Panther Meadows

- Nature's rooms where wildflowers bloom

Following on from my last post where I accidentally locked myself out of the house…

The house where I sit has a keypad on the garage door. Once home from my hike, I let the dogs out to do their business and I then have a bite to eat. Realising I’ve left some items in the car, I later leave through the garage door to retrieve them only to discover I haven’t unlocked the door from the inside… a wave of astonishment washes over me… how could I have just done that?

I recall the welcome package notes and the keypad code I neglected to read because I decided to use the keys instead. The notes are on my phone… Oh dear!

With no phone, keys or sunglasses, I walk down the long driveway and along the road to knock on some doors… nobody is home. I then find myself standing at the corner of an intersection when a crimson Tesla pulls up and I wave at the driver. To which, she waves me away… “I’m not interested!” Anyway, I persist, and thankfully she winds down her window to hear what I have to say. Maybe she sees I’m friendly. Quite the comedy… she had just had a massage and was about to go in the opposite direction to a lake for a swim. It’s as if I have called her in somehow. She decides to take me into town to the hardware store where I am recommended a locksmith and handed the phone to call and make arrangements.

I meet the locksmith at the end of the drive some 12 minutes later… because Google Maps doesn’t take you to the right address… and flag her down. As soon as she sees the door she knows she won’t be able to pick the lock, but she tries anyway.

Eventually, I realise that although the windows of the garage are high, with some help (2 screwdrivers on either end for leverage) we can remove the flyscreen and I can climb in.

What a relief!

My next dilemma is paying for her service to which she only charges me for the fuel. I am so grateful, I swear the woman has never before received such a hug of gratitude. I have since committed the keypad code to memory and used it… lesson learned.

After a disturbed night’s sleep, I rise with intent to hike Panther Meadows Trailhead, and what a surprise this turns out to be!

The entrance is pleasant… mostly rocky with trees. At 7,600 ft it is an important place for Native American culture, and interestingly signage before one enters the grounds asks tourists not to drink the water, don’t carry out ceremonies, rituals or give offerings, and these instructions are requested by the First Nations peoples. Hmmm…

On either side of the path, a group of trees leads us into the next room and a glorious garden of wildflowers…

Wildflowers include Alpine Laurel (Kalmia microphylla), Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), Mountain Heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis), Swamp Onion (Allium validum), Dward Huckleberry (Vaccinium caespitosum) and Arnica (Arnica mollis).

Where the water runs is an opportunity to be fluid… feel the fluidity of one’s beingness…

I meet some unique beings too…

This is the message received near the bottom of Panther Meadows…

As I enter the adjoining Gray Butte Trail - a would-be moderate 3.5 mile round trip hike out of Panther Meadows - I feel it is time to sit, be still and appreciate where I am. It is also a beaut spot to sing a little…

Panther Meadows reaches the end… yet the water bubbles to the surface from beneath the ground signifying the beginning. While seated on a rock I enjoy observing bubbles rise to the surface to create ripples of wonder…

Later, I note that I filmed my experience at 11:11am after being seated in stillness together… how more and more people turned up to sit.

Passing through a gateway…

And one more gateway signifies the contrast through nature’s garden rooms…

This is as close as you can get without climbing… Panther Meadows Old Ski Bowl…

I am so smitten with this aspect of Mt. Shasta that all of me must return.

Next up… I meet a kindred friend from another time-space coordinate and she takes me to a few portals!

Thank you so much for being here… hiking with me… drinking in nature’s glorious goodness and giving back.

Love’s Harmony,

Leanda Michelle ✍🏻