Dipping into nature

Back to Flagstaff, late start, couldn't stay long, but it was well worth the four hours total driving time to spend four hours bathing in natural beauty and cool air.

It didn't begin well. After drinking way too much coffee before leaving and on the drive, I was grateful for the restrooms up by the ski lift, very close to the entrance to Kachina Trail. Once on the trail, I was extremely annoyed to find I hadn't finished the job. A rush into the bushes and a quick squat, hoping no one would see me. In a hurry, I inadvertently squatted on a slight slope, facing downhill. Surrounded by natural wipes (bracken fern, tall soft green grasses), I have to admit that one doesn't actually do that great a job with the consistency a coffee jag produces. Oh, well, it would be a poopy-ass day. So be it. Then I tried to straighten up, leaning forward just a little to shift a bit of the weight onto my hands -- kaboom! Flat on my face, bare ass pointing straight up into the sky! Then, ass still high, little circles to find balance for push-off, up, looking all around in fear of somebody with a videocam. Back on the trail, I immediately encountered a family of hikers whose averted gazes (adults) and stony stares (kids) could be interpreted as evidence they might have been embarrassed witnesses. I was so happy to be trail-worthy again, I just smiled and pretended not to be bothered. Hey, I'll never see them again, right?

This time I didn't get as far down the trail as before (a little short of time), maybe 3.5 miles in all, round trip, but the trail felt easier and my footing felt more sure. That area, part of the Kachina Wilderness Area, is named in recognition of the area's spiritual significance to native americans. I tip my hat to that, as I spend lots of my "hiking" time in pause, gazing with absorption, happiness, and deeper feelings that some would surely recognize as spiritual. It is a popular trail. Even on weekdays I pass and greet other hikers, mostly with dogs and/or kids. This day a lovely woman with two Jack Russell terriers made my day; she actually stopped for a chat about her dogs, saying the little female was determined to French kiss me. hahahaha