This was originally an essay for my college writing class. I loved writing this paper and decided it was perfect to update my blog. It sums up my summer perfectly - best summer ever.
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| Mingo and the spray tanks, ready to go! |
As was routine, the three of us stepped out of the truck and
unloaded four horses – one for each of us and a pack horse to carry the spray
tanks. It was another day hiking trails
through the mountains, scouting and spraying introduced and invasive weeds for
the Forest Service in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. We started up the Lightning Lake Trail by 10
a.m., headed into the mountains for the day.
This time of year, the hills were covered in color – green, mostly, and
beautiful reds, yellows, purples, and whites.
The smell was something that I could never quite explain, but if I had
to, I might say it smells very much like how I would imagine heaven’s scent
might be. The sounds are exciting and
yet peaceful. Many species of birds were
chirping and singing, announcing the day’s promise. You could hear the faint trickling of the
creek in the distance – the Lightning Creek that leads to the lake. The gentle breeze made it a comfortable ride.
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| Lightning Lake Trail |
The trail was mostly clear of
destructive weeds, except for a couple patches – one of us would get off our
horse, put on our gloves, take the pack horse, and give the plants a good
dosing of engineered chemicals directed towards “suffocating” those specific
species of plants. It was a tedious job,
but completely worth it, as we got to witness some of the most beautiful
wilderness of southwest Montana. I got
to thinking, as I did every day, how lucky I was to have a summer job like
this. But then, a new thought popped
into my head on the day we took the trail to Lightning Lake. I couldn’t help but begin to appreciate my
job and the mission we were on. It may
be a small part of the state, country, and world, but I was still doing the
best I could to help preserve Mother Nature, who has been around for much
longer than I could imagine. In the big,
beautiful picture, it may be hard to see my tiny self spraying weeds in the
mountains, but without that piece of the puzzle, there would be a hole; it
would be incomplete. And so I continue my work.
This time it was my turn to spray a rather large patch of
Hounds Tongue (Cynoglossum officinale)
off in the meadow to the right. I hopped
off my horse, Chance, put on my gloves, walked the pack horse, Mingo, with the
spray tanks across the meadow and went to work.
As spraying became a mindless ordeal, my thoughts picked up where I left
off.
I asked myself “Why do I think this way? Why work for the
good of the big picture, anyway?”
Sure, it’s because the earth needs the protection and the
aid – we destroy nature every day, according to all the conservationists,
right? But that is the truth. And someday if we continue on a destructive
path where people only care about themselves, we will no longer have a Mother
Nature. It will be gone. Out of sight.
And there will only be cities, suburbs, and selfish people.
Earth is one large puzzle that is constantly balancing and
“fitting” itself together. Each
ecosystem reacts in itself, with the neighboring ecosystem, and with the entire
atmosphere. Every day a natural system
or a part of the system is damaged, the earth works with itself to balance that
factor. If it cannot, it wreaks havoc on
the whole earth. As things like
pollution continue every day, the atmosphere’s chemical make-up is tainted, the
weather changes, and it affects ecosystems around the world. Each person’s every day choices add up and
affect the earth. You need to be
conscious of your actions.
So I work to save nature.
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| Reached Lightning Lake! |
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| Hailey enjoying the lake. |
Lunch time brought us to the infamous Lightning Lake. The surface of the water was glass flat, it
reflected the trees beyond and white, puffy clouds above. Our
dog decided this was a good time to jump in the lake, and she sent a ripple
across its glassy surface. My thoughts
trailed once again.
Many people and societies rely heavily on what nature
provides them. In countries in Central
America (for example), the precious, sacred, and absolutely beautiful rain
forests and wilderness attract people from all around the world. Those countries depend on tourism, because of
nature. People travel from all over to
Montana to hunt and fish the countryside for their “trophy” elk or trout. Montana depends on the hunting industry,
because of nature’s provision. And so,
one person’s selfishness (not tagging game they shot), or an industry’s selfishness
(destroying an important ecosystem just for the gold or resources) can have a
negative ripple effect. It can have a harmful
effect not only on the wilderness, but in turn on our society itself. By not paying attention to the actions of
today, we can affect our own selves tomorrow.
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| La Selva Rain Forest, Costa Rica |
Shortly after we packed up our lunches and continued up the
trail, we came across a huge meadow with a respectable amount of flowering
plants, and an abundance of wild chives with their purple flowers. Naturally, I had to ask for us to stop so I
could “smell the roses,” and smell them I did! The colors came from countless
plants such as Indian Paintbrushes, Horse Mint, and many types from the sunflower
family. I was on cloud-nine amongst
these flowers.
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| Running through a field of blooming wild chives |
And then it
clicked. If I am working for the good of
the bigger picture, then I am largely helping my own well-being. It may not be an obvious statement, but,
psychologically and emotionally, taking care of something other than yourself
brings a kind of peace and happiness that can’t be filled by anything
else. Not only does Mother Nature benefit
from your help, but also you benefit
from your gift of giving.
Think of Christmas – everyone is looking for the perfect
gift for that special someone or the people close to them. The look on that person’s face when they open
your thoughtful gift is priceless. It
leaves you with that warm feeling inside and the happiness of beautiful
accomplishment. It gives you hope of
something bigger and better in life. The
same is for giving to nature. Whether
that is planting a tree in your treeless yard, giving money to a conservation
agency, or even simply recycling, it helps the big picture of supporting and
taking care of this earth, like we are supposed to do. Just as you take care of your body by brushing
your teeth daily, showering, or getting a haircut, you should take care of your
home. It has been around for much longer
than you have, and will be around for much, much longer.
Chris McCandless, from Into
the Wild, loved the feeling that nature and wilderness gave him, enough to
go explore it completely on his own. He discovered
a release, renewal, and rethinking from spending a lot of time in the “wild,” especially
after spending his life up until that point drowning in the pettiness of
society. Granted, some people do not
need that complete engulfment of the wilderness in order to experience
enlightenment like he did, but often people do need a dose of goodness that
only comes from earth itself; after being caught up and worried about humanity’s
issues, such an exposure can quickly and deeply change a person’s
perspective.
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| Just after we lost the trail. Beautiful views all the time |
A few miles after the field of flowers, we lost the trail
that was clearly stated on the map. Undoubtedly,
it was no longer in existence. That
tended to happen often. And so we had to
“bush-whack” our way around the rest of the mountain and back to the
trail-head, which needless to say, took much longer than we anticipated. My patience was tested to its absolute limit
– within myself, with my horse, with my co-workers, and with nature. As we finally cleared all the downed timber,
the sun was setting and we saw the trail in the distance! Relief swept over us and all we could do was
laugh. I couldn’t help but find the
whole thing funny by the end. Sometimes,
you have to fight to get down the path you want to go. During that trek, it may seem as though the
world is falling down, but you shouldn’t worry.
It’s still spinning, and you are still a piece of the beautiful
puzzle.
We need Mother Nature, because in the end, that’s the best
thing we can learn from, concerning the circle of life – balance, beauty, and
most of all, trueness. It offers lessons
and wisdom that have been the foundation since the beginning of earth’s
existence. If we take care of our home,
it profits the wilderness that covers it, us as a society, and especially us as
a person.
The sun was now solidly behind the mountains when we reached
the bottom at the trail-head. We loaded
up our trusty steeds, dusted off our boots, and headed back to the Forest
Service station after a long, accomplished day.
The feeling I felt as I watched the mountains in the fading light was
one I will never be able to replace with anything else. It’s like I glimpsed a view of the whole
picture, beautiful and true.
~"Because it's summer and the memories are just waiting to happen."~
