One Sunday not long ago I was driving east on Interstate10, away from the sprawl of Los Angeles and towards the San Bernardino Mountains where I live and work. I exited the 8-lane freeway in Redlands and drove up the windy and scenic Highway 38 into the mountains. After 45 minutes of sharp turns and steep grades, I made the left turn onto the road which leads down into Blue Sky Meadow Science Institute, where I work for the Los Angeles County Outdoor Science School. Soon, the driveway became spotted with potholes and small rocks. Eventually the pavement gave ‘way altogether, and with one big sigh I found myself on a dirt road. No longer did I have a layer of asphalt between my wheels and the earth.
I parked my car, and began walking up one of my favorite trails--the Sunset Trail. With my feet touching the earth, the connection became more solidified--this is where I needed to be. I walked up the trail until I came to a junction. The maintained trail continued up to the right, and to the left there was a smaller, non-descript trail. There was a small pile of coyote scat at the junction, and I decided to follow the coyote trail for a little while.
I found myself bending low under branches, curving around boulders. At times I could barely discern the path in front of me. I was venturing further and further into the wildness, away from the lines and boundaries we continually follow. Now the lines I had been following all day were becoming completely blurred!
Looking ahead, I saw that the coyote trail had disappeared into the thick duff dropped by the Junipers and Mountain Mahoganies. Now where do I go? I looked forward, left, right, back, and saw that I was no longer restrained by road or trail. I could go anywhere I desired!
I decided to lie down under an ancient Sierra Juniper. My gaze followed the Juniper’s trunk up to the branches, out to the smaller limbs, then finally all the way out to the leaves. I noticed that this tree, in its very structure, was echoing the experience of my day.
Here is the Gary Snyder poem Leaf mentioned in her closing talk: "The Trail Is Not a Trail"