The theme for today could have been “Awe – part 2″, because we were certainly in Awe. Instead, the theme was Interconnectedness, as we acknowledged that while what we were experiencing was humbling, we too are part of the amazing web of Creation, part of the Sacred Song.
We visited Mariposa Grove today, inhabited by Giant Sequoias, the largest living things in the world (but not the tallest – we’ll see those later on this pilgrimage!). Words and pictures fail us. Any picture which included any human to give a scope of size could not include the trees. Huge does not begin to describe what we saw.
We began our hike beside the Fallen Monarch, a tree that had fallen centuries ago, and yet is still preserved.
We stopped by the Bachelor and the Three Graces for a morning worship. Many thanks should be said here to Pat Mayberry for writing Called by Earth and Sky, which we sang together under breathtaking trees. Taking pictures of the full height of the trees required lying on the ground.
Giant Sequoias are fire resistant, and fire scars often leave natural holes in trees. Here are all the youth inside a tree that is “too small” to be named.
Unfortunately, two of the giant sequoias have had man-made tunnels cut in them. They make a nice picture, but we are grateful that humans have learned that these trees are not indestructible, and we must not harm any more.
We stopped along our 6 km trek for snacks and for journalling.
This particular hike was too much for Wendy and her feet, so she took a tram ride to the top of the mountain. She missed some of the trees, but had a wonderful experience with a deer. Note, these photos were not taken with any kind of zoom lens – the deer and Wendy looked at one another from a distance of only a few feet.
Our group is forming closer and closer bonds. We closed our day with a discussion of where we had seen God. It certainly wasn’t hard for anyone to answer the question – God is very clearly all around us, and Alive! in everything we are experiencing.
Our leaders of the day reflect:
Today, a meaningful moment was when we saw the tree with the hiking path tunneled through it. We stood in a lineup for several minutes before taking a photo of ourselves standing in front of it. It was pretty amazing that the tree could survive with a gaping hole cut through it, but it was a pretty enormous tree. (Zach)
Today we went to Yosemite and saw some Giant Sequoias. I thought it was ridiculous how the ‘Grizzly Giant’ sequoia branches were wider than any other tree in the grove that was not a sequoia. (Logan)
P.S. We didn’t have internet yesterday, so if you want to read yesterday’s post, please scroll down.
