Colleen Drake

Finding Strength in a Twig

As people who want to live a good, full, unrestricted, adventurous, real kind of life this is certain instruction we can follow: see what is. Pema Chodron I encountered my first subalpine larch tree on a backpacking trip in Washington’s Pasayten Wilderness, an area I came to love because of its isolation and beauty andContinue reading “Finding Strength in a Twig”

Hiking with Lulu

I want to do whatever it is that presses the essence from the hour. Mary Oliver Lulu and I went on our first hike of the year together last week after a long and quiet winter. Yes, she is the beautiful standard poodle you see in the photo. Though it was a short hike, IContinue reading “Hiking with Lulu”

Strolling with the Desert Fathers

Let the unknowable touch the buckle of my spine Let the world turn in the trees, and the mystery hidden in the dirt swing through the air. Mary Oliver Twice a year in the spring and fall I go to visit a friend who has a rustic cabin in the Painted Desert of Arizona nearContinue reading “Strolling with the Desert Fathers”

Good-by to the Lodge

The world is always ending somewhere. It just depends on whether it falls in your line of vision or not. Akwaeka Emezi On Monday morning I got up and opened my laptop, as I do most mornings, and was surprised to see a message from a friend that said simply, “Oh no!” I clicked theContinue reading “Good-by to the Lodge”

Discovering Red

One can speak poetry just by arranging colors well. Vincent Van Gogh I grew up under the gray skies of western Washington. While heavy rains rarely fell, a light drizzle was a common occurrence, especially in the winter and spring and fall. . .well, almost all the time. The trade off for this abundant precipitationContinue reading “Discovering Red”

My Happy Place

Life is the hospital where healing takes place. Oliver Sacks The happy little girl you see above was born less than four years after the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In that photo, if my estimate is correct, I would have been about three or four years old, so the nationContinue reading “My Happy Place”

Hiking Broken

Let go or be dragged. Zen Proverb Readers of my blog may recall that I fractured my shoulder about six months ago. When it happened I recall feeling hopeful that I would have the entire autumn and winter to recover, then would be back on the trail by spring. Isn’t that the way it isContinue reading “Hiking Broken”

Poop Patrol and Other Trail Pastimes

Wilderness is not just the preservation of the world, it is the world. Gary Snyder If you have been reading my blog for awhile you have no doubt figured out that I am not a big fan of crowds, especially on the trail. It is of course a recurring theme in these posts, one IContinue reading “Poop Patrol and Other Trail Pastimes”

Set Apart

The photo you see above is Cathedral Rock in Sedona, where I spent the last week. There must be dozens of Cathedral Rocks in this country, as well as Cathedral Peak, Cathedral Mountain, or anything else that points towards the sky and fills us with awe. Sedona’s Cathedral Rock is so named because it isContinue reading “Set Apart”

Wild Strawberries

Be here. Be present. Wherever you are. Be there. Willie Nelson It is late winter, which means I almost always want to be someplace other than at home, away from the snow that lingers, the icy paths that make walking treacherous, the gray skies, the weight of it all. That is why I find myselfContinue reading “Wild Strawberries”