Blessings from Autumn Equinox 🍁💜✍️
In addition to equal day and night, cooler temperatures and changing leaves, this Equinox brings big healing to all of us — including the forests of Olympic National Park.
This week’s Equinox energies have been potent and beautiful, ushering in deep-healing messages around change and letting go.
At our Dosewallips Women’s Retreat on the eve of Equinox, signs of fall were everywhere: cooler temperatures, blustery breezes, and forest reds and yellows all mixed with the scent of autumn.
There was another smell in the air by the river as well — the scent of salmon! Pinks1 are running in the Dosewallips, fighting their way upstream and jockeying for position as females nestle into pools to lay their eggs.
Our retreat group sat for an hour in the dappled sunlight by the river watching them as they strived and rested, their teachings permeating our writing with messages both joyful and deep.
(Here’s a video montage from the retreat).
One theme running through all Equinox messages — both in our retreat and beyond — has been about letting go: of control, of old habits and of the past, opening to the new and the unknown with every breath. These messages have been so prevalent and powerful, I’ve started an Equinox-inspired writing-prompt thread for our write-and-hike community — please join us!
Another beautiful blessing Equinox brings is rain.
While those who live on the Olympic Peninsula may know we have been in a drought this summer, not all may not be aware that sections of the Olympic Mountains have been burning since August 28th, when lightning strikes hit seven areas of backcountry in the Olympic range. While park authorities contained the well-publicized Hurricane Ridge fire quickly, another fire at Eagle Point blew up over the next week, causing a lengthy closure of the road leading to Obstruction Pass.
A few days later, Olympic forest backcountry began to burn in earnest, with one fire (the Delabarre) consuming 4300+ acres, making it — according to a ranger at ONP’s Wilderness Information Center — “the biggest fire in Olympic National Park history.” Many backcountry trails have been closed for weeks, and smoke has been affecting areas from Brinnon to Chimacum to Port Townsend and Port Angeles.
As I frequent these mountains, I’ve been monitoring the fires since they started, talking to rangers about what it will take to stop them.
“Rain,” they said. “We’re just waiting on the rain.”
Because — while park management has been working to contain the fires — their strategy is not necessarily to put them out. As none of the fires have directly encroached on populated areas, park management has relied instead on the natural boundaries of rivers and mountains to keep the burns in check.
On the day after Equinox, the rain finally came, and in the past 24 hours the fires have diminished significantly. We’re not in the clear just yet, but with more rain coming over the next few days, the outlook is very good for fire management, as well as for the forests.
(For those of you who have been doing Tonglen for the fires, the forests and I thank you!)
The weather forecast also brings good news for the Seven Lakes Basin backpacking retreat next weekend (9/29-10/1).
After the mountains get a thorough dousing of rain most of the week, current predictions call for drier weather Friday, with sun returning Saturday and Sunday.
This is wonderful news as many have shown interest in this backpacking write-and-hike retreat! However…no one has actually signed up! As I know there are folks who’d like to come, I am a bit stumped as to why this is.
As such, a question for you:
Would you be able to come to Seven Lakes Basin if the retreat were only Saturday and Sunday?
All things are possible! I would really love to show you this beautiful place. Please reply as soon as possible via email (csb@withinsight.be), and thank you!
Save the Dates 🍁💜✍️
While I don’t have the October schedule completely dialed in just yet, here are some early October dates to save:
🍁Saturday, October 7th at Fort Flagler: As part of the Friends of Fort Flagler free talk series, a Write-and-Walk mini-retreat from 10-11am — thank you Jenn for connecting me!
🍁Wednesday, October 11th at Lena Lake: Full-Day Write-and-Hike Retreat (Time TBD) — thank you Janine for requesting this!
🍁Sunday, October 15th at ???: Come celebrate my 50th birthday with me on a special birthday hike! (Time & Location TBD) — thanks Mom and Dad for flying out for this! 🥰
Big Equinox Love to all of you in our growing community of writers and hikers!
With gratitude,
Carrie B.
(Trail name: Kama Muta)
🍁💜✍️
Updated as of 9/24: I had been calling them Chinook, but after a family outing in the pouring rain to visit them today, my son’s dad informs me that they are Pinks!