Join Rich Hood, co host, and I on a hike to bathe in nature:
Mindful Hike: Lower Macleay Park out-and-back
Distance: 4-6 miles round trip
Pace: 2.0-3.0 mph
Duration: Roughly 2.0 hrs
Stress sucks. But the forest is close at hand. Share your presence while immersed in time honored elements of nature. Seek the profound simplicity of an observant walk with likeminded folks. Allowing ourselves to experience the visceral calm of the natural world can become the antidote to our largely unnatural waking lives. With time you may even find some sense of clarity about what is truly necessary and what is glaringly unnecessary for you on your path.
This hike will include brief introductions of participants so inclined to share. The majority of the hike is silent. This is your opportunity to be mindful of your forest experience, and perhaps enjoy a passive camaraderie with other hikers, or whatever else happens to enter your mind and your senses. We will not tell you how to be mindful or further try to define your discovery. This is about you! And in a way, because of you it is about all of us together! At the conclusion of the hike, and time permitting, we may talk about what we enjoyed, unexpected surprises and any challenges that crept up.
Be grateful. Find beauty. Become more whole.
Directions: Turn onto Highway 30 heading west towards St. Helens, and exit at Vaughn St. Turn left at the first light onto NW 23rd, then right onto Thurman Ave. Turn right on NW 28th, then an immediate left onto Upshur. The park is 3 blocks further at the end of Upshur.
Parking: There are roughly 8 spaces at the park. Additional parking is found on surrounding residential streets, including Thurman Ave.
Although we will NOT hike to Pittock Mansion this time, here is a good resource for the general locale and the majority of the hike, including the start and end points:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/oregon/lower-macleay-park-to-pittock-mansion?ref=result-card
Other resources:
Imagine Well Being - www.liveimagining.org - "Envisioning a world where well-being is available to everyone."
Richard Hood, Co Host - www.shinein.org - Cognitive Health Matters of Being