It was quiet warm and comfortable

“My favorite time to myself - during the summer when the grass was tall in the field next to my home, I loved walking into the field, laying down face up and letting the sunshine cover me. It was quiet warm and comfortable. If there were clouds I'd watch them slowly glide by.
I'm sure the best part was noone was telling me what to do next. It was just me. Don't remember doing any "big" thinking. I was not figuring out my life, nor what I wanted to eat etc. Nature made me feel comfortable.”

Back in the late 90s, my Grandma Joyce filled up a little notebook with different thoughts, reminiscences, details about her life and family. I’ve always connected with this one and often think of that last line while I’m out hiking - Nature makes me feel comfortable.

I took these photos while hiking the Colorado Trail this summer 2021 during Segment 22 a few miles from the highest point on the trail. I’d stayed in Lake City the night before at the Raven’s Rest hostel with a great group of other hikers I’d been hiking with off and on for a hundred miles or so. I’d gotten a ride back up to the trail (thanks Cub!) and spent the morning hiking alone under the bright blue sky. This was probably early afternoon as the clouds started to condense.

It’s been a few months of life back off the trail and I’m still slowly going through all the film I shot along the hike (22 rolls!). I really enjoy looking through the photos now with a few months distance as the images immediately take me right back to the trail, right right back to the moment I snapped the frame. That first cloud had just passed over and dropped me into shadow for the first time all day. I looked up as a small flow of breeze curled around and I took in a deep breath feeling the bliss of the day fill my lungs. I was not figuring out my life, nor what I wanted to eat - I was just living life at 3mph and that was enough. Nature made me feel comfortable.