Bell's Canyon

One of the major advantages of living in our current home, is our proximity to the trail head at Bell's Canyon.  I can walk to the trail head in 8 minutes.  I hike some part of this trail several times each month.  Sometimes I am not sure it would even qualify as a hike, but instead turns into a thoughtful, leisurely walk.  Often I hike for exercise, so I run-walk to the reservoir, trying to break my own record.  Usually my pace is somewhere in between--hiking briskly for the most part--with a few stops to stare down into the valley as I ponder my most current ideas, gratitudes, projects or problems.

So it only makes sense that when I found myself alone yesterday morning--I put on my trail shoes and headed toward my mountain.  On this particular occasion, I was trying to clear my head AND raise my heart rate--so I was moving up the hill at a pretty good pace.  I ran up behind what looked like a mother, young son and a grandma.  The trail was narrow, so I slowed to a walk until I had room to pass.  Eavesdropper that I am, I enjoyed listening to a clearly engaged Mom and Grandma discussing with this 6-year-old his "10 most favorite activities."  He was trying to decide whether sledding or Lego's would get the number 6 spot, when his Mom noticed me and moved them all aside so that I could pass.

Sure that she would think I was a complete weirdo if I told her that I would rather stay and hear the rest of the list, I ran past them and on up the trail.  As I approached the reservoir, I passed other hikers who all had their own reasons for hiking on this particular day, but we all felt the kinship of the beauty surrounding us.  And although the water is low, it still works its magic.  Somehow, everything is clearer as I gaze at the beautiful mountains against the backdrop of the blue sky and then again reflected in the water.  I felt ready to begin my descent back into my valley life that I love, even with its challenges.

However, I do hope that someday in about 5 years, I can be hiking this trail with Melissa and Hazel--and for sure I want to hear about Hazel's 10 most favorite activities.