Window to the Wilderness
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"A flight of six heavy-motored bombing planes
Went over the beautiful inhuman ridges a straight course northward; the
incident stuck itself in my memory
More than a flight of band-tailed pigeons might have done
Because those wings of man and potential war seemed really intrusive
above the remote canyon."
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| Robinson Jeffers, from The Great Sunset |
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Northern Santa Lucia
Winter Solstice '00
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Once again the hard rains have ebbed, and the flowers are quietly opening their welcome color to the sky. A shower or two will certainly grace the land before the dry season settles in, but they'll be gentle rains and warm. The violent winter creeks and rivers, having stained the coastline earthen for months, are beginning to flow clear again. Clear yet strong, with the baritone rumble of melon-sized boulders still quite audible streamside, as they finish another leg of their long journey from mountain peak to seashore. And the sun-rays are beginning to find their way into the deep Ventana canyon bottoms -- Spring has come around again. There is perhaps no better time of year to wander the backcountry of the northern Santa Lucia than right now. The flies and the rattlesnakes for the most part still sleep, while the wildflowers are just starting to gain momentum. So by all means get yourself out there and bask in it the first chance you get, and leave this issue of the Double Cone Quarterly for when you return. Just kidding. Enjoy it now, and if you feel so inclined, let us know your thoughts. Enjoy the Season,
Pine Valley dusk by Phil Williamson, © 1986
The Double-Cone Quarterly is published four times a year, on the equinoxes and solstices, by the Ventana Wilderness Alliance and can be obtained free of charge by anyone with an internet connection who steers their browser to http://www.ventanawild.org/news/news.html.
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