Bear Lake Journeys Blog

“True action, good and radiant action, does not spring from activity, from busy bustling, it does not spring from industrious hammering.  It grows in the solitude of the mountains, it grows on the summits where silence and danger dwell.  It grows out of the suffering which you have not yet…

“Don’t be afraid. There is nowhere you can fall, but the power of the earth will hold you.” — Sally Oldfield This year marked the fiftieth anniversary of my first trip to Big Bear Lake.  In that time span, I made nineteen others, although I would have liked to have…

“The world outside the self is indifferent to the fate of the self.”— Barry Lopez The horrible fire season of 2021 passed, followed by record-setting storms called “atmospheric rivers” that dumped a whole season’s worth of rain and snow on California in just two months.  Meanwhile, the Corona-19 virus mutated…

“We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it.”   — Tennessee Williams From 2016 to 2021, the fire season seemed to…

“Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them to what is deepest in themselves.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin I woke early again, as usual, and quietly slipped out of my tent…

“At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough.  You don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it.  It is enough.” — Toni Morrison I woke before I could see anything except the stars decorating the spaces between trees.  My intent was to walk down to the Altar…

“Here one is no longer the center of the world, only a witness, but a witness who is also a partner in the silent life of nature, bound by secret affinities to the trees.” — Dag Hammarskjold I woke up as soon as I could see the faintest details in…

“Our real journey in life is interior; it is a matter of growth, deepening and of ever greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts.  Never was it more necessary for us to respond to that action.” — Thomas Merton “How much farther is it…

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” — Martin Buber It may seem odd to split a 3.5 mile hike into 2 days, but given the timing of when we arrived at the trailhead, the temperature, and the fact that for the youngsters it was their…

“The world is a very puzzling place.  If you’re not willing to be puzzled, you just become a replica of someone else’s mind.” — Noam Chomsky As the departure day grew closer, many questions still nagged at the erstwhile tour guide.  Would I be in shape to go?  Could I…

“When life gets tangled there’s something so reassuring about climbing a mountain.  The challenge is unambiguous.” — Stacy Allison After I got back from the lakes last year, the world did not come to an end, but it surely started a new beginning.  The events of 2020 are difficult to…

“I drink to separate my body from my soul.” ― Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde liked to drink, but I like to go backpacking… for as long as my body is able.  But we’re both trying to do the same thing. Every “body” started as a single cell… an egg.  To…

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson I was up at dawn as usual, and the alpenglow…

“I wish that all of nature’s magnificence, the emotions of the land, the living energy of the place, could be photographed.” — Annie Liebovitz As the incredibly magical afternoon matinee shined on the silver screen for only me, I moved to a convenient rock bench in the shade, from which…

“In the point of rest at the center of our being, we encounter a world where all things are at rest… then a tree becomes a mystery, a cloud a revelation.” — Dag Hammarskjold The next morning, the fisher dudes were packing to leave!  I truly enjoyed their company –…

“Here then may be lived a life of the senses so pure, so untouched by any mode of apprehension but their own, that the body may be said to think.  Each sense heightened to its most exquisite awareness is in itself total experience.  This is the innocence we have lost,…