The Theory of Repetition

Happy almost official Spring everyone! With the Vernal Equinox only a few days away and going from a Winter storm that brought 3-5 inches of snow and a blustering wind producing chills into single digits, if not negatives, this past weekend in PA to being melted and gone, and I mean a good 95% gone, by late day Tuesday with some solid 60 degree sun, I’m sure beginning to feel Spring Fever a bit! Must be March??! ;-)

In honor of the transition, I thought this would be a fun weekend read for you to enjoy, over some coffee perhaps, as you may notice a pattern that I tend to write in my journal while sipping my coffee at camp in the mornings haha!

You may also realize that this takes place on the same stretch of the Loyalsock Trail that I have been backpacking in January and February. Some people might tend to feel that re-visiting a place is a waste of time or that you’ll never see as much if you keep going back to the same places. Well, I’ll tell you - I fully realize I am not going to get to see everything I want to in my lifetime. There’s just no way! But, I aim to try and see as much as is within my ability to do so and there are several places I am going to return over and over again. Those really special places that speak to you in some way, for whatever reason, deserve the attention. In fact, I find that the first time I am somewhere new, I feel like I am just beginning to scratch the surface of what it has to offer.

It is in this theory of repetition that one can truly get to know a place, witness its moods and changes, how it “feels” in different light, different seasons. Explore a place enough in close intervals, and you can begin to pick up the tiny subtleties that differentiate January from February from March and so on and so forth. It is a practice I highly recommend to anyone who fancies themselves a lover of Nature - pick a place and make it a point to visit, explore, observe in monthly intervals and I think you’d be amazed at the subtle shifts of light and all the little nuances that separate Nature’s dance throughout the seasons, especially during the less obviously drastic times of the year.

With that in mind, I bid you farewell Winter - I thank you for your majestic beauty these past 3 months, and welcome Spring - I feel your jubilance rising.

Beautifully revealed moss and ferns from the forest floor

March 2nd and 3rd, Loyalsock State Forest -

“Coffee once again, camping off of the Loyalsock Trail in the same location actually as I had camped in January. Talk of theory of repetition, haha!

I just read a few pages of my “A Year in the Woods” book by Torbjørn Ekelund and it is wonderfully intriguing some of his comments - the comparisons that can be drawn between here and Norway, albeit not quite as extreme, but nonetheless.

Yesterday’s hike was exhilarating, to say the least, haha! The mid-afternoon temperatures were quite mild feeling in the low 40’s. Despite trekking on a thin layer of crunchy, slushy snow, the feeling of Spring was certainly in the air and oh did it smell deliciously of Hemlock!

Compared to my January and February outings I felt like I was cruising in the micro-spikes. Also cruising right along is the water flow! The icy encasing has pretty much melted off the waterways and streams are gushing, what a peaceful sound. Waterfalls are flowing heavily indeed. However, this is where you will still find remains of ice build up, making for a spectacular scene!

Streams gush as ice recedes

Where the trail delicately winds around the ridge slope along Ketchum Run, the sloping sheet of ice also remains - and it got the better of me! One moment walking confidently along (too confidently, obviously!), the next sliding down the slope to get tangled in a baby Hemlock. Once freeing myself of that mess, I continued to slip down on to the icy, snow packed stream edge. And now I found myself laying face down on a boulder with my 80 pound backpack smashing my chest flatly upon it… after a few moments to gather myself and what had happened, and a bit of a pep talk, I managed to get some footing and a frozen hand grip and push myself to a vertical position once again. A bit exasperated and a nice scrape on my right shin, but otherwise fine and thankfully still dry! Another foot or two of slide and into the icy stream I would have been!

A precarious bend

After several minutes to check my pack and compose myself, on I went up the trail to Lower Alpine View. As I went further along, less and less snow and more and more barren forest and mud. Once reaching Lower Alpine View and being less than thrilled with the conditions - not to mention a ton of tree debris down, most likely from some of those winds we have had the past few weeks - I took a brief respite to enjoy the sunset and decided with the incoming rain overnight it was smartest and with better ambience to head back the trail a ways. And so I found myself nestled quietly and contently back where I camped in January. A little ice and skiff of snow, some Hemlock protection and beauty, and the sounds of the gushing Ketchum Run below have made for a lovely night and morning. I even had a little rain/sleet hitting the tent last night to fall asleep to.

The forest floor becoming exposed

Look familiar from January???

Waking up today, I could immediately feel the colder temperature. It is hovering right around freezing and the air is quite brisk! It is sunny and lovely though. The ever increasing angle of the sun and daylight let one know that it is March and Spring is around the corner. There is a feeling one can sense in the light.

The presence of the sun being felt more and more

Not a bad home for a day, or more…

On the hike out, I was immediately tested, having to descend that steep ridge and then the “ice-curve” with Ketchum Run frigidly flowing below me. I do recall a close mishap, or two, but I successfully made it down and around, with a water re-fill to show for it as well. And from there it was a relatively peaceful, relaxed hike out with a good pause for the photograph I most hoped to capture…

Yikes!

With a soft late-day light leaving a kind of afterglow to the towering Hemlocks and a touch of blue glow emanating from the ice in this falls chasm, I think I may have caught a pretty nice photograph. The combination of the steps of the waterfalls, half frozen and half flowing along with the touch of green from exposed moss and Hemlock forest made for a uniquely impressive scene, one that certainly spoke to me! And standing there for near an hour in this icy amphitheater, feeling the chilly air mixed with the deafening flow of water almost puts one in a sort of enchantment, a disillusionment of over run senses.

Icy amphitheater

And then you pull away, back into the forest where the quiet engulfs again and you feel the calm return, but still a little high from the rush.

Twilight was setting in as I hiked the last mile or so out and the faint twinkle of stars added a little extra magic. ‘Yeah, this is a good feeling of contentedness and state of mind to be in,’ I remember thinking, feeling. If I do not get to hear the crunch of spikes on ice or the swoosh of snow shoes again until next Winter, this season has been fulfilling in many ways. What it may have lacked in the occurrances of heavy snowfalls, there was some solid cold spells, which helped to keep the snows around for a time, at least in the more northern mountains. And I have been able to take advantage of timing and weather patterns for these three good Winter backpacks, all of which have been a wonderfully true experience of the progression of the Season!

But then again, who knows what the turning Spring shall bring… Snow or blooms or a little bit of both??! One way or the other, I look forward to getting out and rejoicing in it!”

All my best until next time,

Brandon

P.S. - The art festival buzz is sounding pretty good for this year and a few jury acceptances have come in recently! More to come on this as well as some other exciting news soon…

Orion and the crystal clear, cold Winter sky as I got back to my vehicle to head home

Wishing I hadn’t trimmed my beard two weekends before this, lol!

The Spring of Genius

“Let us love Winter, for it is the Spring of genius.” - Pietro Aretino

Ever since I first read this quote on a box of Celestial Seasonings tea, I have reveled in how clever I find the thought of it. And if you do ponder it, one might find how true it is. I do, anyways - for it is both the end and the true beginning of Nature’s cycle. The life and health of many living things depend on good precipitation and snowpack as well as a long cold dormancy to rest and be able to spring back into a life filled with abundancy when the time comes. I have found that for myself, it is the time when I allow myself to rest without guilt and also the time when I can reset, rejuvenate my thoughts and creative ideas. And of course, hopefully get out and play in that beautiful snow a bit! (Which is also a great way to keep one in shape - think “Summer bodies are made in the Winter” - there really is no better way to prepare for extremes and physical challenges like getting out in the Winter playground!). And so, in this sense, my Winter is a chance to form the genius that bursts me back into life come Spring.

That being said, among the many thoughts of “genius” I have this Winter is the idea of fulfilling a goal I have had for several years - to accomplish backpacking in every calendar month of the year. I spent a few years accumulating the gear I felt necessary to be able to at least begin to overnight in the Winter, most of it taking advantage of end of season sales. Then last year(2021), I felt the time had come to give it a go. We ended up having several ample snowstorms hit my neck of the woods from late January through late February and I took full advantage getting out twice in February and once in early March. As I sit here still today, it went very well and I LOVED it! It brings me back to the joy of being a kid again on an adventure filled snow day :-) It also left me with only January and December yet to achieve backpacking in.

On Christmas morning, one of the gifts Anna, my fiancé (yes that is new news in my life that I will elaborate on in a later post!) had for me was a book by Norwegian writer, Torbjørn Ekelund titled A Year in the Woods. In a nutshell, he goes on one self-described “micro-adventure” each month of the year. That does it, I thought - “this is going to be the year that I make that happen as well! I hope for some months to have either multiple outings and/or an extended adventure, but at the very least I can get out for one night each calendar month of 2022.” I hope, or should I say one of my many hopes during this experience will be to gain a closer understanding of both the dramatic and the subtle shifts in Nature as the days, weeks and months go by. I expect it to broaden what I glimpsed in 2018 while hiking the same trail during every calendar month of that year. So far, I am 2 for 2, having just returned from an outing the past two days. But I will share more on February later. I want to start at the beginning and highlight my January adventure now. Please enjoy, excerpted from the pages of my journal…

January 27th and 28th - Loyalsock State Forest

“Sipping my coffee in the grand snowy silence at my ridgeline campsite above Ketchum Run. Last night was cold and dark, perhaps and most probably the coldest night I have spent in the woods, quite fitting for January! I stayed relatively cozy though bundled up in my sleeping bags (yes bags!), a candle in the snow for ambience, and for dinner some warm and comforting chicken and dumplings washed down with a fine porter and some sips of bourbon.

I awoke today pleasantly surprised by a light dusting of snow on my tent and snow gently falling through the Hemlock forest around me! I guess that Nor’Easter pushed a little further West after all :-) I have just been quietly sitting here in the snow, just being in this Winter forest, so silent, frozen and at peace…

Shelter for a night and a day - January 2022

Hiking in yesterday, I learned within minutes, and with joy as there is much more snow up here in the mountains than in the valley at home, this was going to be a snow shoe adventure, not a micro-spike hike. And so an immediate pause was in order to re-equip. ‘Ok, now we’re having fun’ I thought as I meandered my way through the snow-draped, frozen forest. All stream crossings were tentative but successful steps across the snow laden ice that all but completely deafened that sound of the water flow underneath, only barely exposed in small gaps here and there. In fact, the quiet - aside from the crunch and sloosh of my snow shoes and sound of my breath - was all that could be heard.

And so it was that ever so peacefully I decided roughly 2.5-3 miles in that a certain patch of towering Hemlocks on a ridge resting above several frozen features of water flow clutched to the cliffs along Ketchum Run was going to be my home for the night.

Well into nightfall as I sat cozy in my camp chair and sleeping bags, I noticed the faint twinkling of stars in the forecasted cloudy night sky. The speckling in the Hemlock canopy openings was a welcome surprise but no doubt allowed the temperatures to plummet a bit more into the teens than expected. But it also accentuated the dark of night. Cold and Dark - January - yes, perfection!

So quiet, I just let my mind drift into the oblivion of night. Every now and then a faint hoot or howl would break the silence - owls, coyotes perhaps. Such beautiful darkness. Eventually the cold would let me know it was time to get bundled up inside the tent.

When I woke this morning, peering at the weird shadows on top of the tent, a little tap of my finger would reveal with giddy delight that it had snowed! In fact, it was snowing!!! And it would continue throughout the day. And even better, it was so delicate, a dry, powdery snow (thanks to the cold) that I can just sit here in the open air of the forest, wrapped in my bags enjoying it without getting or feeling wet.

My cozy little nook off of Loyalsock Trail - January 2022

And so there I sat indeed with my biscuits and gravy with sausage crumbles and hot coffee, breathing in every breath of that clean, pure, piney air for as long as I could until I knew it was time I must move. I applauded myself for realizing this was a moment to be savored for as long as possible, to forego other hiking possibilities this day and just be in this moment - the calm silence, the falling of the fresh snow, the smell of the pine, the barred owl calling ‘who cooks for you? who cooks for you all?!’

Forest view at my campsite - January 2022

Everything cloaked in new snow.

Once I was able to pull myself to my feet, get packed and get moving, I enjoyed more moments frozen in time. Frozen waterfalls that is. I knew this is what I wanted to photograph - a scene I actually came first to know last March and now presented again, but more dramatically on this excursion. Along the cliffside rising above this stretch of Ketchum Run is an ice blue frozen cascade, and this time heavily draped in snow - a scene of pure Winter majesty.

Freshly dusted forest and a frozen over waterfall under there! - January 2022

Frozen wall and fresh snow along Ketchum Run - January 2022

After capturing my moment in time I would more diligently get to the snow shoeing out, and just in proper time as the temperatures would plummet well into single digits and sub-zero windchills come nightfall. And now I was a bit wet from sweat and the constant grazing of my enormous pack against the hanging boughs of Hemlocks dropping their snow down over me and slowly but surely adding weight to my beast of a satchel. I do not have the proper gear yet for sub-zero’s!

Alas, I safely got out of the chill and back to warmth, a great January adventure under toe!”

All my best until next time,

Brandon

P.S. - Since I never posted any, here’s a few extra gems from my time out there last Winter!…

Alan Seeger Natural Area - February 2021

Frozen Fir forest - February 2021

Encased in ice - February 2021

The Hand that is Dealt…

Well, it has been some time, and I apologize for that. I did not think that when I last posted on January 11th, that November 2nd would be my next post. Nor, for that matter, that the state of the world would be what it is and has been during most of this year.

I want to say a couple things first, just to be clear… this is NOT a political post. I wanted to make sure no one is mislead on that and it was/is important to me that I wrote and posted this before the election (though I do hope everyone goes out to vote!) and results so that no one would be mislead about the title “The hand that is dealt” I have chosen. Sadly, I have been sitting on this title saved in my blog lineup since early March. Take it how you will in your own circumstances but “The hand that is dealt” for this instance means that I make no excuses for “success” or “failure” given the times we are in.

I really have only two “idols” if you will in my genre. Ansel Adams, whom I’m sure most of you have heard of, and Rodney Lough, Jr., probably not the same household name but in my opinion, the modern day Ansel Adams and someone whose work you should look at! Both of these men set the example for the standard of the quality of work I strive for. Both also come from very different time periods and world circumstances. Ansel rose to prominence during The Great Depression and is widely considered the father of the American Landscape tradition, photographically speaking. Rodney, on the other hand made a name for himself out on the art festival circuit in the late 80’s and early 90’s and has become perhaps the most currently renowned and financially successful artist in this field that I can think of. I have even had the pleasure of meeting the man, on my first cross country road trip in 2015. I got to meet my modern day hero and biggest inspiration and he did not disappoint! He and his wife are so kind and welcoming and gave me a complete studio tour followed by me just hanging out with him in his office editing room for about two hours talking all things life, hiking/camping/backpacking, and nature. Amazing.

The point to all this being, unfortunately, the art festival circuit (from what I am told anyways) is “not what it used to be” in relation to the grandeur’s of “success” some have seen during better economical times. But, none of that really matters. All we can do is play the hand we have been dealt and it is in this thought that I always come back to Ansel. I, nor hardly any of us, have ANY idea what it must have been like during The Great Depression. And to think of this man rising to such greatness during such times just really speaks strongly to me about what IS possible. I am in no way trying to make any comparisons of myself to these men, it is simply that these are the only professional influences that I pay any mind to really and so their stories resonate with me.

So I am here to tell you that despite being quiet for a while and the fact that there haven’t hardly been any art festivals to be able to be held this year (I and many of my friends had total cancellations) and we don’t know when things will resume on an even somewhat “normal” level, that I am in no way giving up! I am still playing my hand, it has just been on a bit of a pause. Many of you whom I have had in depth conversations with have heard me say that I fill in the gaps with landscape work. Well, this year has pretty much been all landscape work, which honestly I am thankful for. I know this year has been so tough on so many levels, so to have the opportunity to have a “backup” to go to for consistent income and for that to also be something that keeps me outside and that I enjoy doing AND it also be with a good friend, has been a blessing!

I felt it was important to let all of you know that has been what I’ve been up to. My dreams are still the same. I have simply been biding my time and making money that I can hopefully use wisely for the future of my artwork! I also wanted to say that I sincerely hope you all are doing as well as can possibly be during these times and please feel free to reach out and say hi, I would love to know that you are well!

And lastly, just so you know, things are not at a complete standstill. I am still capable of producing any work which has been available if anyone has any inquiries. I have quite a load of new work that I am chomping at the bit to be able to produce, but as some of my resources have also been affected, I haven’t had too much opportunity to do so. However, it has also accelerated my desire to procure more of my own “in house” capabilities which I hope to acquire soon and be able to have a very productive Winter!🤞😁

Speaking of which, looking ahead to later November and into December, I have just gotten word that the Central PA Festival of the Arts organizers are providing us with an on-line platform of promotion running through November 27th-December 18th. And also I have just submitted some work and thoughts to a Penn State student organization trying to promote awareness of art and mental health with an Instagram tag of @arts.for.health in which my highlight should be posting later this month. So please feel free to pass the words along to any interested and again, as always (and preferably!😉) feel free to contact me directly about anything!

Again, my apologies for taking so long to reach out to everyone, I realize I have a bad habit of becoming silent for too long at times and then it becomes more difficult for me to figure out what I want to say or how to go about jumping back into it. But, as the landscaping season continues to wind down, I intend for my voice to become more active and to get back to sharing what I do… (And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten my promise to finish up a couple stories I left hanging!) In the meantime, in the spirit of a Halloween post I made last year, enjoy a few spooky tree/forest pics from some adventures I was able to have recently🎃

My very best,

Brandon