Medication for stressful times.

            Heat waves, droughts, pandemics, political turmoil, dysfunctional political system:  There are so many sources of anxiety and stress right now, and it just keeps going on and on.  Our inability to address climate change tells me that all of this is only going to get worse. 

            At least once a week, weather permitting, I take to the woods.  It might be just an eight or ten mile hike in the Columbia Gorge, a half hour meditating beside Wahkeenah Spring, or a longer hike, over Hamilton Mountain and on up to Phlox Point or up Wahkeenah Creek past Fairy Falls, over to Larch Mountain trail and on up to the ridge above Multnomah Basin, then back down Wahkeenah Creek, a total of 17-19 miles, depending on how much of the ridge I hike. From time to time I do an even longer hike, pushing and testing my limits. 

            On any of these hikes, all the stress is gone within ten to twenty minutes, my thoughts focused almost entirely on the trail, my legs, the rhythm of my breathing, the song sparrows and thrushes, the columbine and paintbrush, the pattern of sun and dappled shade, the smell of rotting fir needles.  As I hike farther and higher, thoughts slow to a kind of meditation. 

            From time to time I decide to push my physical limits.  In addition to the Wahkeenah – Larch Mountain loop and the slightly shorter Hamilton Mountain – Phlox Point loop, I like to take on the 5000 foot climb from Herman Creek trailhead up the Nick Eaton Ridge, mostly very good trail but with about two miles of steep scramble through brush and over rocky outcroppings, topping out at a high point along a gently sloping ridge called Green Point Mountain.  A half mile or so beyond the summit, a trail leads down to Cedar Swamp Camp, a very pleasant grove for a lunch stop at the junction with Herman Creek Trail.  This makes for a 19 mile loop, with several nice waterfalls along Herman Creek, and ending with a pleasantly tired body.  

            A few weeks ago I extended the Nick Eaton route to the ridgeline above and south of the Herman Creek drainage, resulting in a total walk of 23.5 miles.  Last week I decided to take on an even longer route, following the Pacific Crest Trail over Benson Plateau (west of Herman Creek), then back down Herman Creek, a total of 26.5 miles.  The trail down to Cedar Swamp Camp is excellent, aside from frequent deadfalls to step over or scramble around.  The woods are lovely at this time of year, with several species of songbirds and wildflowers.  Beyond Cedar Swamp Camp, the trail is a hundred feet or more above the creek, passing through several stretches that were badly burnt during the 2017 fire, but there are also patches of undamaged forest and many wildflowers along the entire way.  

            Science is coming to recognize that mind is part of body.  “Mind” affects how the body feels and functions, and every part of the body interacts with and affects the neural system, the brain, the experience we call mind.  Even a few minutes of vigorous exercise releases chemicals that improve the functioning of the neural system – and induces a pleasurable, relaxed mood.  For a physically fit person, pushing the body to a state of moderate exhaustion is both invigorating and calming.  This is partly a response to chemicals produced by the muscles, partly the satisfaction of accomplishing something difficult, all greatly enhanced by the sights, sounds, and smells of nature – woods, running water, still water, the view of volcanic peaks and fertile farmlands in the distance, a wall of dripping moss and ferns, a tiny cluster of flowers growing between bare rocks. 

These are my favorite medicines.  I rarely need anything else.