cleanse

I'd like to explain my first hardcore backpacking-through-the-mountains trip in detail, but I think it would be simpler to share the gorgeous pictures of the panoramic forestry and clear blue glacier waters, cold refreshing mountain air, and heart-stopping view of stars hanging from the night sky, that I was rewarded with for hiking up 11,000 ft in elevation, suffering from 50,000 mosquito bites, swimming in freezing lakes, and taking care of business in 6-inch ditches.

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed the landscape!  My phone died by day 3 and I really wasn't as focused on the photography as I was enjoying Mother Nature in the moment, but by day 3 we were basically at the top! that's where most of the pictures are from:

I'm going on a "cleanse" (don't worry, only mentally and emotionally).  Since moving out of LA, I've realized how much crap I've accumulated, and how many things I hold on to, not just externally but also internally.

I've been collecting, hoarding, and clinging to all the memories, trinkets, people, moments, etc. because I've strongly believed it's my past and part of who I am now, and I've been holding on tighter than ever because my life is about to change drastically.

But I think it's time to unload and let some things go that need releasing.  What I need is closure, and room for a new start.  Besides memorabilia, ties, bonds, doubts, fears, hesitations, negative energies, antagonistic emotions, whatever they may be, it's time to clear them out and move on.  Some things just aren't meant to be carried into the future, and it's time to prevent them from weighing any part of me down, whether they have in the past, or may possibly do so in the future.

I've always been an avid fan of history, but I'm realizing that moments like these, opportunities for progress and possibilities, are also moments for making changes and letting go.

There are priceless valuables that I will forever hold dear to my heart and never let go of, eternal treasures to keep.  Don't get me wrong, this isn't a dump truck operation.

But certain things are better left as pieces of the past.  And I'm OK with that.

This is my week + half to cleanse and freshen up.

It'll do me good!