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Tuolumne Meadows Sojorn

BruceMC

BruceMC

Beloved Grand Eagle
I went up to Tuolumne Meadows last week to practice some TMS recovery strategies (ah hum!) and in the process took some pics that I thought you all would enjoy. Just a couple of observations:

1.) Yes, sleeping on the side of the road on the asphalt in a turn out does seem to worsen my TMS pain symptoms. Lack of sleep from the passing cars, SUVs, recvs and trucks may also contribute to this too.

2.) Going from sea level up to 10,000 in one afternoon may also negatively effect quality REM sleep, which, in turn, is one more stressor that makes those aches and pains hurt a little more.

However, as you'll see, the scenery more than makes up for these little discomforts. Since I don't seem to be able to import jpgs from my hard drive, here's a link to the whole batch of them from my Facebook site:

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https://www.facebook.com/bruce.morris1/media_set?set=a.10152128403942542.1073741831.620652541&type=1
 
Just to give you a better idea of the scale of the Rim Fire near Yosemite that blocked my exit from the Park via US 120, here's a map from the chronicle today showing the extent of the smoke-ash plume:

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And here's a shot taken from the Merced River Valley of the Rim Fire pyrocumulus-pyronimbus cloud, and this is only the main one, there are two others.

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Good for you, Bruce, for putting up with the discomforts of camping in order to get some "national park therapy!"
A few years ago, I told my husband that i couldn't camp in a tent any more, because my back just wouldn't take it. But several months ago, I told him I'd try it again, and I find that much of it is based on my attitude. I have a lot of trouble sleeping, but I find that 1. I'd rather have a sleepless night in the great outdoors than in an expensive motel room, and 2. I'm still astounded by the natural beauty I can encounter along the roads less traveled. Plus, my husband really loves to hike and camp. This summer, thanks to TMS recovery, I was able to hike and camp with him. Such a blessing.
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement, Gigi. I remember forcing myself to go camp up in the Yosemite high country two years ago and it was a round-the-clock pain for me. Now, thanks to the SEP and Dr Shubiner's Unlearn Your Pain workbook, I'm ten times as active and much more pain-free than then. A long hard road, but I'm hiking it now. One thing I notice too is that every time I accomplish some goal - like hike up a peak or do a new rock climb - a TMS pain-free period will follow it and last for quite a while during which I'm totally flexible, totally normal and without stingers or sore tendons. It must be that each positive accomplishment ups the production of serotonin so that you "feel good" and don't hurt. Nothing official, of course, just an armchair neurochemist ruminating and speculating way over his head. But it does seem that after you accomplish a goal that TMS goes away for a while. You see how TMS occurs when you're not being true to yourself and who you really are or would like to become.
 
Here's a couple more shots of the Rim Fire, taken from a passing airliner inbound for San Francisco:

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This afternoon they were calling it the largest fire in US history: 174,000 acres.
 
BruceMC said:
It must be that each positive accomplishment ups the production of serotonin so that you "feel good" and don't hurt. Nothing official, of course, just an armchair neurochemist ruminating and speculating way over his head. But it does seem that after you accomplish a goal that TMS goes away for a while. You see how TMS occurs when you're not being true to yourself and who you really are or would like to become.
Click to expand...
That's been my experience as well, Bruce. When I first banished my migraines, it was over a month before I had another. How nice that we can enjoy that period of euphoria! It encourages me to try for the next milestone.
Blessings on the journey.
 
Isn't odd, though, Gigi, how you begin to take those pain-free intervals for granted after a while? I guess you're never entirely satisfied until all your symptoms have disappeared. I guess that just says something about the human condition in general.
 
Bruce, as a sybarite I am as impressed as I am baffled by anyone who enjoys camping. However I would never, ever dispute the beauty of such intimacy with nature. The photos are stunning. Gigi is quite right, it is a question of attitude. And yes, don't we slide into those pain-free days with natural ease. It comforts because one day it will all be a memory.
Take care my dear. I shall think of you next time the wildness beckons.
 
Here's some amazing footage taken from the air of the Rim Fire that shows its epic proportions:

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You can even see El Capitan and Half Dome at the beginning of the flight. Sure do look tiny next to the Rim Fire. The smoke cloud goes up to 30,000 ft.
 
This time lapse video sequence shows you what big is all about:


It's like seeing an area the size of New York or Chicago burning.
 
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