Searching for Solitude, and Finding Solace

Part One

(to enjoy the photos below, just double click on them and they will open in a new window)

They say that you spend more time with your colleagues than you do with your loved ones. I work in a large laboratory at the BC Cancer Agency. The work is rewarding, and the pay and benefits are good, ensuring that most of us tend to stay a while. There is a school on the same floor as the Lab so the majority of us start in the school and then just move down the hall upon graduation. We get to know each other well, and for the most part the group dynamics are surprisingly good. We celebrate each other's joys, and we feel each other's pain. We see marriages and divorces, babies born and children graduating. Eventually we even celebrate retirement, as many of the staff are lifers, putting in 30, 35, and even 45 years there.
This week we were given news so terrible, that we spent the rest of the week in a daze.
One of our brightest young stars passed away suddenly in a hospital while on vacation. I can't begin to describe the mind numbing grief we all feel, as our friend and colleague was one of those people that lit up a room, touched all of our lives, balancing caring for others and living life to it's fullest.

Today although I had the opportunity to run with another musher, I declined, and seeking solitude, I headed back out to the Sunshine Valley. Thankfully I had a guide, he was very unobtrusive, dropping flags and keeping an eye on me from a distance to make sure I took the right turn-offs and could manage some very technical trails. I hardly heard his sno-machine, and he was the only other living soul 2 footed soul in my space.
I went to find solitude, and in that search, and in the beauty of nature, found solace. No answers, but acceptance.
Rest in Peace, Jesse-Girl.


The farthest ridge is the target destination.



Here the trail still feels like a super highway, as the ridge gets closer.



Now, almost at the base, the trail is technical, requiring concentration and sure footed dogs.


The target. The Bowl.
I should have stopped here........


Yes, as you have probably figured out, there is a Part two, there is a story to be told. An explanation of the bumps and bruises, the aching head, and there is profound thanks to go out to my guide, Rick. But this is a story for another day. Today is a tale of an aching heart, seeking the splendor of nature to begin to look forward and heal.

Rest in Peace my friend.