May, 1999 - Today was a nice lazy day. A friend and I hiked up Cockscomb mountain where the silence is intense. The hike is fairly easy. Up and up, but if you walk slowly, the trail isn't bad at all. There are only two spots that required a little hoisting and they are easily climbed. The view from the top is amazing. You can look out over unspoiled wilderness and feel the curvature of the earth.

We are the only ones at the top. On a remote area at the top of the butte we lay down under a lone tree with red rocks for pillows, the wind rushing over us and the sun baking the midday air as we stare up at the clouds. My friend explains that he and another friend spent an afternoon removing parasite plants from this pine so it could grow more easily. We all take care of each other, don't we? The silence pounds in my head and I shut my eyes and spin into the dreamspace for a short while. I have stepped outside of my normal world and entered an ageless, timeless space.