Camping Follow Up

Taken while on a hike on Saturday, January 2nd.

The camping trip with Naturalist For You (NFY) [www.naturalist-for-you.org] on January 1st to January 3rd was spectacular. To share my boundless experience in this blog would be impossible, however I will share an overview of the weekend.

The weekend began at the Chuchupate Ranger Station in Lockwood Valley, California. Here, we met and Joel Robinson, the guide and naturalist trainer for the weekend, took our information. Following this, the five volunteer naturalist trainees, myself included, and Joel heard a presentation by Alan Salazar on the Chumash natives. I was intrigued to hear the history of the tribe that used to live in the mountains I currently roam. Their stories and their seemingly endless, yet harmonious, uses for the world around them were a wonder and Alan was a wealth of knowledge on the subject. [Side note: Alan Salazar can be found at www.chumashstories.com.]

After this, we went on a short tour around the ranger station, where Joel told us about the local plants and I got the opportunity to eat the first of many new food sources that I had never thought of. Pine needles. Needles from the piñon pine tree have a surprisingly refreshing citrus flavor. However, I have to caution you to eat them at your own risk.

From here, we went to our campsite and got settled in for the night. We made camp, which consisted of 4 separate tents, a small fire pit, and, eventually, a very warm fire for the freezing nights. That night, we went on a nocturnal hike after sundown, ate dinner, and talked about the many subjects of life around the camp fire well into the night.

The next morning began with the sort of comfort and serenity that only comes from spending extended periods of time in nature. The day was spent hiking and learning to identify local flora and fauna.

The evening was spent around the campfire talking and eating. Eventually, drums emerged and we all had fun with the freedom of music. Later in the evening, Sarah-Jane, another of the trainees, told us a native story, then introduced us further into native culture. Take this next bit as you like. It delves into the spiritual and metaphysical aspects of native life. We went on a journey. Not of the physical, but of the spiritual. In a meditative state, as taught by Sarah-Jane, we searched for our spirit animals. This was a very interesting experience, though in all honesty, I don't know how much I truly believe. In any case, through my journey I discovered I had two spirit guides; Eagle and Wolf.

Sunday was spent with further hiking and learning of the local environment. In the afternoon, each trainee made an Interpretive presentation, and graduated from the training course.

I am now a volunteer naturalist with NFY and I can't wait to guide my first tour. This weekend gave me many incredible memories and also connected me to more people who can help me on the path to my goals.