Farmers in the Sierras

Farmers in the Sierras

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright September 2014

            Twenty years ago Sheryl’s Dad and I did the John Muir Trail in the high Sierras. Her Aunt joined us for part of the trip.

            We took horses which was fine with me. Sheryl’s Dad was worried about an old knee injury. I walked most of the way. It was great to have my horse Ben carry the gear. A camera and a note pad are a pretty light load.

            The high country is beautiful. There is nothing like a starry night at 10,000 feet or sunrise in the mountains.

            We talk about the San Joaquin River down here. Up there we saw the deep canyons near Mammoth where the San Joaquin River is born.

            Time takes on a different meaning in the Wilderness. There are no appointments to keep. We use time to measure distance; so many miles from the lake to the pass.

            Life is reduced to the essentials in the wilderness: food, shelter, water. You find out how little it takes to get from day to day. You also learn to be prepared and self-reliant. You cannot just run down to the store. If it rains and you don’t have gear, you are going to get wet.

            If you haven’t learned it before you learn to respect Nature in the wilderness. She has home field advantage. For example, if you leave food out, the bears will get it.

            My old pastor in San Diego would say at the altitude of the high country you are already closer to God. There is also a sense of being closer to the Creator. We live in our man-made world with all its modern conveniences. [I like washing machines and air conditioning. I am negotiable on TV and the internet.] But, in the wilderness of the high country we can be closer to the world as it came from the hand of the Creator. There is something about that that puts things in to perspective.

            Hiking in the Sierra high country was the adventure of a lifetime. The beauty is overwhelming: cathedrals of trees, roaring rivers and peaceful lakes, crisp air and sharp sunlight, soaring eagles and top of the world vistas.

            While the high country is amazing, sadly we do not live there. While I make my living here in the flatlands, knowing the mountains are there enriches my life.