the pace of life…
High in the mountains, overlooking the city, I spent a wondrous day with my best friend; my wife.
The morning started well before dawn. We rose at 4 am, made coffee for the road, and drove in the dark of night about an hour to the foot of the mountain. There, in the pitch black of pre-dawn, we left the our 4wd at the vacant trail head, and hiked 30 mins up the mountain.
The first 10 minutes required head torches, but then, as the pre-dawn light started to come through the canopy, we were able to see the trail, and the many (MANY) steps carved into it. As we ascended, we walked through a variety of micro-climates, and felt the temperature cool as the cold air pooled in the dips of the trail. At times, a wonderful aroma of the damp forrest floor, spicy and sweet rose to meet us. It was vaguely reminiscent of…. a pleasant sweet memory that just couldn’t be captured. Potpourri? Spiced apples? Hot spiced cider? Cedar wood? We didn’t know.
Minutes before sunrise: the view looking north to Canberra, Australia
Feb 14 2024 (6.10 am)
We arrived at the top of Baroomba Rocks tired, excited, and ready to connect with the pace of life that exists there, on the mountain, regardless of the rush of life that is part of life in the Nation’s Capitol.
While Canberra isn’t a big city (slightly under 400k) it looked far quainter in the distance than we thought it should. Though the weather forecast was for rain, and it had rained all night, the radar showed it moving to our north. Perhaps the mist that was still in the air blocked out the lights from all but the southern most parts of the city. We watched with appreciation as the mist moved, creating a magical looking cloud bank that formed and flowed like a river of cotton.
Caught by beauty: Sunrise from atop Barromba Rocks, Australian Capitol Territory
Feb 14 2024 (6.50 ish):
And then the sun rose. Moments come too swiftly for the camera. If you are lucky, they can also catch your attention so fully that you are immersed in feeling the moment, rather than trying to capture it.
Besides, photos never do justice to the beauty of nature. They, at best, capture an element or two, and leave the rest for the inspired imagination and memory. Having just completed the climb, we were both tired, and starting to cool down. We found a semi-sheltered spot, out of the cool wind that was blowing up from the valley.
Reaching into the backpack, we sat, and ate, and drank from the small supplies we carried with us. Our conversation seemed to slow… and then, almost without noticing, stopped.
The ‘Flax lily’: Dianella ensifolia Baroomba Rocks trail
Neither of us realised that, for what seemed like hours, though was only a few moments, even our thinking slowed until we both noticed, we… just ‘were’. Neither thinking. The internal dialogue stopping. We just existed as living things noticing the movement of the world and nature around us. Appreciating the true pace of life.
We looked at each other, without speaking, we realised the other too had found some sense of calming peace. A sense of the true pace of life - a slower, more appreciative feeling of calm. We shifted our attention from the beautiful view of grand cloud banks, and steep exposed rock, to the smaller elements of nature around us.
The song of the Lyre Bird, who was waking up nearby, brought us back. We commented to each other about all we had seen and felt, and shared when we were caught by the beautifully vibrant colours that seems to glow as we headed back down the trail.
Returning to our 4wd, all alone at the base of the mountain, we started our drive home.
I could see the tracks we had made in the dark as the only ones on the dirt road, and realised that by the dirt that was thrown, we were arrived at a far faster pace coming into the mountains than that which we were taking as we left.
We were calmer. Less rushed. More open to noticing the wonderful things around us. The way a shadow hit the rock. The warmth of connection. We seemed more open to an invigorating, yet soothing sense of opportunity.
Opportunity awaits: Shadow and light against granite boulders, leading the eye to the striking colours of the Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora)
Noticing that it was still quite early, and well before we were to start our work day, we decided that we didn’t need to return to the rush of life in Canberra.
We followed the road further into the mountains. And up another dirt track to a special place that overlooks the Orroral Valley.
The Expanse: Looking east - south/east from atop “Lego-land” rock formations across the Orroral Valley, Australian Capitol Territory
‘Lego-land’ is a secluded yet stunning spot within Namadgi National Park. Its stunning views over the Orroral Valley, and welcoming ‘caves’ beneath the gigantic granite boulders, have long inspired Canberran climbers, boulder-ers, hikers, and people who appreciate the great outdoors.
Nature’s light: A grotto beneath the boulders at ‘Lego-land’, above the Orroral Valley, Australian Capitol Territory
Appreciative forms: Weather carved granite boulders of ‘Lego-land’, above the Orroral Valley, Australian Capitol Territory
A tempting place to rest: Moss in a sheltered spot within ‘Lego-land’, above the Orroral Valley, Australian Capitol Territory
After a few hours of exploration and appreciation of this wonderful place, only a short distance away from Canberra, we started our walk back to the truck.
We were tired, happy, connected and calm. And we could feel an optimism born of this calm seep into us, and remain for at least a while, upon our return to pace of city life.
I remember reading a book by long distance walker, Ray Jardine, who said (my paraphrase), that we go to the wild lands not so much to explore them, but to explore elements of our selves that arise when we are there.
If you find yourself in a fast paced, and pressurised environment, where, when you do, finally, get the chance to ‘come up for air’, and you get a sense of a vague memory that you were someone else, at some other time… Well, you too may benefit from taking some time out, connecting with someone who knows you well. And connecting within the power of the present moment in nature.
Somehow, it has always seemed to reset my sense of pace and priority. It has always helped to put things into perspective, and, when shared, has helped to connect me to those I care about.
Connection and celebration: Wine shared as the sun sets on the day
9ish pm, 14 February 2024
