September in the Sawtooths

Buckle up. This will be a longer post than usual, though still with a lack of theme that you may be surprised by given my straightforward title.

I'm sitting at LAX, figuring a six hour layover is as good a time as any to jump start this blog again. I was in the US for a week and a half, as a required departure from the country to renew my visa. Now with some great memories fresh in my mind I'm reviewing things I'm thankful for to make this return journey less painful. No one tells you how long the grief of leaving your country of citizenship will last; when you will cease to be a sojourner on an extended visit to a new country and feel like it is 'home,' when you will stop feeling like your heart is being broken all over again at tearing away from the life you had or the possible lives you could be leading in a parallel universe if you made different choices along the way. It's not as if where I'm going back to is a dangerous war zone, an Ebola stricken region, or a place lacking basic creature comforts. It simply isn't a place I have deep roots yet. And uprooting was the hardest thing to do 9 months ago; it feels like those spindly rootlets I'm putting down in my new country are dwarfed by the web that anchored me elsewhere.

Here are a few of the things I'm grateful for about life in Honduras:

- I really like my work. I get to deliver babies (I mean, seriously, how is that not awesome?!), be challenged in my medical skills, see a huge variety of patients and problems every day, spend time with each patient and start addressing the deeper issues.
*update- Our Ob-Gyn called me about twins that he was inducing. I got to do my first vaginal twin delivery (vertex-breech)! I think God knew I would need a boost of some kind.

- I work with amazing people: mentors, colleagues, nurses, staff. I've been continually impressed by their competency, humility, and willingness to help.

- I have the time and the motivation to cook. It's fun looking up recipes and trying them out on unsuspecting friends :)

- I have a rich community, with friends age 2 weeks to 60+ years. I love getting to connect with them and having genuine deep relationships with people in different life stages.

- Being deprived of things like access to REI or Thai restaurants periodically just makes me that much more excited when I get to experience them again.

There were a few things I noticed when I arrived last week. First, familiar places felt much more crowded than they ever did before. Second, hot water comes out of a tap! Third, there are a lot of good looking people in America. The first I attribute to me living in a rural area where we just don't have crowds of people and if there are a bunch of people gathered in one place, chances are I recognize a good portion of them. The last is probably because I see the same white faces day in and day out and some variety seems very attractive. Don't get me wrong, I work with some beautiful people. There just isn't a large sample size.

Well, now that I have all that spewed out on a (web)page, I guess I'll get on with actually describing what I've been up to in the last 10 days.

I had a jam-packed 3 days in Ventura, CA. I squeezed in two early morning surfing sessions and spent the rest of my time running chronically late from one social engagement to the next. I got to be part of my small group's fall kick-off, eat at my favorite restaurants, and celebrate my residency's recent nomination as the #1 family medicine residency in the country! All this without a phone which was a throwback to the days before cell phones and smart devices that allow for spontaneity. I (barely) made it to my flight to Boise, partly because I was having so much fun and partly because there was traffic on the 405...My only regret is that I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to. It's incentive to plan another trip soon.

I arrived in Boise and was picked up by my dad. My parents flew in earlier that day and had already done most of the shopping and prepping necessary for our week in the Sawtooth Mountains.

We left Saturday morning after a delicious pancake breakfast prepared by our friends. I had to control myself from too many impulse buys at the grocery store on the way out, though a bag of Sour Patch kids and a container of Laughing Cow cheese triangles did make their way into the cart. We fueled up and headed to Redfish Lake, where we snagged the last spot at the Sockeye campground. A sunset walk along the lake shore was an appetizer for the days to come.

Mom, me, and Dad on the shores of Redfish Lake

Day #2 was a training hike from the Iron Creek Trailhead to Sawtooth Lake with a lunch break at Alpine Lake. 9 of the 10 miles went pretty quickly, though the last mile dragged on forever. The scenery was breathtaking- alpine lakes set in glacial carved cirques of granite peaks. It was inspiration for packing up camp the next day and heading out on the Tin Cup loop for 4 days of backpacking.

Alpine Lake on the way to Sawtooth Lake

Sawtooth Lake

yoga with a Sawtooth Lake backdrop

The hardest day was the first from Pettit Lake to Toxaway Lake but worth the climb when we settled into a beautiful campsite on the lake shore. There were a few other campers but we couldn't see them or hear much of anything so it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. The tents survived a rainstorm the first night and kept us dry and happy. 

climbing from the trailhead with Pettit Lake in the background

unnamed lake on the way

Toxaway Lake with our campsite on the little spit of land in the middle.
(Taken from our day hike up to the saddle above the lake.)

We did a day hike from this new base camp up to Imogene Peak and ate more food that night to lighten our loads for the hike to Twin Lakes and Alice Lake the next day. Up over a mountain pass and down the other side brought us to Alice Lake where we again camped at the shore of the lake and took advantage of the sunshine to bathe in the lake (with biodegradable soap of course) and read aloud over our high tea- tea, cheese, crackers, and fruit.

hike over the saddle; Twin Lakes on the right

Alice Lake

campsite at Alice Lake

 The hike out from Alice Lake was east but a little sad as we left the beautiful Sawtooths behind us with each step. Our consolation was the beautiful stands of aspen turning brilliant yellow, red, and orange, and a herd of pronghorn antelope we saw at the roadside.

Fall colors

at the end of the trail

After a stop for ice cream and checking messages in Stanley, we drove to Kirkham Hot Springs. We had the perfectly warm natural pools to ourselves and it felt great on tired muscles.

It was a safe and easy drive back to Boise. I got to see Megan and stocked up on some American products before flying out the next day.

Being with friends and family as well as time in the wilderness is my recipe for renewal. I'm returning feeling grateful for all the experiences of the last 10 days.