I’m sure we’ve all witnessed the power of nature, whether it was first hand or on the television. And I’m sure it made your jaws drop and gasp in awe. It has that power, not only the physical power, that power that bends and breaks acres of trees, clearing whole ecosystems, re-writing rivers, etc. but also the power that makes you stop dead in your tracks, get all wide eyed and bushy tailed, and stare in amazement. This past winter, she really showed us what she was made of. A historic season full of great snow packs and even greater avalanches.
This is my first season in Colorado, and first season with CFI. The awe and power was shown to me on my first hitch up into Missouri Gulch. A gulch that was once heavily forested was now leveled. Only one lone pine stood tall, all the pines and aspens that once inhabited this area were bent, broken, and ripped out of the ground. The layers of debris still covering feet of snow and hiding raging creeks.
I may have never been in this gulch before, I may have no sense of the past to refer back to, to truly understand the damage done. Trees of all sizes and kinds bent, broken, ripped out of the ground, a landscape scarred and altered. I did not need any reference to grasp what had happened here. Further up Missouri Gulch, under weak layer(s) of snow an avalanche had popped and made its way down with enough force to destroy a railway car, large truck, several buildings, or a substantial amount of forest.
She
She comes in quietly
Holding her own
Sweeping, swiping
Changing her landscape
Bending, breaking
She is not afraid
She is aware
She is strong
She is Gaia
