This Wild Spirit

Back in 1912, renaissance woman Mary Vaux wrote of her adventures in the Canadian Rockies: “A day on the trail, or a scramble over the glacier, or even with a quiet day at camp to get things in order for morrow’s conquest? Somehow when once this wild spirit enters the blood…I can hardly wait to be off again.” 

Yesterday, as I sat quietly taking in the awesome beauty that is Moraine Lake from my perch on top of “the rock pile” (the spot where you get the “twenty-dollar view”), I thought about the magical, almost spiritual pull of the mountains. Why am I drawn here each weekend? For me, it is the chance to breathe in fresh air, to listen to nature’s heartbeat (yesterday it was the solemn crow), and smell the fragrance of warm earth mixed with the spiciness of evergreen. And the view!!! Yes, Moraine Lake IS this colour! Yes, the mountains are thisclose as they stand guard over the pristine lake. I literally feel my own wild spirit rise and stir within me even now when I look at this capture taken yesterday.

Apparently I am following in some pretty awesome footsteps! After my visit to Moraine Lake, I drove along the Bow Valley Trail and then took Highway 93 west towards British Columbia. I wanted to visit an old haunt from a previous visit 10 years ago – Storm Mountain Lodge. Perched high up in the mountains with a view of Storm Mountain to the south and stunning Castle Mountain to the east, Storm Mountain Lodge is a jewel! It boasts log cabins and fine dining but for me the appeal is the lobby’s wonderful crackling fire-place and it’s fantastic assortment of Canadian Literature in its tiny store (plus home-made jam, hot tea and coffee and wonderful-smelling soaps!). I had my hand on our own Canadian jewel, Alice Munro’s Dear Life when I spotted This Wild Spirit: Women in the Rocky Mountains of Canada edited by Colleen Skidmore. The back jacket contains Mary Vaux’s quote (above) in addition to her background as a botanist, glaciologist, painter and photographer. I was hooked! The book is a compilation of primary sources capturing the creative responses of women who have visited the Rocky Mountains and felt compelled to share their awe with others. I can’t wait to dig into this book later today.

Today I will leave you with one of my favourite poems by John Keats. Like many great poems, it has a literal meaning and a deeper one, but you have to dig for it. This is his ode to solitude and to nature’s pull. Like me, Keats finds nature and solitude fine companions on adventures away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Like me, Keats also finds that these moments of solitude and wonder ironically make you long for folks to share them with! Yesterday’s solitary climb up to witness divine Moraine Lake (Keats’ “Nature’s observatory”) made me wistful for my traveling companions back home. I hope the photograph above will suffice for sharing this awesome adventure?

To Solitude

O Solitude! If I must with thee dwell, Let it not be among the jumbled heap of murky buildings; climb with me the steep, – Nature’s observatory – whence the dell, Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell, May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep, ‘Mongst boughs pavilion’d, where the deer’s swift leap, Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell. But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee, Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind, Whose words are images of thoughts refined, Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be Almost the highest bliss of human-kind, When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.” – John Keats, The Complete Poems

PS – if you would like to see more snaps from my Moraine Lake Adventure, please visit my Alberta gallery here. Have a blissful Sunday!