Mountain Pool

Jon-Erik Hegstad

                       
The sun, using its bellows to press my drenched shirt against me, rages on my back as I trudge over another hill recently scarred by wildfire. The last time I was up here it was thick with underbrush and protected by a dense canopy that made for a pleasant walk. Now, the ground exhibits sporadic signs of fire’s destruction, lingering to provide some clue as to why the earth feels unnaturally barren for this region. Some of the plants are beginning to return but the color of burnt remains popular on this trek.

We press on. I remember a swimming hole up near the end of the trail with a rocky bank access. It has a beautiful waterfall that obeys gravity all the way down. Swimming in to get close and feel the mist smack your face like an agitated cloud is wonderful. However, one wants to avoid getting directly underneath as the force of falling water in volume is more powerful than expected. This vision of swimming in another mile or two keeps me punching upward through the increasing heat.

More than seven hundred feet of elevation change in less than three hours. I thought we’d packed enough water, but I neglected to account for the lack of shade. The journey back down will be much easier than the constant incline we currently face and the swim will refresh and rejuvenate. The views are incredible though. Before there were windows of the valleys through dense foliage. Now, panoramic views of the territory. Around the next corner and back down into the woods is where we break for lunch and find our private pool.

The waterfall is seven inches of raging trickle.

The pool is deep enough to wet our feet.

Not exactly how I remember it.

Jon-Erik Hegstad is a close enough engineer, a  professional pontificator prolifically preaching procrastination and is a renowned bacon cheeseburger dietician.