Regarding the freedom of religion

This.

I expect Jon Stewart, but Mr. Heston, congratulations for being mistakenly tolerant.

Of Blood and Mountains

I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.

-Henry David Thoreau

If ever I doubted Mr. Thoreau, well, I still doubt him but I agree with his quotation. Aside from the fact that a subtle magnetism literally runs through nature and tends to be the backpacker's main source of guidance, it is truly easy to find peace when all that surrounds you is vegetation, endurance trials, and that impossible mixture of animal smells, sweat, and dead bugs stuck to your skin. To many people nature means a cleansing atmosphere, a return to the origins of humanity and a simpler state of mind. This state of mind is not so dissimilar to me as the subconscious state that I slip into when I'm driving (ironically). The mind stops focusing on specific things, the hard details of the world that form the engineer's milieu and mire us everyday. Instead we regress into a perceptive state based entirely on shape, rate, and intuition. We react based on an inherent understanding of the world around us that is filtered by this mindset, a lens which distorts the analytical facts into the abstract framework of how we believe the world should work. This mindset fascinates me, and I find it easier to slip into at any time when the important thing is the action, not the consequence. When backpacking, it's important to move, to experience, not to get from A to B. You can be anywhere, live anywhere. Your location ceases to matter so much as that you are fulfilled when you get there.

But there is also something else. Nature is a way to communicate with yourself in a way that no therapist or cathartic entertainment can reproduce. By pushing your limits and supporting yourself completely, by striving for self-sufficiency, you can create an environment in which you are the only variable, and all your cognitive states are the result of internal, not external, stimuli. This is what people mean when they say that they are "finding themselves" and this is what is at the heart of Thoreau's sentiment.

Enough waxing philosophical. On with the photo-documentation.

The Trip

Adrienne and I went up to the Cohutta Wilderness on Saturday, arriving at noon with hop in our step and smiles on our mugs at the Jacks River Falls trailhead

http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/59975

Told you so.

The highlight of this trip is the incredible number of river crossings. The procedure basically is as follows:

(1) Hike from a decent elevation down to Jack's River

(2) Zig-zag across the river, making your way downstream

(3) Camp

(4) Find incredible waterfall

(5) ???

(6) Profit

Step 1:

The hike down was easy, and spotted with interesting fungi and plant life. Life seems awesome on the way down, and you begin to really get into the mood. How can it get better?

Like this.

Step 2:

Then you hit the river crossings. All 40+ of them. So many river crossings that Adrienne wore her Five-fingers the whole time and I bought new water shoes (thus breaking the cardinal rule: never wear new shoes on a hike). We did this:

And experienced this:

Life is good.

Step 3:

We hiked slowly the first day, making about 8 miles in the 6.5 to 7 hours of hiking. It's not that it was hard, it's just that we didn't want to rush, and as a result, we somehow managed to stumble into the best camping spot possible. Ten feet from a river, the closest you could get to the falls without overshooting, and full of sweet camping gear (that we now completely own. Renting is for suckers).

Also, major props to Adrienne for suggesting we fry our bananas for desert. Who knew that applying heat and denaturing proteins could taste so good?

Step 4:

Day 2 - Finally, paydirt. The approach to the waterfall was spectacular, but completely overshadowed by the power and the majesty of the falls themselves. It's remarkable how profoundly running water can change your feeble mind. It's a place where thousands of years have created and destroyed, where the most powerful of the earth's features are leveled and shaped

where the most common of substances cascades with terrifying force

And where nature is born, and nature dies.

This is what causes people to make religions.

Step 5:

And then there were the little moments. The attempted humorous picture completely miscommunicated and framed

the hunting of Adrienne by a ravenous pack of beasts

and the ultimate satisfaction of cleansing one's self on holy ground

I think it's safe to say that I found what I was looking for.

Step 6:

And finally, then end. Instead of continuing to the western trail head as per the normal route, we hiked back the way we came, which meant 11 miles or so in one day. This would not normally be so bad except for two things:

(1) Adrienne was wearing five-fingers and already had a busted pinky toe.

(2) I was wearing new shoes which, without my knowledge, were built with razor blades in the heels.

The hike back was one of the most trying experiences of my life. Half Dome is nothing compared to hiking with blisters and cuts all over your feet, or in Adrienne's case, a possibly broken toe and herculean muscle pains. By the time we got back to my truck, we looked and felt like walking dead.

Like all good religious people, we had to suffer for our god.