Meadowlark is alive. That was obvious from the moment we walked in the door.
Philosophical Backpacking
March 20, 2025
Blog
In 1980, my friend, Jim, and I decided to hike in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. Stuart Johnson, another good friend from the Geothermal Branch of Philips Petroleum said if we wanted to find good fishing, we should hike to Cliff Lake, just to the north of Kings Peak. He said very few people managed to get there. So, we made plans.
After a week’s visit with my brother and his wife in New Mexico, we were heading back to Kansas. Our plan was to go as far as Liberal, spend the night and on to Manhattan, our home, the next day. We noted snow on the sides of the roads east of Albuquerque but soon ran into a dry area. Clear sailing!
This was before cellphones and a GPS in your car, so I kept an open map on my lap. About 4 in the afternoon, I looked at the map and said to my husband, “Looks like we’re about an hour out of Liberal.” I looked up and noticed big, white flakes floating from the sky.
How long has it been since you’ve experienced a moment of genuine healthful silence, a time during which you were profoundly, silently, reverently alone with yourself, or with Nature, or with another (your soulmate, perhaps), or with your God? Such rich moments are possible when you are watching, watching beyond motive, beyond any demand—just watching. When you see the beauty of a lone tree in the field, a single star in the void, when you watch your soulmate, or your internal self—or speak to your god—silence is something that comes naturally.
I talked to Karen, my first wife, about taking a short backpacking trip, just the two of us. She was the one who encouraged my backpacking several years before. I had been interested in Chesler Park in the southern section of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. When I joined the Wilderness Society in 1967, the first issue of their magazine I received had a picture of the park, and an article discussing the controversy over building a Jeep road to the area. That did not happen, but I remained interested in the area.
If you have the privilege of living long enough, you learn that one thing you can always count on is change. Changes that occur as we age may include retirement, wrinkles, growing families, and more. But what changes happen to our brains as we age? How do we handle change if we become one of the more than 11 million people caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia?
Are your home or office walls a bit … well, naked? Perhaps you’d like to replace a mass-produced piece with an original.
SNW Gallery in the HEART of downtown Manhattan is ready to help turn voids into vivid views that speak to you, and in the process, support the efforts of Meadowlark Memory Program. Plan now to attend Art Mingle: Hidden Gems on Friday, March 7, at SNW Gallery and Union Hall, 328 Poyntz Ave. A portion of gallery sales that evening benefit the memory program, which offers FREE activities and support for those living with memory challenges and their care partners.
When I was young, I thought the season of Lent and Ash Wednesday was for Catholics. In fact, I knew little about either tradition until my second internship for my master’s program. My supervisor was a bubbly, young All-Faiths chaplain who oversaw the spiritual care for a two-building campus that consisted of a retirement community and trauma hospital.
We camped at the mouth of Waterfall Creek, which comes down from the lakes we had hiked from. Jim fished for trout in the river, caught two 20-inchers, but it was only catch and release. Jim always used barb-less hooks, which do very little injury to the fish. We made Jello® for dessert. I put the pot in the creek, which was cold enough to gel the hot solution in 15 minutes!
Do you have your tickets for Art Mingle? No?! There's no better time than right now to secure your spot at this artful fundraising event, set for March 7 at SNW Gallery and Union Hall, 328 Poyntz Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Art Mingle 2025: Hidden Gems, presented by Community First National Bank, promises to be a delightful evening in the HEART of downtown Manhattan. Your ticket includes savory and sweet options, libations, and lively music by Bell Family Trio. This event benefits Meadowlark Memory Program.
![[Stock image] Bighorn Crags, Idaho: View of Terrace Lakes from pass above Heart Lake.](https://www.meadowlark.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/blog/2025/02/2025-02-13_terrace_lakes.png?itok=C0liUzj-)
In January of 1972, Jim Dix and I began plans for a backpacking trip in the summer of that year. He had grown up in Caldwell, Idaho, and wanted to hike in Idaho. During lunch one day we examined a highway map of the state, looking for lakes in the mountains. We found Ship Island Lake to the West of the towns of Challis and Salmon. We ordered the national forest map for the area, which arrived in a few weeks. We opened it up and there were many lakes and trails! We ordered the U.S. Geological topographic sheets of the same area and began planning for late July.