Today I thought about senses a lot. I am grateful to have all the ones I have, even if some are diminishing with age.

My eyes are allowing me to see such incredible sites. Besides the millions of flowers and absolutely awe inspiring saguaro cactus I see truly dark star skies at night and sunsets that fill me with joy.

When I first thought about the smells out here, I thought cow manure and skunk were the main smells. But then I noticed that some of the skunk smell were Javelina instead of skunks. I also begin to notice the sweet smell of flowers in the air. I live in a country place, so I take for granted the absence of car exhaust in the air, but for someone coming from the city, that would be something they would notice out here as well.

Taste out here is heightened because I have less access to all the spices and flavors in my non-hiking life, and my hunger is such that almost everything taste great. This morning I am huddled in my sleeping bag taking a zero day at grass shack campground because I have a 4000 foot climb ahead of me which would place me up high just went the predicted lightning and snow storm is expected to start. There is another campsite four miles up that I could walk to, but it’s more exposed, would be quite a bit colder and it’s probably covered in snow. Having experienced the Rockies in lightning where my hair stood on four times I decided I’d rather take a day off down low and let the rain patter on my tent rather than dealing with thunder snow up high And as I cuddle in my sleeping bag, I occupy myself in part by eating. At the hiker box at Colossal Cave. I traded my 12 oz. bag of raisins for an 8 ounce bag of dried cranberries. I am savoring the tartness of those berries, trying to eat them one at a time as the flavor explodes on my tongue. I’m also savoring the some dried and salted mushrooms that someone had given me. Added to that is some of my snack mix comprised of spicy sesame sticks and sweet and salty peanuts, along with some chocolate given to me by brie. I continue to work to focus on how good I have it and not be concerned about the miles of snowy mountain ahead of me.

As for physical feelings, the main ones out here besides the pain in my knees are heat, cold and hunger. I try not to get too close to the prickly plants, although I do have some scratches from some of them. Being snuggled up in a sleeping bag when it’s 36° outside with rain pouring on my tent is such a feeling of comfort and pleasure. I love how much more I appreciate the simple things out here. When I’m home, I try to remind myself to appreciate simple pleasures. For example, after spending a winter out hiking, I never take a warm shower for granted.

The sounds in the desert are many. Right now, I can hear the stream near me roaring after last night’s rain. Sometimes it is deathly quiet and other times the wind is howling with such ferocity that I can barely hear myself talk. One day as I was walking along holding my water bottle in my hand I noticed that as the wind passed over the lip of it, it made an interesting sound. I occupied myself for a while as I walked by turning the bottle in the wind to see all the different sounds I could create. Another day I heard an ominous rattle by the side of the trail and looked up to see perhaps the largest rattlesnake I’ve ever seen. Certainly it was coiled up the highest of any I’ve ever encountered. Its head was raised off the ground to the level of my knee. In that moment, I was especially glad that my ears had alerted me to the danger on the trail.

This got me thinking about all the connections with the senses people have lost over the ages. There was a time when having one’s senses honed to wild animals lurking in the woods or storms moving in would’ve meant the difference between life and death. But these days we no longer are as aware of what’s happening in nature all around us, and we rely on technology to tell us what to expect with the weather. As a result, many of us have lost abilities that were critical to human survival.

I also thought about how my senses were heightened during a childhood of abuse. I learned to be hyper vigilant to what was happening around me. Overtime I have trained myself to relax and not jump every time I am startled. I am so grateful for the ways that being on the trail has helped with my internal healing and allowed me to become more aware of the beautiful awe inspiring sights and sounds all around me.