It's September, and hiking's on my mind.

My thru hiker friends are posting their summit photos from their ascents of Mt. Katahdin three years ago. Every day, there's another one on Facebook as people remember their summit day and the tremendous accomplishment of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. And this morning I was interviewed by Melissa Foster Cook for her Virtual Girls' Night Out - all about my Appalachian Trail Thru Hike!  I'll tell you at the end how you can hear the call.  I'm enjoyed it tremendously- I love sharing stories and insights from my trip!

Best of all,  I'm about to launch a program for women who want to hike the Appalachian Trail that I'm so excited about I keep putting it off because I want it to be just right, but I'm going to have to go ahead and put it out there soon!! Keep your eyes peeled for a new page here (tomorrow, I hope!) called "Wild and White Blazing" - a virtual campfire for women to learn about hiking the AT.  Yay!

In honor of hiking being on my mind, here's a game I love to play that I haven't played in a while:  Where was I three years ago today?  Let's peek at my AT journal and see:

I woke up on the shores of East Carry Pond in Maine.  I'd pitched my tent on a tiny beach all alone so I could watch the sun rise.  There was no one else around, except one other hiker camping in the woods a couple of tenths of a mile away. That morning  I wrote, "A beautiful night and morning at the pond.  Such a clear night with stars and the moon rising later.  Magical to see the beach lit by moonlight.  Loons and coyotes calling - echoing across the pond.  Then a golden sky in the morning and mist across the pond, and ducks swimming by doing their morning routine."

That day I also crossed the Kennebec River.  There's a ferry guy in a canoe to take you across because the river is too dangerous to ford. There's even a white blaze (the marking for the Appalachian Trail) inside the canoe! Goodness, I was happy, even when the trail was really hard and full of rocks and roots.

What an incredible journey it was.  And September 10 was one beautiful day in Maine.

So if you're interested in hearing Melissa's interview with me, you can sign up here - click the box and it will take you to the sign up page!  The call will be available September 19.

Melissa interviews someone cool every month - I'm so honored to be her guest!  And check back tomorrow and I'll have more news about Wild and White Blazing! Yay!

30 Day Challenge - Day 20 and 21 - Listen to your Soul, Rest and Play

I just spent two days and nights away on retreat.  Even though I was the host and facilitator, I had plenty of time to soak in the rejuvenating power of nature and really hear my soul speak.  She said something like this - it was telepathic so not exactly these words, but this was the feeling: "There's abundance.  There's always enough.  The world is full of riches and pure delight, laying them at your feet.  Love is all around you."  She was so calm, so shining, so bright.  And I don't think she was talking about material riches, like gold or diamonds.  It was much more about the abundance of beauty and life and love all around me.  So much to appreciate. Would you like to hear your soul?  All you have to do is close your eyes and imagine your soul coming out of your body and manifesting itself in a way you can visualize - maybe a person, maybe a glowing light, maybe an animal  - it could be anything.  Then feel its wisdom, its pure love, its complete acceptance of you.  Feel it wash over you. Then hear what it has to tell you, as it sits or stands or floats before you.  Listen to its message, then let it come back into your body in whatever way it does - maybe straight to your heart, maybe through the top of your head, or some other way.  Then feel yourself fill up with the love and wisdom of your soul, and open your eyes and see the world from the point of view of your soul.  This is a beautiful visualization to practice over and over.  It's one of my favorites, both for when I'm feeling stressed and when I'm feeling peaceful.

What I love about retreats like this is that it was a weekend dedicated to pure rest and play. We had lots of time alone to rest and reflect, and time together to process, share and hike and explore in nature.  I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, but here's one of my favorite photos from the weekend:

I've been drawing too - I missed my drawing time on Friday, but that's ok - I picked up again Saturday and today.  I sat inside the small gazebo on the gorgeous grounds of the B&B where we stayed and drew the view through the lattice.

And today I played with the message from my soul, and with a somewhat green version of my wild and precious tree. Quick play sketches.

How are you?  What has your soul had to tell you lately?  What feels like rest and play to you right now?

Message me or let me know in the comments!

Fourteen things I'll treasure from four days on the AT with a good friend

1. Fragrant pink azaleas blooming.

2. Basking lizards.

3. Dogwoods.

4. Cliff views.

5. Irises.

6. Cute privies.

7. Campfires.

8. Hot drinks on a cold morning.

9. Fields with cows.

10. Spring green and Sky blue.

11. Creeks.

12. Cozy shelters.

13. Being on a woodland path that stretches across thirteen states for over 2000 miles.  That's magical.

14. Sharing a very special place and new experiences with a dear friend who'd never been backpacking before.

It's easy living, and time stretches in beautiful ways on the Appalachian Trail.

It's a joy to get out of my mind and into my body.

To breathe hard going uphill.

To feel the heat and the cold and the wind.

To eat because I'm really hungry.

To stay hydrated like I never seem to manage to do in "real life".

To walk and walk and walk with nothing to do all day but walk.

I look forward to sharing similar experiences with a very small group of women for a few nights in May, 2013.  I'm thinking May 23-27. More details will be coming, but if you want to get on the interest list now, email me at carla@livingwildandprecious.com.  It's going to be amazing!