Wilderness is not a Luxury

Desert Globe Mallow

Desert Globe Mallow © 2012 Bo Mackison

Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of human spirit. ~ Edward Abbey

The desert expands and seeps into my vision,
the floor is ocean, odd twisted creatures,
and the cactus-corals are prescient.

When the ocean — tiding by lunar pull — disappears
the desert returns, a remnant of ancient ocean,
fossil, a testimonial embedded in rock,
geologic band of aquatic life remembered only in stone.

I too will be remembered only in stone.

When I swim too far from the shore of this desert,
stray into the repeating saguaro-ocotillo wilderness,
I stop, afraid to cross the sand arroyo

Descend into this dry bed,
and reach the blooming oranges and yellows that thrive on the edges.
I take my chances, there are times I cannot manage.

Waiting,
shadows are longest when the sun heaves herself
onto the desert floor and again when she
slips off the desert and drops from the horizon.

Even the longest shadows disappear in the
blotting dark of night,
dark skies are coming — no
they are here.

This cold monument to the dark,
desert monolith, see the shooting star emerge from clouds,
momentary, streak of light, I blink and it is gone.
Or was it even there?

I rub creosote leaves between my index finger and thumb,
smell the pungent aroma of preservative,
lie down to rest upon the packing quilt, a U Haul relic,
and wait for the desert to spit her rain.

—————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC, living and photographing in southern Arizona.

Wilderness Exposure

Devil’s Garden Trail explores some of the Utah back country in Arches National Park. Your reward for scrambling over rocky surfaces, navigating the narrow tops of exposed sandstone fins, and then climbing up and down short, steep crevices is a view not many people see – eight spectacular arches, and back-country worthy of many oohs and ahs, and a few comments, such as “I can’t walk on that #%*& ledge!”

Creative Cairn

Creative Cairn © 2008 Bo Mackison

Though most cairns (markers that let you know – really – you are still on the trail) are rocks stacked up in a pile, a previous hiker took the time to re-arrange this cairn into replicas of two hikers. So by looking at this photo, you can see we are precisely where we are supposed to be, even though we are vaguely lost.

This is the Trail? Are you Sure?

This is the Trail? Are you Sure? © 2008 Bo Mackison

At this spot, our choices were to scramble over the dome in front of us, or deal with the tangle of dead wood around the side. We scrambled up the rock, which thankfully was not slippery, and then slid down the other side. No sweat! (Yeah, right!)

The Worn Part iS the Trail

The WORN Part is the Trail © 2008 Bo Mackison

As was most evident to us, the trail was the worn path on the rocks. I kept my sights on the spectacular stand of fins ahead, and kept taking deep breaths. The trail marker at the beginning said the hike was not appropriate for people who suffer from extreme agoraphobia (fear of heights) – what about those of us who only have a minor case?

But I exaggerate! I loved this hike. We started at dawn and returned to the trailhead about 2 in the afternoon. I’ve seldom seen such magnificence. Worth all the bits of anxiety and lack of oxygen. (We were at a high elevation for Wisconsin folk!)

Then we went out for beer and pizza. It seemed the only reasonable thing to do.