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“One granite ridge

A tree, would be enough

Or even a rock, a small creek,

A bark shred in a pool.” -Gary Snyder, Piute Creek

The words of this poem inspired me to look closer at my surrounding. Whether your hike is 1465 miles or 2 miles it can be hard to tune into the small stuff. Daily, I passed millions of microcosmos on my trek of the Pacific Crest Trail.

The longer I was on trail the easier it became to overlook the immense beauty in the more subtle surroundings I passed, a colony of ants, a small river, the drops of snow melting into it a stream.

In an effort to truly observe my surroundings, whether it was the 14,410 foot Mt. Rainier or a half inch high ant hill, I began videoing what I saw. The result is my Pacific Crest Trail Documentary:

During my seventh week on trail I entered the Sierras. The vastness of it struck me deeply, but it also had a negative effect. I was so carried away by the vastness I often overlooked the more subtle nature.

Halfway through the week I ran into a photographer who helped shift my paradigm, you can read about how he did that in this blog post.

Sending my uncivilized love from civilization,

Slug