several lingering parties. I had goals for today, motherfuckers.

I kinda skipped ahead several miles to Red Dome

Here I take the road less travelled. I turn west up the lowest fork of the Whitewater River, towards a ruins named "Stills Landing", and a disused National Forest trail, "Millard Canyon".

I got about this far, Stills Landing is in the next map square to the west.

It's a panoramic stitch, brought to you by the magic of cellphone photography!

I could see the slant in the Sun's eye, He meant to close down the Solarium in less than 2 hours. I kind of had to get the lead out, and parcourse my way downstream the cobblestrewn floodplain like a boss. Or at least not like an awkward moi.

View towards the San Gorgonio watershed

The delightfully named Sugarbush

Her blossoms

Red Dome at Golden Hour

Southbound on the PCT

The southern skyscape develops

A bridge laid over flashflood waters

Nine miles walk into sunset

Pastel Palm Springs view

After all this, I tried to take a shortcut to avoid 1) the 2+ mile canyon view switchbacks I came in on, and 2) a boring paved road walk. So instead, I bushwacked downstream hugging the canyon wall. My map indicated a trail, but in the ever-shifting mood of a floodplain, that trail had recently converted to an impenetrable swamp. At night. In big cat and bear country. Oh my!

I detoured back to the main stream of the Whitewater River and quickly returned to my truck. Woohoo!

And now, I sit at home, steeming to you all, how humbled I truly am. To experience such peaks with you as my penpal. Later I hope to explain more. I feel like this is enough for now.

Steem Om!
Love,Cat
@creationofcare

For more info on this magical location, see my "The Wildlands Conservancy" series post, https://steemit.com/photography/@creationofcare/the-wildlands-conservancy-pt-2-whitewater-preserve