It's common in "New Age" circles to refer to traveling into other states of consciousness, whether through focused trance-work using music, chanting, dance, or even psycho-active plants (which many cultures still use effectively, though they are not necessary), as visiting "higher planes".
As dedicated New Age beings ourselves, here at the A.P.R., we certainly agree, though we prefer to use "other" instead of "higher", as we feel that there are no "better", or "worse" states of being, they are all just parts of the whole, and it is our individual judgement and beliefs that may make them seem so.
In any event, it does seem to be the case, that high elevation land areas, on every continent, tend to foster more spiritually-based cultures, that most of the World accepts as so. Places like Tibet, and throughout the Himalayas and the mountains of Central Asia, the Altai Mountains of Siberia, the Andes in South America. And on this continent, the high desert regions of the southwestern U.S., home to the Pueblo, Hopi, and Dineh cultures.
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| [Laguna Verde, 4420 metres, Bolivia, M. Richmond, 10/2008] |
What is it about these places, that seems to make us feel and think instinctively in more spiritual terms? And that tends to support cultures that seem to be more spiritually focused, than that of the "developed nations"?
When your lead author visited the Andes of Bolivia and Peru three years ago, it was not just with the intention of seeing these incredible landscapes, but also to gain inspiration, and learn from the cultures there. People with thousands of years of oral histories, who are only now just beginning to take charge of their political and economic destinies, after centuries of oppression, first from the Spaniards from 1520-1820, roughly, and then from their descendents in repressive oligarchies, usually with U.S. government support.
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| [Volcan Illimani, Bolivia, 6520 metres, taken from 4900 metres, M. Richmond, 10,2008]
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And so it was, that I was greatly inspired by the landscapes, and people of the Andes, especially Bolivia, in their struggles to re-make their societies in a more just and sustainable manner, reflective of the beliefs of their Indigenous majority population.
Here at home in Alaska, we have close at hand landscapes equally as spectacular as those I was so fortunate to have visited, in the Andes. And, that help inspire, and nurture us, spiritually, and physically, in our efforts to help foster and develop a politically and socio-economically more just and sustainable society. Which is not easy, given that the culture of Alaska, since the oil boom of the 1970s, has been changed, to what many people, ourselves included, feel to be one more similar to that found in Texas, or Louisiana.
At times, we feel despair of the trends we are seeing in U.S., and even global society to a certain extent, of the increased militarism, sociopathic greed, and hostility toward education and science. And the rise/support/use of fanatical fundamentalist cults/sects, to divide society, whether they are "Christian", as in the U.S., or Muslim, in the Middle East, by the "global elite", or "corporatocracy". It is at these times, that we flee into our local mountains, directly from our Chugach Front Research Centre, on bike, then foot, to restore our balance, and gain peace and inspiration.
We were fortunate enough to have a nice weather day this Tuesday past, and the company of our great friend Erik Skye, as we tried a new route, from the CFRC, "up" to the Middle Fork of Campbell Creek drainage, the Williwaw Lakes, and then back. 15 KM of biking, and 34 KM of hiking, which took us a total of just under 9 hours. Little did we know at the start, just how fortunate we were to be, on this day.
Leaving the front door at 1045 after some unexpected delays, the biking went very quickly. We stashed our bikes in a secret spot of the Spencer Loop, on the Hillside Park trail system, where brush and tall grass hid them from sight. Quickly ascending a secret cutoff, we then got onto the beginning of the Powerline Trail, and then to the Middle Fork Loop Trail. This goes through about 6-8 KM of prime bear habitat, tall grass/brush, near tree-line, but our intrepid assistant editor Mattie was there for our protection. We never did see or hear any in this area, but did come across a large pile of brown bear scat, as a trail marker/reminder, letting us know whose trail this really was. We then accessed the Williwaw Lakes Trail, which none of us had been on before, and headed in.
We saw about a dozen sheep grazing on the fall-coloured grass and tundra vegetation higher up on the northern wall slopes of the 800 metre deep canyon. They were too far away for Mattie to give chase, fortunately, as we did not want her to expend too much energy, this early, as we had much more distance and elevation to contend with. As it was, she was often flushing half-white ptarmigan from the grass and brush, who are in the process of changing their plumage to winter-white.
It was a rather moody day at first, with heavier clouds obscuring the higher peaks, still retaining their first heavy snowfall from the week before. The clouds would briefly part at times, allowing us to glimpse the semi-veiled higher heights. It was quite cool even here at the head of the canyon, at only around 762 metres (2500 ft) elevation, about 1-2C (34-36F). Smaller puddles on the trail were partially frozen, as was the ground underneath a top coat of thin mud, making for very treacherous footing at times. And also slowing our progress somewhat.
After about 90 minutes of hiking up the canyon, we hit the first of the small lakes in the Williwaw Lakes chain, and took a break for lunch. It was even colder here, right about 0C, with a few snow flurries. Whilst eating, and gazing at this little lake, we realised, this was an exceptional day!
Because there was no wind on this day, not even the slightest of a breeze that would ruffle the surface of these lakes. And hence, they were all, perfect mirrors! Because they are so cold and clean, with crystal-clear water. Previous experiences in these higher plains/canyons in the Chugach Mountains were always punctuated by gale and even storm force winds throughout the year, and one look at these flagged hemlock trees confirms just how windy of places these are. Because when low pressure systems are located to our south, in the Gulf of Alaska, which is a favoured place for them, the northeast-east-southeast flow around them funnels and whips through these similarly-oriented drainages. But on this day, a large upper-level low pressure system was covering all of South-Central Alaska, with almost zero wind-flow from the surface even up to 3000 metres or more. So there was some instability for light snow-showers, but also some breaks between. There are very few days like this in the Chugach mountains, probably less than ten per year.
We were quickly entranced and inspired, that we should be so lucky to experience this, and set about to a frenzy of photo-shooting, before any wind might come up and ruffle the lake surfaces.
The views up to the head of canyon, walled by the 1525-1662 metre (5000-5450') peaks behind were just as beautiful, the partially veiled, snowy crags reminded me of some the higher peaks in the Andes, or pictures I've seen from the Himalayas. And yet, here we were, just four hours in by bike and foot, from the CFRC.
The clarity of these waters, this is the largest of the lakes, Williwaw, was absolutely astounding, never equalled in my experience. Combined with the mirrorring of the surrounding terrain and vegetation in them, it left me in a deeply contemplative, almost trance-like state. Is this what we are always seeking, in our "higher plains/planes"?
Looking toward the northwest, down-canyon, there was more clearing, and hence, the reflections in the larger Williwaw Lake, from it's southeast side, had mixes of cloud and sun.
We spent about an hour and a half here, transfixed, inspired, renewed, and amazed, before we came to the realisation, that we had a long trek ahead of us back, and would need to leave, if we wished to regain our bikes for that part of the trip, in daylight.
There is a side-route, up a steep notch in the valley of the Middle Fork of the Campbell Creek canyon, that leads past another beautiful mirror lake, at the base of 1556 metre (5105') O'Malley Peak. This route goes past the lake then up a very steep 150 metre wall, which then takes you to the "ballfield", an interesting, almost-level, glacially scoured 1-2 KM wide plain, above 1000 metres elevation. This very steep route proved quite challenging, and left us all quite winded when we reached the top. But we were continually inspired by views like this:
The steep rock walls of O'Malley peak, whose snow-covered top was still sheathed in the mists of light snow showers, in the early evening sun. We were moving quickly now though, to stay warm, and to make sure we reached our bikes in the mild, forested lowlands below, in daylight, so we could bike back to the CFRC with the ability to see any moose or bear that may be present.
Up on "the ballfield' it was still practically calm, and the evening light was very beautiful, looking back east, to O'Malley Peak, it's rocky crags now mostly in the clear.
We made quick work of the last 20 KM of our day though, heading down from "the ballfield", over to the Powerline Trail, then down that, to the Spencer Loop and our bikes. From there, it was just a quick 20 minutes zipping mostly downhill on those, to the CFRC. It has to be said, that our assistant editor Mattie, is possessed of incredible speed and endurance. During this last part of the trek, whilst we were biking, sometimes at 45 KPH downhill, she was running just as fresh, as earlier during the day. All told, with all of her side-trips, bird flushings, and other excursions, she must have easily covered 150-200 KM, versus our 49. Now that is inspiring!
This trek, with it's incredible views and conditions, right from our door, ranks among our most refreshing and inspiring we've ever undertaken. Helping us to regain some balance in our lives, without requiring us to drive or fly long distances, and carry/pack large amounts of gear. We truly are fortunate to be able to do this. Come join us, if you are ever able, we will be happy to lead you, to "higher plains". Cheers.
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