The Spirits of these rocks and waters hail you after long waiting as their kinsmen and persuade you to closer communion

 

"[Here we] come in contact with the rock and water spirits of the place . . . The Spirits of these rocks and waters hail you after long waiting as their kinsmen and persuade you to closer communion . . . How interesting does man become considered in his relations to the spirit of this rock and water! How significant does every atom of our world become amid the influences of those beings unseen, spiritual, angelic mountaineers that so throng these pure mansions of crystal foam and purple granite! I cannot refrain from speaking to this little bush at my side and to the spray drops that come to my paper and to the individual sands of the slopelet I am sitting upon."

The Contemplative John Muir

Chris Claborn has a special connection to the spirits of the landscape. On today's hike up to The Loch, Chris pointed my attention to the crying of one of the trees in the wind. The call went on for quite a while, and I really enjoyed listening!

Photos: Chris Claborn at The Loch, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, November 22, 2014