The Mist

The Mist

National Parks on a clear, crisp, sunny day are one of the best experiences in the world. The mountain peaks, arches, lakes and canyons all stand out like a post card against the crystal blue backdrop of the perfect sky. The sun spotlights the smallest features that it wants you to see or casts shadows to make the views more vibrant through the contrast. The bright light bounces off the water droplets exploding from the base of a waterfall or turns the sky red and purple as it sets and rises. But what about the other days. The times when the clouds hang low and the mist hides the secrets of the park?

Black Canyon of Gunnison

I recently took my first trip to the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park, eager to see the near vertical walls of the canyon leading to the river below. Instead I was greeted with an eerie mist lingering just feet from the ground. Clouds were sliding between the walls of the canyon and at certain points the clouds were beneath the trail I was on. The air was damp with a chill that betrayed the calendar. Thunder clapped and then echoed as it rolled across the 500 million year old rock walls. The park wasn’t showing me its best side but instead telling me a new story.

The rain and mist held back the details of the canyon. Secrets stored in the stone weren’t revealed like they would be in the sunlight. Clouds floated like a whisper. One moment, the fog would completely obscure the opposite rim, only to disappear like an exhale to show the rocky wonders waiting across the chasm. The air was still, yet alive. Breathing. The mist only showing what it wanted to be seen.

The weather didn’t allow me to focus on the grandness of the canyon but instead made me focus on a single tree. A solitude rock. Instead of taking it all in, I stared at puzzle pieces. Alone they were just a hint of something bigger. Together they began to allow the picture unfold. The same beauty just in bite sized pieces for my eyes.

The World is the Mist

Visiting a National Park on a rainy day isn’t the best experience but it allows you to take in a new perspective. Everyday isn’t met with bright sunshine and blue skies. You are likely to find a cloud breaking up the days but its how you responded that determines how the day will end. The easy choice is to pack it in and wait for the weather to pass. A lot of people make this choice. Although, some decide to stay. They take on the mist and the fog and the rain. They create the light on those days and don’t wait for the skies to shine. A tree in the fog doesn’t look dim to them, it looks spotlighted.

It is harder to stay positive when the world seems like it is wrapped in a blanket. The skies darken early and even the animals tuck away into the burrows. But for the ones who ventures out the rain feels like a rebirth. The mist clinging to the branches doesn’t dampen the day but instead creates a glow, or halo, around the whole tree. The moisture in the air clings to and cleans the rocks just like the shower cleans the dirt of the day away from our bodies.

We all prefer those immaculate days. The bright and beautiful moments in life. The fog and mist isn’t first on the menu but if you can learn to find the beauty in the mist, you can find the beauty in anything. The brightness in the gloom. Lighting each piece of the puzzle until the whole picture is visible. I used to hate the rain, ran from the thunder. Then I looked through the droplets and the mist and finally saw what it was there for. To show a different side to world, to clean it to allow the beauty to shine, and to let us appreciate the gray skies as much as the blue. To show us that the bad isn’t always bad, sometimes its just caught in the mist.

More from The Fatman

If you enjoyed this post you may enjoy more of the posts on my Fatman’s Rambling page. Blogs such as “Screw it, I’m Trying”, “Hiking Alone not Lonely Hiking“, “Winslow, Arizona” and “Another Year” as well as many others may interest you there. If you have any comments or topics you would like me to cover, feel free to email me at fatmanlittletrails@gmail.com. Or you can keep the conversation going by following me on any of the below social media platforms.