Places Ingrained

Places Ingrained
            Pine trees line the curve of a lake. White sparkles shimmer over deep blue water. Fallen branches ornament the narrow shore.
            The lines of the treetops converge at a downward angle where the lake bends in the distance, countered by a low mountain top rising from the gap.
            It is a perfect, quiet lake, like those in the old postcards of the Adirondack Mountains I treasured as a kid. But this is not a postcard, and it is not the Adirondacks.
            I have lived in California and been exploring trails and nature sites in Marin County for more years than I spent growing up in rural Upstate New York, but when I look at the lakes of the Marin Watershed, love for the natural surroundings of my youth wells up. I am transported back to my childhoods camping in the lakes and old mountains of the Adirondacks. 
            Living in the past? No. Allowing powerful sensory memories to unleash the strengths I developed while immersed in the natural beauty of my childhood? Yes.
            Let yourself reminisce about the times and places that made you the person you are today. The quiet embers of early lessons and insights may glow strongly again. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Kent Lake from Shafter Bridge, take readers to one of the lovely lakes of the Marin Watershed.
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Hike Notes 112: Kent Lake from Shafter Bridge