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Issue #168, Yosemite and Emigrant Wilderness, California; as well as the Carson River, Carson, Nevada. (Part 5 of the Wild-Machen "Epic Road Trip of 2017") Haiku and photographs by Jonathan Machen.




balancing need
for action with Paige’s need
for relaxation



sheer concentration
humanity in nature
ice melts in cooler



this sanctuary
the most divine cathedral
center of the throng



a scale of grandeur
to everything on this trail
including the crowd



mist trail, vernal falls
soaked - totally surrounded
by happy people



the trail guide told us
not to bring small children here
he carries infant



severe frustration
to find so many people
blissed out on the trail



sublime landscape
even with so many tourists
obscuring my view



now I turn into
the idiot in the crowd
taking family photo



leaving bananas
and carving their names in moss
today’s worshipers



at least we are all
out here, sweating together
the new catharsis



collapsed on the trail
forgot her oxygen pump
they call 911



explaining John Muir
to my thirsty, tired kids:
put sunscreen on ear



demanding to know
how many miles we have left:
misplaced squirt bottle



the mighty Merced
flowing icy green and cold
squirrel nips my foot



kids, hot and tired
not wanting to hear about
the famous John Muir



stand right here - trust me
I tell the German tourists
as I take their photo



John Muir understood
that all who visited here
would be touched by light



Yosemite zoo:
see the species of tourists
feeding on the view



gigantic boulders
in the middle of the stream
hardly block the flow



John Muir, lucky man
to have avoided shuttle bus
on the way to the lake



what brings all people
of all nations together?
a landscape of one



with Mexican friends
jumping into the cold lake
all faiths united



everyone hoping
to take sacramental shot
with digital camera



ferns and butterflies
cool dappled sunlight on bark
white granite, black specks



dragonfly waltz
back and forth across the stream
kids whistle in reeds



hi! I’m a heathen
I think I’ll stick my tissue
into this tree knot



people disappear
and the full weight of nature
brings me to my knees



John Muir had it good
coming before the tourists
flocked to his namesake



matching green t-shirts
“May the forest be with you”:
black-kilted couple



in Yosemite
reconnecting with the source
of light and color



tethered to family,
perspiring behind strangers:
Yosemite zen



traffic jam on trail
leading up to waterfall
traffic noise below



family dynamics
and hot, steep dusty switchbacks
calls for more patience



survey marker shows
the age of humanity
compared to the rock



kids reminding me
of forgotten mishaps:
glasses in wipers



disaster unfolds
I try to take a left turn
he tries to pass me



Emigrant stillness
the sound of water on rock-
his cell phone music



surprise by the lake
six-petalled yellow flowers -
her hidden campsite



sierra snowpack
cascading down granite bowls
fishing rod breaks



walking in the woods
sorry to be intruding
on your perfect spot



your meditation
enhanced by my intrusion
on your sacred space



to be a river rat
wet, sunburned, thirsty and hot
adrenalin flows



smoke from Sierra fire
filters to Carson river
family floats ahead



in late afternoon
we eddy up to camp
kids play in hot springs



slow grace of the raft
loaded with our equipment
blister on my palm



rafting gear evolves
but the river stays the same
lizard suns on rock



surprised to find rock
that I was trying to avoid
now under my boat



eddies, boils, currents
the slow pace of the river -
scrub jays fight in trees



friend of 40 years
takes me back to rafting days -
ones he never left



now with my family
same old anxiety
I had as a kid



kids in hot springs pool
give it a good scouring -
brushes left behind



kids wondering why
their experienced rafting dad
is stuck on a rock



river’s slow embrace
seeps into our second day:
turkey vultures above



river rafters’ knots
honed with years of practice
tied without a thought



desert take-out
we disassemble the boats
and thoughts of the day




solo/group kukai
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen