Hallucinatory dreams of Sedona covered in 2′ to 3′ feet of a white sand storm…Reveille at 0400. Fu(e)el UP 0500. “Hit them streets a running“ 0600. Do the Dogie 0700.

Solitary hiking = Great Medicine.

As the late great Rush drummer & lyricist Neil Peart wrote, “Everybody need a Mood Lifter…Everybody needs reverse polarity.” Ain’t that the truth, especially during this strange Pandemic Daze. American life is bound to become a lot more “interesting” come May 1, 2020. In his 50 years on this sphere, this writer cannot recall a stranger time, except maybe the September 11, 2001 era. Speaking of 9/11, let’s not forget those terrorist cockroaches are watching America closely. Evil never rests…Fact. Hang together America, we can do this.

Digressions aside, lockdowns still in place late April 2020 – keep going back to the Earth. Sycamore Canyon this time. Solitude and Quietude galore. Beautiful vistas. Wilderness Areas are rare. Aside from the skittering lizards and an occasional fleeting hare, you ain’t seeing nobody. Not a soul. As you hike along, that familiar zen zone begins to stir your spirits. Soil crunches under your hiking boots…desert breezes through the trees…hawks hover and glide overhead.

As you continue hiking into this wilderness as the hours tick by, something else becomes apparent. You are not alone. Granted, there are always wildlife watching you while hiking, even though you rarely see them; Mountain Lions, Black Bears, Elk, Deer, Javelina, & bobcats. More than once this hiker felt (sensed) something close behind him. Several times he looked askance around and behind, and there was nothing there. This feeling evaporated, albeit briefly. Soon enough, it would return, and at one point murmurings were heard. This is a canyon and voices carry. Although the deeper in you go, the more you sense spiritual eyes watching and following you.