Aug8

Chimney Tree

Posted on by
Standard

While walking around Crescent Meadow Trail, I was soon annoyed with the incessant talking of the other humans walking in the same direction. I got off the paved trail and started walking on a dirt trail, but quickly became concerned about bear attacks and getting lost. I know I’m not supposed to hike alone. I backtracked and got myself on the the paved trail again. (Paved trails are safe, right?)

I hadn’t gone far when I saw a sign that read “Chimney Tree” and pointed down a dirt path. I decided to go that way, figuring I wouldn’t get lost in 3/10 of a mile, especially if I stayed on the obvious path. And I decided that if I was attacked by a bear, well, maybe that was better than me attacking one of those yacking humans.

I felt like I walked a long way before I got to Chimney Tree. It was a nice walk, peaceful. The air was cool, and while it wasn’t raining, the world felt moist. All I had to listen to was my own breathing and the occasional bird song. I saw so many giant sequoias in various stages of life and death. None of those trees lived in a gated community, and yes, I hugged a few. The whole scene was heavenly.

I didn’t know what Chimney Tree looked like, but since the Forest Service generously put a little sign next to it, I knew when I arrived.

IMG_3352

Little sign generously provided by Forest Service. Your tax dollars at work.

According to http://www.americansouthwest.net/california/sequoia/crescent-meadow-trail.html, the Chimney Tree is “an aged sequoia destroyed by fire in 1914 leaving a hollow blackened trunk, still standing defiantly.”

IMG_3348

The defiantly standing Chimney Tree.

See that little dark circle at the bottom of the tree? If one ducks a bit, one can go through that portal and into the tree! Of course I went inside. I like being inside trees. I spent a few moments wrapped in the tree energy before more humans arrived, and I felt compelled to move on.

IMG_3354

This is what I saw as I stood inside the Chimney Tree and looked out. Can you see the man (wearing red, just beyond the log and to the left of the small tree) taking a photo of me taking a photo of him? I didn’t see him when I took this photo.

IMG_3353

View of sky and tree from inside the Chimney Tree.

I took all of the photos in this post.

Filed under Nature, Places I've Been and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

I'd love to know what you think. Please leave a comment.