Up the Sunbeam

-- O nce again, the high country has filled my heart (and my camera's memory cards) to overflowing. I have just returned from another trip to the mountains with my parents who love them as much as I do! This time they took me on a  lake cruise  that explores the wonders of the 55-mile long, 1,486-foot deep Lake Chelan in North Cascades National Park in the state of Washington. I may have seen more waterfalls on that day trip than I think I've seen the rest of my life put together! The spring melt was at its height and every place along those steep mountain faces where water could gather and run headlong down to that deep, cold lake, it came in a rush of blinding whitewater. There were so many waterfalls I kept having to run from one side of the boat to the other to capture the next and the next and the next (such a fun problem to have)! A t the north end of the lake, after a short bus ride, we reached the p ièce de résistance of the tour , Rainbow Falls, a 312-foot c...

-- In a jubilant rush from the steep slopes of Mount Sir Donald and the glaciers in the surrounding crown of peaks, come the spectacular liquid jade waters of the Illecillewaet River and Asulkan Brook in my beloved British Columbia.  The two rushing flows come together in a veritable cacophony of sparkle and sound at a place picturesquely called "The Meeting of the Waters." It is a place of contrasts, at once ancient and permanent as well as endlessly new and changing, both a crashing cymbal and a love-tender lullaby. It is a place both exhilarating and hypnotic, thrilling and stilling, wild and loud and boisterous while simultaneously a place of deep peace and heart-quiet. I have a feeling I could spend many months there with terabytes of memory cards and still not capture all its moods and secrets and longings. I perpetually frame pictures, no matter where I am or what I'm doing.  On a bright September day I looked around this magical place, and true to ...

-- "Splendor and majesty are before him;     strength and joy are in his dwelling place. Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,     ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.  Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;     bring an offering and come before him.  Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." 1 Chronicles 16:27-29 NIV I like knowing the names of mountains. I still remember the names of mountains I only saw as a little girl. Not only do I enjoy knowing what the mountains are called, but the stories of how they came to wear the names they do, whether named for a person or for something about the appearance or history of the mountain. For example, the striking home of Angel Glacier (and poetically named) Mount Edith Cavell , was named for a WWI nurse known for giving medical care to all, regardless of which army they served and who was executed by the Germans for  helping over 200 Allied so...

-- Somehow he looked at me and still thought I could do it. Perhaps he was an angel and I was unaware. My little brother Chad and I had just entered the lodge at Cathedral Lakes Provincial Park. Since we were both visiting for the first time, we wanted a little guidance to help us decide which trail to choose for our day trip. We asked the quiet, but friendly young man who had been our driver on the 9-mile, 1-hour, 4-wheel-drive climb from the floor of the Ashnola River Valley up some 5400 feet to the lodge which sits at about 6800 feet above sea level. He told us about the popular but difficult Rim Trail, which I knew would be too hard for me right now (I have a bunch of weight to lose and a lingering problem with one foot that has kept me from doing much walking/hiking for the last few months), so we asked him for a less strenuous recommendation. He told us we could take the Glacier Lake Trail part of the way up to the Rim Trail and still get some beautiful views and that it would...